THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — the Findon Chronicles are created by Valerie Martin and contain great stories from her home village of FINDON, West Sussex, U.K.    Everyday tales about real people...... in fact, a potted history of the village.   The topics today, are history tomorrow.

SQUIRE WILLIAM WESTBROOKE RICHARDSON (b. 1788) AND THE FINDON HUNTING SCENE

Copyright Valerie Martin

When Squire William Richardson, the Lord of the Manor of Findon died in 1801 and the Manor of Findon was bequeathed to his nephew, William Westbrooke Richardson.

William Westbrooke Richardson of Findon Place was a most genial man but also possessed rather a fine old temper.   It was well-known in Findon that if things looked like going wrong for him he would round on everyone within sight cursing.    

The new Squire was a sporting character but his hounds were more of the greyhound variety and their speciality was hunting the poor hares on the Findon downland.   He was said to have been a moderately good horseman even taking into account his weight in later life but he was always acknowledged by all to be a good judge of a horse and hound.

When the Squire took to hunting foxes in 1839, a Mr Sharp was his first Huntsman and was later succeeded by William Summers (born c.1801).    He lived at Kennel Cottage with his wife Harriet.   Charles Champion being the Whip.

George Champion entered the Squire's service at the tender age of twelve and later became his second horseman c.1848.   (More about him later).

Another gentleman, John Napper of Ifold, purchased the pack in 1848 and also took Will Summers and George Champion as Huntsman and First Whip respectively.    The Ilfold gentleman did not favour our Findon downland and gave up after about four seasons and the Old Findon Country  passed to the Second Lord Leconfield.   The hounds were sold and went to Hampshire with Will Summers.... and George Champion went to the Crawley and Horsham Hunt and whipped in to Jack Press under Mr. Stanford for two seasons.  

William Westbrooke Richardson sold the Manor of Findon in 1861 and he died ten years later on 9th February 1871 and is buried at nearby Ferring.

It may be thought that fox-hunting would have been a dead as the do-do in Findon from now on.    It was not to be.   In 1872, the Findon landowners made considerable efforts to re-introduce the Old Findon Hunt but nothing came of the venture until the 1876-7 season, when the countryside was finally lent to the Crawley and Horsham Hunt.

I have endeavoured to record for posterity the sporting activities of the the past in our area.   One of these terrible events always sticks in my mind.   Back in the year 1888, it is reported that a tremendous chase by the Warnham Staghounds took place when they chased a stag from nearby Ashington, over the downland, through Goring Woods to Kingston on the coast.  

The unfortunate animal was left no choice between his attackers and the water and so sought refuge in the sea.   It was chased by boat by the frenzied hunters but all trace of it was lost and the pursuers believed it to be drowned.    I guess the men successfully paddled their boat safely back to the shore.   No comment.

The dead creature was later washed up on Brighton Beach near the West Pier.

Bringing Findon history into the twentieth century, I would mention that Mr. A. Francis was Findon's postmaster and in 1945 was bitten on his leg by not a dog..... but guess what......a fox.    The reason for the attack was..... he was attempting to spear the animal with a pitchfork while it was worrying geese in the village.  The fox was eventually killed and this prompted a pro-hunt commentator of the day to write ...

"There being no local hunt nowadays to keep them down, foxes are proving a considerable nuisance to local farmers".

Continue to read about Jack Paskins — Whipper-in and Jack of all Trades

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.