The Hampshire Hunt 1749-2022

The History of the Hampshire Hunt Club and the eponymous Hunt is Adrian Dangar’s latest book. The writer was provided with archive material from 1795 that included minute books, hunting diaries, letters and press cuttings from which he has been able to accurately portray the Hunt’s development since the mid-eighteenth century. 

In many ways the detailed history of this illustrious Hunt could be taken as a metaphor for the evolution of foxhunting itself across the entire United Kingdom. The writer reveals how the Hampshire Hunt faced up to, and ultimately overcame, a series of threats that included the introduction of driven game shooting in the mid-1800s, the advent of barbed wire, motor cars and attempts to outlaw hunting in Westminster. There is also much to celebrate with descriptions of numerous great hunting runs, brilliant hounds and gifted huntsmen. The text is full of extraordinary anecdotes that seem scarcely believable today such as an eight-mile point in 34 minutes in 1888 and the grisly fate that befell a notorious vulpicide less than 90 years ago. 

The text is embellished with many fascinating images including hitherto unpublished photographs alongside rare and historical hunting documents. Published to a high standard on superb quality paper, The Hampshire Hunt 1749 – 2022 is privately commissioned by the Hunt Trustees and is available as a strictly limited edition of 500 signed and numbered copies only.