Any historians of Kent Hunts out there???

[Doncella]

My partners' great grandfather who was called Ebeneezer Tester was a huntsman in Kent. He lived in Seal and died in 1923.
Just hunting for information, any forthcoming gratefully received.

 

[Simsar]

What a great name, do you know the hunt he was with? I will ask and try and do some research. x Seal is near to The Weald in Sevenoaks so my kinda of patch when I was growing up, many moons ago.

 

[Aesculus]

I have checked my Baily's from 1897 to 1905/6 and there is no mention of anyone by the name 'Tester' on the 'Hunt staff active list' but I will keep on digging to see what I can find - he might be mentioned in my quarterly Baily's prior to it becoming an annual directory

 

[teapot]

Check the census reports (you can get a 14 day access/10 credits for £7 on Ancestry.co.uk) as that'll give his location, family, staff (if any), occupation etc

 

[Simsar]

Try giving the Old Surrey a ring.

http://www.osbwk.co.uk/index.htm

 

[SusannaF]

Not sure if it's useful, but Jane Shilling wrote a memoir called The Fox in the Cupboard about hunting in Kent, and that quotes lots of sources on the history. Good read, and I think it was buried by buyers in the book industry because pro-hunt...

I found loads of old hunt histories loaded up on this site, http://www.archive.org/ (here's one about the Belvoir hunt, for example). You can search within the texts for words. Some saint at a veterinary library in Canada (I think) scanned them all in.

Happy hunting!

 

[EAST KENT]

Seal is right over the westerly side of Kent, Fox in a Cupboard was about the pre-ban Ashford Valley,a long way easterly.

 

[SusannaF]

Seal is right over the westerly side of Kent, Fox in a Cupboard was about the pre-ban Ashford Valley,a long way easterly.

Aha, thank you. Did they persist after the ban or was it hopeless?

 

[icklemadame]

Seal would have been West Kent hunt country - I have a book that covers the history of the West Kent so I shall have a look through it to see if there is any mention of him in there

 

[EAST KENT]

Aha, thank you. Did they persist after the ban or was it hopeless?

The Ashford Valley is doing fine , a friendly hunt please note, very welcoming..and with a very funny blog.

 

[SusannaF]

The Ashford Valley is doing fine , a friendly hunt please note, very welcoming..and with a very funny blog.

I shall look out for it, thank you.

 

[icklemadame]

I'll second that, the Ashford Valley are just lovely, went there visiting last year and they were so friendly and welcoming that we've considered upping sticks and moving down there!!!