Below is a couple of pictures from c1903 of the kennels used for the beagles at Mostyn house,i wish my house was as nice as theirs.The back of one of the cards was written by a former headmaster and member of the Grenfell family Mr A.G.Grenfell in 1903
I have some of the old postcards depicting the kennels at Mostyn House School dated 1904. It was a drag pack of beagles which hunted an artificial scent, and not hares or indeed any other live quarry. I think the pack of hounds at the school was started by a Mr A. G. Grenfell (Headmaster) of Mostyn House School during the very early 1900's.
This pack at Mostyn House School has been mistaken for another pack of beagles which once hunted on the Wirral called the Royal Rock Beagle Hunt.
I would be very interested to know if anybody has any information on the Royal Rock Beagle Hunt, photographs or archive details of the hunt. I think it used to hunt around Burton, Puddington, Raby and Thornton Hough, not only at these locations but all over the Wirral apparently.
I'm interested in rural social history on the Wirral, including old and long forgotten pastimes and hobbies.
Does anybody know of anybody who may be able to help me in my search for information on the above?
I believe that the hunting of hares by the notorious Royal Rock Beagle hunt may no longer takes place on the Hundred of Wirral. As we have moved into more "enlightened" times the villages of Wirral became less tolerant / welcoming to this gang. I think I am right in saying that their cozy, traditional Boxing day meet on the green at Willaston was abandoned after a huge rumpus in 1982 involving villagers and general public alike - who took a stand against their activities. Similarly they were banned from the area of Wirral country Park after killing a hare in the vicinity of the visitor's centre on Christmas Eve . In more recent times the villagers of Puddington successfully campaigned to evict the hunt from their area - and this, coupled with the death of landowner Lord Leverhulme has culminated in the hunt abandoning their traditional heartland. A search of press archives can be very revealing regarding their activities in Wirral - for example 6 hounds were killed by a freight train in the Landican area- quite what they were doing tresspassing on the railway line is anyone's guess. The fields of Wirral are a much quieter place now without the din of packs of hounds running riot - and I'm sure that the local wildlife appreciate the solitude.
Wow! I am so pleased to see these photographs of the Mostyn House Beagles. About the time that these pictures were taken, my great grandfather Charles Williams lived in Parkgate and responsibility for the care of the Beagle Pack. My father, a "Neston lad" now in his 80s, tells me that when Charles worked at Mostyn House, it was an all boys' school. He said that one of the boys, called the fox, would run ahead dragging an aniseed bag to lay the trail. The hounds would follow and then the rest of the boys would chase the hounds!
