Legends of the chase Sir Newton Rycroft

The late Sir Newton Rycroft was one of the most significant hound breeders of the 20th century, greatly influencing both foxhound and beagle breeding

AWYKEHAMIST, who went up to Oxford’s Christ Church college and was mentioned in dispatches for his undercover service in the Balkans during the war, Sir Newton Rycroft was an academic who turned his considerable brainpower to breeding and hunting beagles and foxhounds.

Founder and owner of the Dummer Beagles, he kept them at his home in Little Rissington and hunted them with great success for 24 seasons. Jean Dunn, retired master and huntsman of the Hunsley Beacon beagles, recalls his remarkable hound control.

“The hounds would all stand on one side of the road while he called them by name to cross the road to him. They just loved him.”

Martin Letts was hunting the Bolebroke Beagles when they

received some drafts from

Sir Newton.

He says: “They were all of the modern type, white-coloured, active, athletic and amazingly good hunters. They stood out from our old-fashioned tan beagles. His influence changed beagles to the modern type that we know now. They were the Heythrop of the beagling world.”

In 1950, Dummer Woldsman won the Peterborough championship in his 11th year, an amazing feat of longevity thanks to the perfect confirmation and constitution that had been bred in to this new pack of hounds.

Sir Newton was instrumental in the founding of the Wye College Beagles and latterly moved on to foxhounds as master and huntsman of the New Forest for 22 seasons. He was one of those few hound breeders who heavily influenced the modernisation of the foxhound through judicious use of the Welsh outcross and is especially famous for breeding the exceptional New Forest Medyg

69, bred from a pure Welsh doghound, Plas Machynlleth Miller 63.

Medyg was used by many packs, well known for his voice and fox sense, which he passed on to his progeny. He was highly regarded as a stallion hound by the 10th Duke of Beaufort and sired their famous doghound, Monmouth 77.

Sir Newton was instrumental in encouraging Capt Ian Farquhar to use another Welsh outcross and Ian described him as his “guru”. Along with Sir Peter Farquhar, he accompanied Ian to the Vale of Clettwr kennels when they chose their foundation bitch, Vale of Clettwr Fairy 73.

An avid naturalist and countryman, he had a great rapport with the keepers and country folk of the New Forest.

His undercover operations in Crete during the war had suited him well as the flowers were much to his liking. When he had to check in via radio to his headquarters with his password, he is reputed to have forgotten the necessary word but to have asked to be sent two volumes of a particular bird book so he could study the local ornithology. This was proof enough to those in the radio control room that it was, in fact, Sir Newton.

Known as a great letter writer to anyone associated with hounds who he thought might value his advice, many of his articles are gathered in his instructive hunting book, Rycroft on Hounds, Hunting and Country.