Devon dog breed may rival corgis as Crown favourite
CORGIS were to become famous the world over as the breed beloved of the Queen, but with King Charles III’s ascent to the throne it is a different kind of dog that is likely to take centre stage.
His Majesty and Camilla, the Queen Consort, are known for their love of Jack Russell terriers, distinctive little canines that were originally bred by and named after a Devon clergyman who was also an enthusiastic huntsman.
The vicar of St James’s, Swimbridge, near Barnstaple, for more than 40 years in the 19th century, John “Jack” Russell was known as an excellent local pastor, taking good care of his congregation, while also being regarded more as a country squire in privileged social and sporting circles.
Born in Dartmouth in 1795 into a hunting family, he attended Plympton Grammar School and Blundell’s School, Tiverton, where he is said to have kept his first pack of hounds, before going on to Exeter College, Oxford.
It was while he was studying there that he bought a little dog called Trump from a local milkman. Apparently the young Jack was taken by the short-legged but strong terrier bitch, white with tan patches over her eyes, ears and tail.
When he graduated and came home to Devon to work as a parson, Trump came too, becoming the matriarch of a long line of working fox terriers bred by the reverend for their ability to flush a fox out of its den for the hunt and hounds to chase.
Jack came from a long line of well respected clergymen and, in 1825, he married a local heiress. Penelope Incledon-Bury was the daughter of Royal Navy Vice Admiral Richard Incledon-Bury, of Dennington, near Swimbridge.
His father-in-law was also Lord of the Manor of Colleton, at Chulmleigh, and it was this estate, inherited by Penelope, that funded Jack’s expensive hunting and socialising habits. While maintaining the respect of his local community, the Reverend had many influential friends, and a close chum was “Bertie”, the Prince of Wales, eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who became King Edward VII in 1901. Jack would visit Bertie and his wife, Princess Alexandra, regularly at their home at Sandringham, where the portrait of Trump he gifted to them can still be found.
By the mid 1850s, the Jack Russell had been recognised as a unique variety of fox terrier, and the “Sporting Parson’s” name went down in history for a reason he had not anticipated. Although he was a founding member of the Kennel Club from 1873 and became a bench judge for fox terriers, the pastor was only interested in dogs that could work with the hunt, rather than show specimens.
The weightier and slightly longerlegged examples that the Rev Jack first favoured are now known as the Parson Jack Russell terrier, and this is the dog featured on the sign of the Swimbridge public house, named after the vicar in tribute following his death in 1883, and the Rev Jack, who was also rector of Black Torrington, is buried in the village churchyard. The smaller and livelier Jack Russell has become the best known and loved breed of the two over the decades, and these days they are more usually family pets and companions rather than working dogs.
Our new King has owned several Jack Russells in his time – notably the long-lived Tigga – as well as Labrador retrievers, and his wife is also a big fan. The couple are frequently keen to greet terriers and their owners when out and about on official visits.
For their 15th wedding anniversary photo in 2020, the couple were featured holding their two beloved Jack Russell terriers, Bluebell and Beth, both rehomed from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, of which Camilla is the royal patron.