Robert McCarthy reflects on the 10th Duke of Northumberland’s legacy
Anyone who has been lucky enough to hunt with one of the many packs in Northumberland or the North will at some point have heard mention of the 10th Duke of Northumberland; Hugh Percy. The Duke was master of his own pack, the Percy, from 1940 until his death in 1988. He also hunted the hounds for two days a week for most of his time as master.
It’s fair to say that all packs enjoy a “golden era”. Without doubt, the Percy’s golden era would have been when the Duke was hunting the hounds. Don Claxton was kennel-huntsman and Danny Moralee field master in those days. An exceptionally well-run country paired with fields of often well over 100 horses meant that hounds would be out four days a week.
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