Paperchases
The Sporting Gazette
January 7, 1871.
A little more than two years
ago some long distance runners of the L.A.C. and
T.R.C. were struck with the idea that it would be
practicable to institute paperchases in the
Metropolitan district similar to those long in vogue
at Rugby, Marlborough and other public schools, and
on 17th October 1868 the first open "hare and
hounds" ever run took place in the south-west of
London from Roehampton under the title of the
"Thames Hare and Hounds."
The idea soon spread and
paperchases became comparatively common all round
London, especially at Hampstead and Hornsey, but for
a long while the Thames Hare and Hounds were the only
Club instituted solely for paperchasing, the other
runs being incidental affairs got up by different
cricket or football clubs. While the first club still
remains the largest and best, there are now, however,
several other Metropolitan clubs, e.g. the Hornsey
Harriers and the Mars Harriers, the latter being a
very thriving concern, which hunts the Lea Bridge
district weekly. These and several other packs are
confined to gentlemen, but we are glad to see that
the sport is taken up by others, and fortnightly,
tradesmen's runs regularly take place from Hampstead
and we believe elsewhere.
The advantage of the open air
exercise afforded by paperchasing, where the pace is
not too great, cannot be over-estimated; but this is
not the greatest benefit this sport affords, for the
healthy emulation of racing for the bare honour will,
we hope, drive away to a great degree the miserable
love of pot hunting now, unhappily, so prevalent
among athletes.
Some few particulars of the
Thames Hare and Hounds, which as we have said before,
is the oldest and largest of the London Packs, may be
acceptable to our readers, as the subject is one of
rapidly increasing importance for there can be little
doubt that paperchasing will soon became as favoured
a natural sport as football or cricket. The club in
question consists of about forty gentlemen, among
whom are Messrs. Scott, Green, Donaldson, Michod, F.
V. Rainsford, Mason, Rye, J. Buchanan, Ash, Bentley,
Fuller, Evans, Dixon, Rogers, Matthews, Hedley,
Salisbury, and other well-known amateur runners and
walkers of whom the first dozen are decidedly the
pick of the basket for working purposes at present.
Gilmour, who was long the best man in the pack, is
now, unluckily, a non-resident, as is Gibson, another
first-class man and strangely enough a third G.,
Gordon, who has left England to join his regiment in
India, Chenery and Burt, two good runners, and
capital cross-country jumpers, have unhappily fallen
victims to the brutal allurements of football and,
consequently, never run now, which is a loss to the
Thames Hare and Hounds, as it is rather weak in the
jumping line, having but two first rate (Rogers and
Bentley) and a couple of fair (Michod and Scott)
leapers.
The generality of the pack,
indeed, is given to scrambling at fences and jumping
in and out of ditches in the most undignified way;
but this is probably to be accounted for by the pace,
which is generally forced throughout and leave little
jumping power in a man's legs. The pace, however,
though forced, never approaches what the Rugby boys
are credited with in the Crick run, the best ever
done with the home lot being nine miles in 62 mins.
45 secs. over a roughish country with once check. The
average pace, indeed, including checks, which are
often long, is but 7-1/2 an hour. About 10 miles is
the average distance covered, the furthest ever run
being sixteen miles which, strangely enough, was done
quite as fast in proportion as any of the shorter
journeys.
A dozen hounds form the average
field, though twenty-five, twenty, and nineteen have
been known to show up, and the average of late has
been fifteen. Ten minutes' law is given and hounds
must follow scent, unless they run the hares to
sight, in which case the latter may be pursued
without reference to the paper. If the hares swim a
river, etc., no hound is reckoned as finishing who
has not followed them.
The rendezvous of the Club is
the King's Head, Roehampton Bottom, which is
equidistant from Barnes and Putney Stations on the
London and South-Western Line and most runs take
place from this house, which affords capital
accomodation for dressing, etc. Wimbledon Common,
Richmond Park, the Sheens, Kew, Mortlake, Petersham,
Ham, Wandsworth, Merton, Malden, Morden and Kingston
are all within the home district and afford capital
country for runs, though the farmers, as elsewhere,
are decidedly adverse to the patteran being laid over
their grounds.