The Albrighton Hunt is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

foxhound pack, with hunting country of around 30-35 miles by within

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

and

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

History

The Albrighton Hunt was preceded by two hunts in the North and South country, called the Shifnal and Enville respectively. There are records of the Enville hunt from 1792, while the Shifnal country was frequently hunted by Sir Richard Puleston from the neighbouring Wynnstay country. The hunt itself came into existence in 1825, with the country then covering from

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

down to

Bewdley Bewdley ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley, and is west of Kidderminster, north of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham. It ...

and

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

. The existing hunt came into formal existence in 1830, under the patronage of the

Earl of Stamford Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dor ...

. In 2024, the Albrighton Hunt was issued a community protection warning following antisocial behaviour, including poor control of hounds resulting in the killing of a fox and deer.

Country

The hunt country lies in Shropshire and Staffordshire, with key centres including

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

and

. At the time of the passing of the

Hunting Act 2004 The Hunting Act 2004 (c. 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the ...

, which heavily restricted hunting with hounds, the chief constable of Staffordshire Police was

John Giffard John Giffard may refer to: *John Giffard, 1st Baron Giffard (1232–1299), English nobleman *John Giffard (died 1556) (c. 1465–1556), Tudor courtier, soldier, MP and landowner, of Chillington Hall, Staffordshire *John Giffard (died 1613) (1534–1 ...

, also squire of Chillington Hall and direct descendant of the first hunt master, Walter Giffard. Despite this direct link, the officer banned the hunt from his land for hunting.

Point-to-point

The Albrighton hosts an annual point-to-point race, traditionally at

Weston Park Weston Park is a country house in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, England, set in more than of park landscaped by Capability Brown. The park is located north-west of Wolverhampton, and east of Telford, close to the border with Shropshire ...

, although held at

Bangor-on-Dee Bangor-on-Dee ( or Welsh Language Commissioner, standardised ) is a village and Community (Wales), community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, on the banks of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee. Until 1974 it was in the exclave of Flintshire (histo ...

in 2009 due to damage at Weston Park from a music festival.

References

{{Reflist Sport in Shropshire Sport in Staffordshire Fox hunts in England https://protectthewild.org.uk/news/albrighton-woodland-hunt-issued-with-community-protection-warning/

History

Country

Point-to-point

See also

Further reading

References