The Bluecap Memorial stands in the yard of the Cheshire Hunt Kennels in Kennel Lane,

Sandiway Sandiway is a village in the civil parish of Cuddington, Vale Royal, Cuddington, Cheshire, England. It lies to the southeast of and is contiguous with the village of Cuddington. Sandiway was the birthplace of John Douglas (English architect), ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England. Bluecap was a Cheshire

foxhound A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, a keen sense of smell, and their barking, energy, drive, and speed. In fox hunting, the foxhound's namesake, packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed—usually on ho ...

that was famous for winning a race against the hounds of

Hugo Meynell Hugo Meynell (June 1735 – 14 December 1808) was an English country landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1762 and 1780. He is generally seen as the father of modern fox hunting, became Master of Fox Hounds for the ...

of the

Quorn Hunt The Quorn Hunt, usually called the Quorn, established in 1696, is one of the world's oldest fox hunting packs and claims to be the United Kingdom's most famous hunt. Its country is mostly in Leicestershire, together with some smaller areas of ...

in 1763. The memorial is in

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

and consists of an

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

standing on a plinth, with a brass plaque inscribed with a poem. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as a designated Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

Bluecap (or Blue Cap) was a foxhound owned by John Smith-Barry, son of the 4th

Earl of Barrymore Earl of Barrymore was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created for David Barry, 6th Viscount Buttevant, in 1627/28. Lord Barrymore held the subsidiary titles of Baron Barry (created c. 1261) and Viscount Buttevant (created 1541) in the ...

, and was a member of the first pack of foxhounds to be founded in Cheshire. The pack was housed in Forest Kennels, Speedwell Hill. In 1763 Smith-Barry was challenged to a bet by Hugo Meynell of the Quorn Hunt, one of the most influential men in the development of fox-hunting, to a race between two of each other's hounds. The race was held over a four-mile course at Newmarket. Meynell's hounds were favourites at odds of 7–4, but Bluecap won easily, and Bluecap's daughter, Wanton, came second. Bluecap became a legend in northwest England, outstripping the rest of the pack, and died at the age of 13 in 1772. Smith-Barry arranged for the memorial to be made, and it was initially erected at Speedwell Hill, being moved to its present position in the yard of the Cheshire Hunt Kennels in 1959. The sculptor of the memorial is unknown.

Description

The memorial is constructed in buff and pink sandstone, and stands high. It is surrounded by a low wall and railings. The memorial has square base, and consists of a square

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

with a moulded plinth and

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

, which is surmounted by an obelisk. On the north face of the pier is a brass plate inscribed with details of the foxhound and its owner, followed by a poem, all in

copperplate script Copperplate script is a style of calligraphic writing most commonly associated with English Roundhand. Although often used as an umbrella term for various forms of pointed pen calligraphy, Copperplate most accurately refers to script styles re ...

. The inscription reads as follows:

Other memorials

Bluecap was a great favourite locally, and was painted at least twice. One of the paintings was commissioned by the

Tarporley Hunt Club The Tarporley Hunt Club is a Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom, hunt club which meets at Tarporley in Cheshire, England. Founded in 1762, it is the oldest surviving such society in England.Tarporley Tarporley is a large village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. The civil parish also contains the village of Rhuddall Heath. Tarporley is bypassed by the A49 and A51 roads. At the 2011 census, the population was 2,614. History Tarporl ...

. Another painting was executed by

Francis Sartorius Francis Sartorius (1734 – 5 March 1804) was an English painter of horses, horse-racing and hunting scenes, of the celebrated Sartorius family of artists. Also known as Francis Sartorius the Elder to distinguish him from his grandson Franci ...

in 1774. The foxhound is also commemorated in ''Ballads and Legends of Cheshire'', written by Egerton Leigh in 1867, and the Blue Cap Inn in

is named after it.

Appraisal

The memorial was designated as a Grade II listed building on 18 July 1986. Grade II is the lowest of the three grades of listing and is applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest".

References

Citations Sources * * * {{coord, 53.22436, -2.60254, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Monuments and memorials in Cheshire Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire Buildings and structures completed in 1772

History

Description

Other memorials

Appraisal

See also

References