IN the lamplit cellar of the Blue Anchor Tavern in London’s Bunhill Row, a group of top-hatted Victorian gentlemen and two military officers crowd round a wooden-planked enclosure. Fob watches in hand, the gamblers have placed their bets and are gazing intently at a horde of rats, which dart about the blood-spattered pit and try to scramble up the corners. It’s one of the most arresting images in this enjoyable little show, all the more so because there appears to be no dog in the picture—until you look more closely and notice a terrier sinking its jaws into the neck of a rat almost as big as itself.
Tiny the Wonder was owned by Blue Anchor innkeeper Jemmy Shaw, who brought in rats from Essex—considered healthier than London’s sewer rats—for the matches conducted below his pub. Weighing only 5½lb, Tiny held the rat-killing record, felling 200 in just under 55 minutes in 1848.
The print reminds us that, by the 19th century, there was a strong urban dimension to sporting with dogs. As hare coursing declined in the early 20th century, greyhound racing became hugely popular and a taxidermy example of that breed, mounted in full sprint, juxtaposes visions of these grittier events with country scenes of dogs bred for shooting, hunting, coursing and hawking.
Esta historia es de la edición September 30, 2020 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 30, 2020 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
