I The Cattistock

The south-west hunt is based in the village of Cattistock, a true hunting village where the parson used to be the Master and the church carillon used to play "D'ye ken John Peel".

The public house, the Fox and Hounds is adorned with photographs of meets of the Cattistock Hunt and visiting hunts, as well as memorabilia from HMS Cattistock, one of the Hunt Class of minesweepers with whichboth the village and the l~unt have close links.

The hunt stables are in the centre of the village, just up from the pub.

The Saville Memorial Hall stands just opposite, and here hunt functions are held.

The hunt kennels themselves are on the eastern outskirts of the village, looking westward towards the sample Historic Hunting Landscape which has been chosen here.

This runs up the valley from Cattistock towards Rampisham, an area of hedges and coverts largely down to pasture, with a brook running down the middle. The land is in several ownerships, and includes coverts both maintained and owned by the hunt as well as by those owned by enthusiastic members.

An area to the north, in single ownership, could have been chosen, where the single landowner would expect to go for far more economic, hedgeless farming were hunting to be abolished.

However, the multiple ownership and the close relationship of this part of the landscape to Cattistock itself were the deciding elements in the choice of this sample.

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Date uploaded to site 26 April 2000