relating to a generation later. In the Herbert MS., published as vol.
xx. of the Montgomeryshire collection, we find on page 148 an estimate
of the cost of horsing an expedition which was being fitted out to
enforce the claims of the Prince Palatine, son-in-law to James I., to
the Crown of Bohemia. This estimate was laid before the Privy Council on
January 13th, 1620. Ten thousand men were to be despatched from England;
it was calculated that the baggage of this army would weigh 1,150 tons,
to transport which as many carts each carrying one ton, would be needed,
and for each waggon eight cart horses. It was further estimated that
for the conveyance of the officers, the sick and the wounded, 380
waggons would be wanted, and that three horses must be provided for each
of these vehicles. The scheme laid before the Privy Council proposed
that part, at least, of the 10,412 cart horses thus required should be
taken up where they could be hired by the day “in the Low Countries or
where they may best be hadde. They with the carters to drive and keep
them.” The hire was estimated at 2s. per diem, while the cost of the
horses, if bought outright, “with harness and furniture,” would, it was
anticipated, be £9 apiece. The framers of this estimate appended thereto
a note or recommendation which reflects the comparative merits of
English and foreign cart horses at the time. “We think it necessary
that, besides, 200 strong cart horses _such as cannot be hired_ should
be bought or continually kept for the use of the ordnance and munition.”
The cost of these Strong or Great Horses was put down at £15 per
head--the modern equivalent of that seemingly modest sum being perhaps
£100--and the lieutenants and deputy-lieutenants of counties throughout
England were to be required to certify what proportion of horses fit for
this service “each sheire canne affourd upon all occasions on
enterprise.”
Among the leaders of this expedition was the Duke of Arenberg, whose
portrait, painted by Vandyke, is in the collection of the Earl of
Leicester, at Holkham Hall, and from which the accompanying engraving is
taken. In Smith’s _Catalogue of Painters_, vol. iii., p. 148, this is
described as one of the great artist’s most successful equestrian
portraits. Vandyke is believed to have visited this country in 1620 and
to have executed commissions for James I. who conferred upon him a
pension and a safe conduct which enabled him to travel without hindrance
through all continental countries whose sovereigns were friendly to
England. The picture affords interesting proof of the close resemblance
of the English war horse in the first quarter of the seventeenth century
to that portrayed by Albert Dürer more than one hundred years earlier.
The colour is different; but in all material points it is practically
identical with the white Great Horse of the German painter. The
similarity of character is not confined to the horse on which the Duke
is mounted; in the background a body of cavalry is represented, and an
engraving on large scale of this portion of
[Illustration: THE DUKE OF ARENBURG; after the Picture by Vandyke.]
the picture shows the stamp of animal to be the same.
CHARLES I.
Coming now to the reign of Charles I. (1625-1649) we find that the
popularity of racing and its results on the breed of strong horses were
disturbing the minds of thoughtful men. Sir Edward Harwood presented to
the King a memorial which represented that there was a great deficiency
of good and stout horses for the defence of the Kingdom, insomuch that
it was a question whether it could have furnished 2,000 that would have
been equal to 2,000 French. The cause being, the memorialist stated, the
strong proclivity of the nation for racing and hunting, which required
horses to be lighter and weaker for the sake of swiftness. Sir Edward
proposed as remedy that nobles and gentlemen should keep stronger horses
and train them and their riders in military exercises instead of making
races for Bells. This sound advice might have produced results but it
was offered at the time when troubles were gathering about the throne
and the King had no leisure to attend to it. Charles was fond of the
_manège_ and was a good horseman; his care for the art of riding the
Great Horse was shown by a proclamation issued in the third year of his
reign. In this he commanded that, as he had found by experience, such
horses as are employed in the service are “more apt and fit to be
managed by such as shall ride them, being accustomed to the Bitt, than
the Snaffle ... no person shall in riding use any snaffles but Bitts
only.” This was qualified by exception in favour of “times of Disport,”
which doubtless referred to racing, hunting, and hawking.
It is quite in accord with King Charles’ love of the _manège_ and
military horsemanship that the Great Horse should figure on the Great
Seals of the unfortunate King. By permission of Mr. Allan Wyon we
reproduce from his beautiful work, _The Great Seals of England_,
engravings of Charles’ Counter Seal and Second Counter Seal with the
descriptions therein given. The engraver has rendered the breed of his
horses unmistakeable; and nothing need be added to Mr. Wyon’s
descriptions:--
COUNTERSEAL.
PERIOD OF USE 1625 TO 1627.
“The King on horseback, galloping to the left, holding in the right
hand a sword which passes behind the King’s head, the left hand
holding the
[Illustration: COUNTER SEAL AND SECOND COUNTER SEAL OF CHARLES I.]
reins. The helmet is ensigned with the Royal Crown. Three very long
and three short feathers fly backwards from the King’s helmet. The
horse’s neck is protected at the back by plates, and on its head is
a plume of feathers. The horse wears a stiff caparison as in the
seal of James I., but more limited in dimensions. On the caparison
covering the hind quarter are the Royal arms encircled with an
inscribed Garter, and ensigned with a Crown. In the lower border of
the caparison thistles and roses are placed alternately at a small
distance apart, above a short fringe. The reins are very wide and
much ornamented; the part which is seen in front is escalloped,
having four pendants, each pendant being made to represent a rose
with a tassel hanging from it. The tail is in three distinct waves.
In base is a greyhound collared and current to the left. The field
is diapered with interlacing ovals, in which appear roses and
thistles alternately. The legend begins with a rose, which is
repeated between the words and is also placed after the last word.
Between the first and last rose is a fleur-de-lis.” Legend:--
CAROLUS . DEI . GRATIA . MAGNÆ . BRITANNIÆ .
FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ . REX FIDEI . DEFENSOR, &c.
SECOND COUNTERSEAL.
PERIOD OF USE 1627 TO 1640.
“The King on horseback, galloping to the left, in complete armour,
the helmet open showing the features very characteristically
rendered, holding in the right hand a sword which passes above the
helmet, and the point of which touches the outer border; the left
hand holds the reins; on the left is a small shield covering the
elbow and the lower part of the body. Two very large feathers sweep
backwards from the helmet and two smaller ones rise to the outer
border above. The right hand, the sword, and part of the helmet,
break across the inner border and divide the commencement from the
end of the legend. The horse is entirely devoid of armour. The
saddle cloth is very small, and square. In base is a greyhound
collared and current to the left, and underneath the horse is a
view of London from the South, showing the river Thames and London
Bridge. Shipping on the river below London Bridge is seen between
the hind legs of the horse. The hills to the North of London are
represented as of mountainous height. The hind hoof breaks into the
legend.”
CAROLUS . DEI . GRATIA . ANGLIÆ . SCOTIÆ .
FRANCIÆ . ET . HIBERNIÆ . REX . FIDEI . DEFENSOR.
“The style of the King, which in the First Seal of his reign was
‘Rex Magna Brittanniæ’ is now ‘Rex Angliæ Scotiæ,’ &c.”
From the year 1200 downwards very many seals have borne the device of a
horse, and invariably one of the Great Horse type.
FROM THE COMMONWEALTH TO WILLIAM III.’s TIME.
During the Commonwealth (1649-1659) three seals were in use, each of
which shows on the reverse side a Great Horse of well defined character.
To prove the use of the breed at this period we may, however, take
evidence from Vandyke, whose equestrian portrait of Oliver Cromwell, in
the heroic attitude orthodox for so many generations, is here
reproduced. The charger upon which the Protector, partially clad in
armour, is
[Illustration: THE PROTECTOR ON A GREAT HORSE; after the Picture by
Vandyke.]
represented, has all the Great Horse character. Stress must be laid on
the fact that from about this period the term Black Horse is used as
synonymous with Great Horse. The following brief note from Cromwell to
Auditor Squire, which we take from Carlyle’s _Letters and Speeches of
Oliver Cromwell_, has value in this connection, as also in showing the
cost of troop horses at the time:
“_Stilton, Jan. 31, 1643._
“DEAR SIR,--
“Buy those horses, but do not give more than 18 or 20 pieces each
for them, that is enough for Dragooners. I will give you 60 pieces
for that Black you won [in battle] at Horncastle, for my son has a
mind to him.
“Your friend,
“OLIVER CROMWELL.”
It is altogether improbable that the “dragooners” referred to were
animals boasting the power and substance of the charger on which Vandyke
has painted the Protector. Cromwell’s “Ironsides” were not clad in plate
armour but in leathern jerkins, and for men so accoutred a much lighter
stamp of horse would suffice.
In another letter written six months after, appears the following
phrase:--“I will give you all that you ask for that black you won last
fight.” Use of this term still survives in a negative form among the
breeders of Cleveland Bays; whose favourite boast of their strain is
that it contains “neither blood nor black.”
The actual value of the “piece” mentioned is not quite certain. Mr.
Warwick Wroth of the British Museum (Department of Coins) to whom I
referred the point writes: “I think that ‘piece’ must mean ‘broad
piece,’ _i.e._, the gold sovereign (20s.) of the time called ‘Unite,’
‘Broad’ or ‘Carolus’ (or if of James I. the ‘Laurel,’ ‘Jacobus,’ &c.).
The only other coin that could be meant would be the silver crown piece
(5s.) of Charles I., or possibly the ‘piece of eight,’ _i.e._, the
Spanish dollar current in England about 1643, for rather more than 4s.”
My informant kindly sends me a quotation from _Rogers’ History of
Agriculture and Prices_, which confirms his cautious opinion that the
“piece” was the gold piece, _i.e._, the sovereign. The quotation
referred to possesses an interest germane to the subject under
consideration apart from this special point; it runs:--
“There is very little change in the price of horses ... during the
first thirty years of my period [1582-1702]. Then the price begins
to rise for the next thirty years and, though the dear decade
1643-1652 does not represent the highest average of the whole, the
exaltation over the thirty years that precede it is very marked.
For the period 1673-1682 horses are decidedly dear. Thus in 1673 a
horse is bought by All Souls College at £30 5s., and two others at
Cambridge at £20 each. In 1674 Winchester gives £15 8s. 6d. for a
saddle horse.”
Cromwell’s letter was written at the beginning of the “dear decade;” and
as the prices quoted for individual purchases thirty years later appear
“decidedly dear” in a general review of the period, it is highly
probable that £18 or £20 was the amount Cromwell thought “quite enough
for dragooners.” His offer of three times as much, £60, for “that Black
you won” shows the superiority of the Great Horse.
Despite the prowess of Cromwell’s lighter cavalry, the day of the true
Great Horse was not yet at an end. In the year 1658 the Duke of
Newcastle published his classic volume--_The Manner of Feeding, Dressing
and Training of Horses for the Great Saddle and Fitting them for the
Service of the Field in the Time of War_. This very curious and
instructive volume, which was originally published in French at Antwerp
contains numerous elaborate copper-plate engravings, most of which
represent horses of the one massive type with large limbs, heavy crest,
silky haired fetlocks and flowing mane and tail. The Duke writes of the
Northern Horses, using the term to distinguish the North German,
Flanders and similar breeds from the lighter Oriental and Spanish
horses:--“I have seen some, beautiful in their kind, genteel in all
sorts of paces, and which have excelled all others in leaping. Moreover
they have a peculiar excellence in the motion of their forelegs which is
the principal grace in the action of a horse.” Thomas Blundeville in his
book gives instructions for improving the action of a horse; he was to
be taken into a ploughed field or soft ground and encouraged with voice
and spur to trot; by which exercise he would learn to lift his feet.
The engraving of a dappled grey horse here given is from one of the
latest works of Paul Potter; the original picture bears date 1652, and
was therefore painted only six years before the Duke of Newcastle’s book
appeared. Potter, who died at Amsterdam in 1654, made his great
reputation by the infinite pains he bestowed on the study of cattle and
sheep, and the success with which he gave the result of his observations
on canvas; and it is only reasonable to suppose that he exercised equal
[Illustration: A GREAT HORSE OF ABOUT 1652; after the Picture by Paul
Potter.]
care in painting horses. The strain of North German and Flanders blood
was at this period so strongly represented in our English Great Horses
of the best stamp that we need not enquire whether this horse was of
German, Flemish or English origin; the character of all being
practically the same. The abundance of the plaited mane will be remarked
in this picture.
The reflection that the Duke of Newcastle’s careful work came somewhat
late to fulfil its direct purpose crosses the mind of the student.
During the latter half of the seventeenth century armour fell into
disuse, and the interests of Great Horse breeding appear to have been
neglected. Charles II. was a racing monarch, and James II. during his
brief reign seems to have done nothing. William III. established a
riding academy and brought over a French riding master, one Major
Foubert, to direct it. The Great Horse, no longer required for military
service, was no longer a saddle horse, and took its place as a beast of
draught. From this time forward, therefore, we shall give it the name
which associates it with agriculture and commerce, and speak of the
SHIRE HORSE.
QUEEN ANNE’S REIGN.
In the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1713), the roads throughout England
were still of the worst description, and the ponderous carriages of the
nobility demanded great strength and weight in the animals which drew
them; and thus we now find the Shire Horse in demand as a carriage
horse. The Queen’s state coach was drawn by long-tailed Shire mares; and
the stage coaches which since 1670 had opened regular communication
between London and the most important towns in the kingdom were we need
not doubt, drawn by horses of a heavy, massive type; for until the end
of the century, when McAdam introduced the system of road making known
by his name, no team of lighter horses would have been equal to the
work. The value and importance of the Shire horse therefore in no wise
decreased when the abolition of armour enabled our ancestors to employ a
lighter stamp of cavalry trooper.
The _London Evening Post_, of September 24th to 27th, 1737, contains
notice of a race which shows that endeavours were made to encourage the
breeding of active cart horses. It runs as follows:--
“To be run for on Finchley Common, in the county of Middlesex, on
Tuesday the 4th of October next, a Set of Lating Bells and Whip,
for five Horses, by Carthorses that constantly go in a Team, and to
be rid by the Carter that did constantly drive the Team; to ride
bareback’d, with the Bit-Halter and his own Cart-Whip; to run two
miles at a Heat, the best of three Heats, and to pay three
shillings entrance, and no less than five to start, and enter the
day of running between the Hours of Eight and Two, at the place
above-mentioned; the first Horse to have the Bells, and the second
the Whip.”
Here is the advertisement of another race of somewhat similar character
which, in spite of the element of jocularity in the conditions, would
help to stimulate the interest taken by carters in their charges. This
is taken from the _London Evening Post_, of September 4th to 6th,
1739:--
“On the Wash, near Newbury, in Berkshire, on Friday, the 22nd of
September, 1739, will be run for, a set of Cart Harness with Bells,
for five Horses (given by the Most Honourable the Marquess of
Carnarvon), by any Horse, Mare, or Gelding that shall be 15 hands
high at the least, and has been train’d to the Cart only, and in
that way continued to be used. None but Carters to ride, and to
ride with Bell Halters, long Cart Whips, in Straw Boots and
Carter’s Frocks, and without saddles; and all Riders to change
their Horses, &c. (mares or geldings), before starting at the
Starting-Post, and no Man to ride his own Horse (mare or gelding),
&c., the Horse (mare or gelding) &c., that comes in last to win the
Prize. And if any Dispute shall arise about the Change of Horses,
starting, running, &c., the same to be determined by the said
Marquis, his deputy, or deputies, and 2s. 6d. will be given by the
said Marquiss to each Rider.”
Marshall in his _Rural Economy of Norfolk_, published 1795, describes
the road races in which “the lead was the goal contended for:” in his
time this dangerous amusement, as he justly considered it, had been “a
good deal laid aside though not entirely left off.” The gist of
Marshall’s account has been given in a former little work.[B]
From _Heavy Horses_ (No. 3 of Messrs. Vinton’s Live Stock Handbooks
Series), we take the following interesting passage which shows the value
set upon good Shires, by their owners in the middle of the eighteenth
century:
“Only within the last year or so there went over to the great
majority ... an old stud groom, whose grandfather in his day was at
the head of a famous stud owned by people of the name of Gallemore,
who for generations had a celebrated Shire stud within two miles of
Calwich Abbey. At the time when Prince Charlie marched on Derby in
the famous ’45 this old retainer was forced to take refuge from the
invaders and place the stallions of this stud in a place of safety.
This he successfully did.”
The fear lest these animals should be appropriated by the invader
reminds us of the similar state of affairs three hundred years
previously, when the Wars of the Roses created a demand for horses which
private owners took extreme measures to avoid satisfying at their own
expense (pages 19-20).
This excerpt also furnishes us with a link between past and present; for
volume i. of the Shire Horse Stud Book contains mention of several of
the original Derbyshire stallions named Gallemore, which were no doubt
called after their owners. The stud referred to was stabled at Croxden
Abbey--“and from its courtyard the horses went forth into hiding. Though
it cannot be stated as an absolute fact, all the evidence points to the
famous Packington Blind Horse having been begotten at this same place”
(_Ibid._, p. 16).
The direct descendants of the Packington Blind Horse (believed to have
been in his full vigour from 1755 to 1770) are traced down to the year
1832.
It is certain that this breed, for which WAR HORSE, GREAT HORSE, OLD
ENGLISH BLACK HORSE or SHIRE HORSE are terms used at different periods
has been distributed for centuries through the district between the
Humber and the Cam, occupying the rich fen lands of Lincolnshire and
Cambridgeshire, and extending westward through the counties of
Huntingdon, Northampton, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Norwich and
Stafford, on to the Severn. It has also been extensively bred in the
low-lying pasture lands of England, in the counties both north and south
of those named, everywhere retaining its typical character subject to
slight variations produced by differences of climate, soil and food.
When Arthur Young, in the latter part of the last century, was
describing his tours through the counties of England and Scotland, he
mentions only two varieties of Cart Horse as deserving attention,
namely, the Large Black Old English Horse, “the produce principally of
the Shire counties in the heart of England and the Sorrel-coloured
Suffolk Punch for which the sandy tract of country near Woodbridge is
famous.”
The writer’s use of the word “Shire” will be remarked; we cannot doubt
but that a breed of horses whose home was in these counties would have
been known in other localities as “Shire Horses,” like the “Norfolk
Trotter” and “Suffolk Punch,” and at a later date the “Clydesdale;” the
only difference being that the Shire was
[Illustration: NORFOLK CART HORSE, DODMAN. Foaled 1780. After the
Picture by Woodward.]
distributed over a larger breeding area, which therefore furnished him
with a less strictly local name. Arthur Young, it will also be observed,
describes the breed as the “Large Black Old English Horse,” a name
which, as we have seen, had been in current use since at least the time
of Oliver Cromwell. The Eastern counties breed was known and described
as the Black Lincolnshire Horse. Black and grey, as Mr. Reynolds points
out, were held to indicate purity of breeding.
We have now reached a period when painters of animal pictures were
sometimes commissioned to execute portraits of fine examples of horses,
cattle and sheep. The engraving which faces this page is from a picture
by Mr. Woodward of a Norfolk Cart Horse called DODMAN (East Anglian for
“Snail”), of whose pedigree unfortunately no particulars exist, but
which was foaled in the year 1780. This horse was the property of an
ancestor of Anthony Hamond, Esq., and the portrait is preserved at his
family seat in the parish of Westacre near Brandon. The long hair-lock
hanging from the knee arrests the eye; this appendage, like a moustache
on the upper lip and a hair lock projecting from the back of the hock,
is regarded as the distinguishing mark of a strain or variety of the
Shire. DODMAN seems to have been used as a stallion in the district
whence was obtained, nearly a century later, HONEST TOM (1105), whose
portrait faces page 60.
Our next engraving is from a picture by George Morland, which was
probably painted at about the same date as that of DODMAN. That artist,
between 1790 and 1795, went into hiding in Leicestershire to escape from
his creditors; he took up his abode in the neighbourhood of Mr.
Bakewell’s famous Dishley Farm; and the horse portrayed resembles in no
small degree pictures of some of Mr. Bakewell’s stud, which at that
period had attained its highest repute. It is therefore exceedingly
likely that this represents a typical Leicestershire Cart Horse of the
time. It belongs to a type differing in some respects from DODMAN, being
longer in the body, finer about the head and lacking the hair-lock in
front of the knee, while the mane, tail, and feathering on the legs are
less profuse. These two portraits afford opportunity of comparing two
varieties of the Shire, the Fenland and the Leicestershire.
The _Sporting Magazine_ of 1796 contains an article headed “Operations
on British
[Illustration: A LEICESTER SHIRE HORSE (1790-1795); after the Picture by
George Morland.]
Horses,” in which the following passage occurs:--
“We have a large and strong breed in the more fertile and luxuriant
parts of the island; and there is no country can bring a parallel
to the strength and size of our horses destined for the draught, as
there are instances of single horses that are able to draw the
weight of three tons.”
The roads in England had been vastly improved since Holinshed described
the drawing powers of a team of horses in the latter half of the
sixteenth century; but we cannot doubt that the horse itself had also
improved, more especially during the eighteenth century when the Great
Horse was gradually becoming the servant of the farmer rather than that
of the soldier. The Statutes to which reference has been made
unquestionably did much to promote the building up of the Great Horse
breed and establish it as national; the counties and districts
enumerated in 32 of Henry VIII. quoted on p. 24 show very clearly how
wide was the area over which the breed was distributed three and a half
centuries ago; and it would be superfluous to lay stress upon the
increase of the area over which the Shire horse has been bred since that
remote day.