History of Leadon Vale
Formed in 1967 by David Mann as a privately owned pack. David and his first wife, Barbara, had had Basset Hounds from 1958 and showed them under the Spurbridge prefix. Most of their stock came from Miss Peggy Keevil’s Grims, which she showed and hunted. Peggy encouraged David to form his own pack and drafted him some Grims hounds.
The Basset Hound, as a distinct breed, had almost died out in England by 1921 and the Basset Hound Club was disbanded. Bassets survived largely because of the few Hunts that remained using outcrossed varieties. Miss Keevil acquired some of these from the Westerby and the Wick & District, as well as some show Basset Hounds. After the WWII, Miss Keevil set about re-creating the Basset Hound as a hound that could hunt as well as show. This involved outcrossing again, including the use of the Westerby and Wick bassets, the Bloodhound, and of imports from France. The latter were another distinct basset breed, the Basset Artésien-Normand (BAN). Her improved Basset Hound rapidly became successful in the show ring and became the recognised Standard in the UK. In 1951 the Grims started hunting around Newbury, using the same hounds as the ones which Miss Keevil showed. In 1954 she helped to re-form the Basset Hound Club (BHC) and, in 1958, the Masters of Basset Hounds Association (MBHA). She also loaned hounds to the BHC Working Branch, the precursor of the present Albany.
In 1925 the Basset Hound was recognised in the USA. The English Standard was a rejected. In 1963, this US Standard was adopted as the International Standard for the Basset Hound and was accepted by the Kennel Club. It called for a heavier and lower hound than the original English Standard. This led to Miss Keevil to stop showing and breeding Basset Hounds and to cease loaning them to the BHC. Instead, she encouraged the formation of new Hunts by drafting her hounds to them. The first was the Fourshires in 1963 and then the Leadon Vale in 1967. The last draft of Grims hounds to the Leadon was in 1969. Both of these Hunts have continued to have a policy of retaining the characteristics of the Basset Hound type which Miss Keevil had proven, whilst improving stamina.
The Leadon were originally kennelled at Cobbs Cross, near the Ledbury Hunt kennels, the home of David Mann. A country was registered, primarily in that of the Ledbury Foxhounds, and the Hunt became a member of the MBHA. The uniform was then a buff jacket with blue facings, blue stockings and a blue hard hat. A blue jacket with buff facings was for evening dress. Mr. Ernest Mansell was the first Joint Master and Miss Rosemary Philpson-Stowe the first Chairman and President.
In 1970 David Mann contracted salmonella and had a heart attack. Greg Tustin, David Philpotts and Harry Bainbridge took on the hunting and, in 1971, Brian Wilson and Terry Mayo succeeded Ernie as Joint Masters. Fifteen couple were then in kennels. Brian had to retire as Joint Master in 1974 because of the petrol crisis. Roy Smith, David Taylor and Mike Tytherleigh took on Joint Masterships. By then, twenty couple were in kennels. David Mann’s breeding policy had succeeded in retaining the cry, scenting ability and fine head of the Grims in a well boned and athletic hound. This had been achieved by careful selection of pure bred Basset Hounds of his own, the Grims and other breeders.
In 1980 Miss Keevil retired to Devon. David and Barbara decided to move to Devon to care for her. David Mann retained ownership and Joint Mastership of the hounds with David Oliver taking on the posts of Senior Joint Master and Huntsman. Seventeen couple of hounds were moved into livery with the Croome Foxhounds. The policy of the Hunt remained to “maintain a pure bred pack of French Bassets, from which the worst faults of the breed had been eliminated by careful breeding”. The hunted country was extended by loan from the Warwickshire and the Wyre Forest Beagles. In 1984 David Mann kindly gave ownership of the hounds to the Committee. In 1986 David Philpotts joined David Oliver as Joint Master.
In 1994 the Hunt voted to become a Committee Hunt and the Masters resigned. Anthony Greenwood and Charlie Grinnall became the new Joint Masters with Charlie hunting hounds. The new Constitution had written into it the original breeding policy of a Basset Artésien-Normand type hound In 1996 Charlie Grinnall retired as Master and Huntsman and Steven Evans took on the hunting. Steven was appointed Joint Master in 1997 with Moyra Major. In 2000 Anthony retired as Joint Master and was succeeded by Michael Whitehead.
Hunt Uniform
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Originally all Masters and hunt staff wore buff jackets with blue facings and all wore blue hard hats. However, Master David Oliver introduced flat blue caps and navy blue hunting for Masters. So today the uniform is buff coats with blue facings for hunt staff and flat blue caps, and navy blue coats for Masters, again with flat blue caps. |
List of Masters
| D Mann Esq | 1967-1996 |
| E C Mansell Esq | 1968-1969 |
| T G Mayo Esq | 1971-1972 |
| B E Wilson Esq | 1971-1973 |
| R S Smith Esq | 1974-1980 |
| R Taylor Esq | 1974-1974 |
| M W Tyherleigh Esq | 1974-1975 |
| D Taylor | 1976-1978 |
| C J Welch Esq | 1978-1979 |
| G Tustin Esq | 1979-1980 |
| D K Oliver Esq | 1980-1996 |
| D J Philpotts | 1986-1993 |
| C H Grinnell Esq | 1994-1996 |
| A J Greenwood Esq | 1994-2000 |
| B Read Esq | 1996-1997 |
| Mrs M P Major | 1997-2001 |
| S Evans Esq | 1999-To date |
| M Whitehead Esq | 2000-To date |
© Brian Wilson, 2004.
