1848 Handwritten Game Keepers Diary General Wyndham Baron Leconfield Wigton UK

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1848 Handwritten Game Keepers Diary General Wyndham Baron Leconfield Wigton UK:
$214.49

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This is awonderful early handwritten English journal all about game keeping, shootingand events and outings taken by our author and others in the area and all of itwas kept by a man by the name of William Bell back in the 1840’s. The pictureyou see of the man is just one I copied off the web and I’ve written all abouthim below. The journal is original however and really has some incredibleprovenance.

On the front ofthe journal in handwriting it says, “1848No. 2. Journal to be kept by WilliamBell keeper Westward Parks.” Then inside you’ll find a beautiful book platewith the name “Wyndham BaronLeconfield.” Before I get to the contents, I want to share a little withyou concerning my research concerning this journal.

I found a Westward Park in some of the early directoriesand it was located in Wigton. Then I found some incredible information thatpulled all of the names together and it was found in an 1847 CumberlandDirectory (which I found on the web), and I quote….

“Thehamlets of Brackenthwaite and Craggs, the former 2 ½ and the later 3 miles S.E. of Wigton, are also in Ropsley quarter, which contains 2845 acres offreehold land, rated to the poor, in 1847, at 2851 pounds, 10s., belonging toSir Wastel Brisco, General Wyndham, the heiress of the late Sir P. Musgrave,Henry A. Lea, Esq., Mr. Richardson, Mr. Bewley, and several resident yeomen. Inthe village of Rosley is a neat dwelling, the residenceand property of Mr. Joseph Rook, who also owns the Heights, and estate inWoodside quarter. Population of Rosley, 279. Farmers listed at Brackenthwaite:William Bell farmer and game keeper to Gen. Wyndham…..”

Now it all makessense; the writing on the front and the bookplate. So Bell was working for George Wyndham, 1stBaron Leconfield (1787-1869), who was a British soldier and peer. It is hisphoto that I found on the web and copied it here: Here is his short but veryesteemed background and I quote….

“Adirect descendant of Sir John Wyndham, he was the eldest natural son of GeorgeO\'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont, and Elizabeth Ilive. His parents weremarried in 1801 but had no sons after their marriage. George Wyndham enteredthe Royal Navy in 1799 as a midshipman in HMS Amelia. In 1802 he transferred tothe Army as a Cornet in the 5th Dragoon Guards, promoted in 1803 to Lieutenantin the 3rd Dragoon Guards. In 1805 he was a Captain in the 72nd Highlanders andADC to Sir Eyre Coote who was Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. In 1807 he was DAAG toEarl Cathcart at the Bombardment of Copenhagen; in 1809, as Captain in the 1stFoot Guards, he took part in the Walcheren Expedition; in 1811 he was a Majorin the 78th Regiment and the 12th Light Dragoons; and in 1812 he wasLieutenant-Colonel commanding the 20th Light Dragoons at the siege of CiudadRodrigo. The earldom of Egremont became extinct on the death of the 4th Earl ofEgremont in 1845 and this George Wyndham was adopted as the heir to thesubstantial Egremont estates, including Petworth House in Sussex. In 1859he was raised to the peerage as Baron Leconfield, of Leconfield in the EastRiding of the County of York.

GeorgeWyndham married Mary Fanny Blunt, daughter of Reverend William Blunt, in 1815.He died in March 1869, aged 81, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldestsurviving son Henry. His third son, the Hon. Percy Scawen Wyndham, was thefather of the politician and man of letters George Wyndham.”

On a side note,another genealogy site it says that George was born illegitimately.

As far as thejournal goes it has 45 handwritten pages and the first 6 pages give a briefdescription (written by Bell)of what this book will contain. On the very first page it says, “1848: A Journal of observations of factsconnected with game of all sorts, birds, beasts, and fishes and anycircumstances of Natural History that may be worthy to be recorded. Mode ofkeeping the journal. It must be understood that no fact is to be recorded thatthe person does not personally observe and know to be true. All entries shouldbe made at the time of observation and nothing trusted to memory, which isoften treacherous and leads to errors. The chief use of these annual recordsconsists in their truth and exactness. The following are some of the subjectsto which attention must be give, and each subject entered at its own letter inthe ledger……”

Then the“observation” entries, of which I’ve shared a few examples here:

“CucooOn the 4th May. I heard the Cucoo in the high park. Curlew on the 25thof August. I shot a Curlew on Thistlebottom although a great number breed onour ground, it is the first I ever killed after the twelfth of August. Aboutthe last week of July or first week of August you may see dozens of them butthey always leave the ground before the twelfth for the sea shore. I frequentlyfind a nest they lay four eggs. The color of the Plover’s egg but much largerbeing the size of a very large duck egg. I like to see plenty of Curlew’s. Theyalways give warning if any person be on the ground with dogs. You may hear themwhistling and baiting the intruders for a mile.”

“Shootingin General. On the 5th Jan. The Gen. and Mr. Laverick came to shootin the woods. The first day Mr. Laverick had fourteen shots and killed seven, 4Woodcocks and 3 Cock Pheasants. The Gen. had no chances almost that day. Thenext day Mr. Bragg came. I don’t know how many shots Mr. Laverick had that day.He killed 1 Woodcock, 1 Wen Phes. and a hare or two. The first shots wasmisses. The Gen. killed 1 Woodcock, 1 Cock Phes. The best shot I ever saw andfive or six hares. If the Gen. had had a dog or two he would have killed agreat deal more. I never saw anyone yet that could shoot the Gen. in the woods.They are often very quick and ugly shots. The more difficult the chance, themore sure is the Gen. to kill. I don’t think so much of Mr. Laverick’s shootingin the woods. He seems so agitated when his dogs has a point. I had often heardit said that he never missed but I soon saw different. The dogs made a point onRealthwaite Green at a Woodcocks. The Gen. killed it very quick when it washalf way to the ground…..The Gen., me and a boy was standing in the line. He(Laverick) hit the Gen. but not to drawblood. He need not have shot it as the Gen. had disabled it before we couldhave taken it up. Mr. Laverick has a very awkward way in carrying his gun……”

“Snaringon Monday 17th April. Hodgson the policeman of Wigton caught Scottthe besom maker that we had a warrant out against. It was in Oct. when wecaught him. He was fined 1 pound and 15 sixpences, all the Potters in Wigtonsubscribed for him and paid the fine. I believe the potters and broom makersare most of them poachers. The best plan is to keep them out of our woodsaltogether. They only give a few shillings for the Birch tops every year.”

“Phest.And Par shooting. On the 6th Oct. the Gen., Mr. Bragg, Capt. Grantand Capt. Flemming came to shoot at Westward. They shot two day. They killed 15hares, 14 partridges and 2 Pheasants. The Gen. and Mr. Bragg beat the twoCaptains.”

Towards the backof the book is a section that has 8 handwritten pages and it begins, “NB. The original Code of Instructionsgiven to the keepers in 1840. Should always be in the possession of each keeperand constantly referred to.” I’ve scanned a few pages of this.

Quite theinteresting handwritten journal with some great provenance. The cover is veryworn and the outside spine is torn up. The binding is still good as are thepages but there is foxing. It measures about 4 ¾” x 7 ¼”.