Gone away but not forgotten

The disbanding of packs is by no means a modern phenomenon; it is simply part of the ever-evolving tapestry of our hunting heritage

- William Cursham

The news of a hunt disbanding or merging can make one feel disheartened but there is comfort in the realisation that this phenomenon is nothing new. It was something I was mulling over when driving down the M1 towards London. Just past the M1/M25 junction, heading towards Watford, out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of the village of Aldenham on the edge of my sat-nav.

Why did that name seem familiar? Then it struck me: there was a pack of harriers called the Aldenham, which disbanded in 2006. Could the Aldenham that I had spotted on my sat-nav be the same Aldenham that this pack of harriers had been named after? Curiosity piqued, it was time to rediscover some of those other packs that have disappeared into the mists of time, to be briefly revealed by a spot of research like distant stars appearing from behind clouds on a stormy night.

There are many tools available to us in the digital age but there is nothing like a good book, and I immediately struck gold with Eric Edwards' Hare & Hounds: The Aldenham Harriers. This work is a treasure, charting the history of the Hunt from its origins in the 1870s to the beginning of the 21st century.

From Edwards' work it was possible to build up a really good picture of the Aldenham Harriers. Formed in 1878, this pack had indeed been named after the Aldenham I had noticed on my journey. Its country centred on St Albans and extended down to Watford. Hunt reports in newspapers record that in the late 19th century they had regular Meets and excellent runs in Bricket Wood and the Munden estate, which are now sandwiched in completely unhuntable country between the M1 and M25.