The 7th Duchess of Newcastle

As a highly respected dog breeder and conformation show judge, the Duchess had a significant influence on the fox terrier and borzoi, says Sir Johnny Scott

- Sir Johnny Scott

WHEN HENRY Pelham-Clinton, 7th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, married KathleenFlorence May Candy in 1889, the Duke and his new Duchess shared a common interest in breeding and showing dogs, which had become ever more fashionable from the middle of the 19th century.

Mobility during the Industrial Revolution, when roads improved and railways opened the country up, led to agricultural shows and great advances in all livestock, as the best in one area were selected to improve those in another. Dog shows became phenomenally popular after the first — purely for setters and pointers — was organised by the gunmaker WR Pape and held at the annual Newcastle Cattle Sale in 1859, with JH Walsh, editor of The Field, as one of the judges. Mixed breed class shows followed at Birmingham and London in 1860 and 1861; the Kennel Club was formed in 1873 to provide a consistent set of rules governing dog showing; and in 1891 the entrepreneur and Spratt’s dog biscuit salesman Charles Cruft held the first ‘Cruft’s show’ at the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington. Crufts has grown to become a world-famous four-day event, now held at the NEC in Birmingham with 24,000 entries but even the first show in London attracted nearly 2,500, made up of 36 different breeds.