FORAGER (AL10004)
A life sized verdigris brass of ‘Forager’, Lord Spencer’s
favourite foxhound on a solid mahogany base. Voted
the best Foxhound in England, part of the Pytcheley
Pack. The original by Adrian Jones, commissioned by
John Poyntz, 5th Earl Spencer in 1893.
The Billiard Room. The original Victorian.
COUNTRY PURSUITS
The British are renowned for their love of dogs and field
sports, two passions that are combined in the poignant
19th century statue of Forager the foxhound that today
stands in the Billiard Room at Althorp.
Forager was the 5th Earl Spencer’s favourite hound. The
statue is a commemorative piece, sentimental even. A
keen fox hunter and master of the local Pytcheley Pack
for many years, Earl Spencer’s devotion to hunting was
such that the Althorp records show they hunted five
days a week during the 1876 – 1877 season.
Charles, the current Earl Spencer, has been quoted
previously as saying: “There cannot be many other
dogs whose master had their likeness cast, lifesized,
in bronze. He stands today in the Billiard Room at
Althorp, tail erect, waiting in vain for someone to score
a century break.”
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