End of the Ecclesfield Beagles

Over the last week, sabs, moorland monitors and wildlife lovers in the South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire area have marked the end of the Ecclesfield Beagles.

This lesser seen hunt seem to have fizzled out. They’ve been around since the 1900s, but spent the last 30 odd years of scraping by out of master Edward Outram’s pocket while hiding away in Barlow and Grove and Rufford country. It seems a local falling out may have been the final straw for these hare killers.

The fact they had 3 huntsmen in the last 5 years and didnt bother with New Year or Boxing Day meets may also have been a factor.

Sabs from Sheffield came across them often, since the 80s. In the early 90s one of two groups in the city focussed on them. They gained a reputation as one of the quieter hunts in the area, but were still ‘murderous psycopaths’ when it came to killing hares. This view of them remained into the noughties and beyond, meaning small groups of sabs in big vehicles (with tinted windows) could often show up at kennels and force hunting to be cancelled.

In recent times, the Ecclesfield often took advantage of their lack of presence to take to Peak District grouse moors near Sheffield and hunt protected mountain hare; welcomed by the notorious Fitzwilliam, Moscar and Broomhead estates. Of course, they packed up whenever sabs found them attempting this. Once last season, their knackered old hound trailer didn’t even bother continuing to the meet, after sabs from the Sheffield and Peak District groups were seen in the area. They sat and waited as all 4 hunt followers traipsed off. Its a wonder that this was the third time they received sab attention during the 2022/23 season!

Mostly, the Ecclesfield relied on others to boost their stature. A brief merger with the Holme Valley beagles as the ‘Wharncliffe Beagles’ failed in the early twenty-teens. In fact to this day they can still thank the ALF for helping them hit headlines, when the majority of the pack were liberated from the old kennels in 1985 – probably the Eccy Beagles best achievement.

As we know, hunters love tradition. So its great that we can all rejoice in this great hare hunting tradition of completely going down the pan. The Eccy Beagles – Another example of the hunting world being well and truly on its knees.