File:3rdDukeOfRichmond WithTheCharltonHunt ByGeorgeStubbs 1759-60 GoodwoodHouse.jpg

English: Goodwood House catalogue entry: The 3rd Duke of Richmond with the Charlton Hunt

By George Stubbs, 1759-60, oil on canvas, 140 x 246cm / 55 x 97in. The Duke, the tall figure on the horse at the centre, is turning towards his brother, Lord George Lennox, whose back is slightly towards the viewer. On the left is General Jones, his horse leaping over the gate. The gentleman at the gallop beyond may be Sir John Miller. Every hound is a portrait. The hunt is seen beyond, in full cry.

It was because of the hunting kennels at Charlton, a small village three miles north of the house, that the 1st Duke of Richmond came to West Sussex more than three centuries ago. Still, today, fragments of ancient Charlton Forest, where the early hunt followed the chase, survive.

And now, more than a century after hunting came to an end at Goodwood, the Charlton Hunt has returned. On February 6 2016, a one-off meet of the Charlton, restricted to 150 followers, was held to celebrate what was once the grandest hunt in the land. “Sport has always been integral to life here at Goodwood, as well as sharing that love of sport with others,” said Lord March. “As the 1st Duke of Richmond had bought Goodwood as a base from which to enjoy the fox hunting with his friends, I thought it was time we revived that very first sport for one special weekend. I felt it was also important to celebrate the Charlton Hunt because it was the first major fox hunt in the world and, in its day, was the most famous in the country.”[1] Famous blue Charlton Hunt coats and yellow and red livery of Duke of Richmond[]