This was Tom Hill's bugle
when he was huntsman
for the Surrey Hounds.

He preferred this bugle
to a normal, straight, hunting horn.

Tom took large numbers of huntsmen
galloping through the fields of Croydon
with packs of hounds
on the hunt for a fox.

Tom blew the bugle
to control and encourage the hounds
and to signal to the huntsmen.

The author's description of a hunt
is read by an actor:

"The town of Croydon
furnishes an interesting scene
on a hunting morning,
particularly on a Saturday.

At an early hour,
groups of grinning cits
may be seen pouring in.

Bills are paid, pocket pistols filled,
sandwiches stowed away,
they mount, and away.
Trot trot, bump bump,
over Addington Heath.

At length the hounds approach the cover.
"Yoy in there!", shouts Tom Hill,
who has long hunted this crack pack.
And Crack! Crack! Crack!
go the whips of some scores of sportsmen.
Yelp! Yelp! Yelp! howl the hounds
and the woods begin to resound
with the shouts of: "Yoicks!";
" Push him up!"; "Wind him!"

At length,
the hounds' discordant bickerings
rend the skies,
and now dozens of sportsmen
view with delight the quarrels
of the hounds,
as they dispute with each other
the possession of their victims' remains.

The members of the Surrey
are the people that combine
business with pleasure,
and even in the severest run
can find time for talk
about the price of stocks of stockings
and every one agrees
that the fox has not only been killed,
but killed in a most sportsmanlike,
workmanlike, business-like manner,
and long and loud are the congratulations".

Tom was a local man.
He was a huntsman for 45 years,
and lots of his family
worked on the hunt as well.

Croydon was a popular place
for fox-hunting.
Most of the huntsmen
were City bankers
who came down especially
for a country experience.

They hired their horses
from local livery stables.
like the Greyhound Hotel
on the High Street.

To find out more about Tom Hill
and the Surrey Hounds

You can visit the Research Room to look at:

•Street Directories such as the 1853 and 1859
directories which mention Tom Hill

•Books such as "The Old Surrey Hounds"
by Humphrey R Taylor

The Research Room is on the
lower ground floor of the Clocktower,
It is open Tuesday-Saturday
10:30am-5pm.