May 2023

The Field

Champion of Britain's countryside heritage

The Field1 min read
The Field
Editor Alexandra Henton Deputy editor Ed Wills Features editor Madeleine Silver Acting features editor Charlotte Mackaness Production editor Sarah Potts Head of design Dean Usher Art editor Steve Mumby Picture editors Max Tremlett and Karen Whitehead
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Long live The King and Queen
FOR many of us the event taking place in Westminster Abbey on 6 May will be the first coronation we have witnessed. Over 900 years the Abbey has borne witness to successive coronations, most often conducted – as this one will be – by the Archbishop o
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Field Follies
Spending just 30 minutes a week with a dog can make you more successful, according to new research. A survey found that 78% of canine-lovers have noted an increase in their self-esteem, with 59% claiming that the confidence boost extended to the work
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Welsh Game Shooting Restrictions Strongly Opposed By Organisations
Proposals to restrict game shooting in Wales have been strongly rebuked by shooting organisations. On 27 March, Natural Resources Wales, on behalf of the Welsh government, launched a 12-week public consultation on its proposals to license gamebird re
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Wild Justice Woodcock Petition Fails
Wild Justice has been criticised for wasting Government time after pushing for another debate in Parliament, this time on limiting the shooting season for woodcock. The campaign group hoped its petition would convince MPs to push back the start of th
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One Good Deed…
A group of Scottish landholdings committed to rewilding has recorded dramatic ecological and economic impacts in its first two years. The Northwoods Rewilding Network, which has grown to 55 partners, has reported that more than 108,000 native trees h
The Field1 min readMusic
Skylark Recordings For New Archive
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, the RVW Society is gathering examples of skylark song from across the UK and further afield. Taking its name from the popular work The Lark Ascending, written by
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News In Brief
The Forestry Commission has updated the operational zones and boundaries to manage the spread of oak processionary moth (OPM). OPM caterpillars and their nests contain hairs that can cause itchy rashes along with eye and throat irritations. The cater
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May Diary
Gloucestershire Tel: 01454 218375 badminton-horse.co.uk Mall Galleries, London Tel: 020 7930 6844 therp.co.uk Westminster Abbey, London Harrogate, North Yorkshire Email: info@northernshootingshow.co.uk northernshootingshow.co.uk Newmarket, Suffolk Te
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Millden Estate Loses General Licence
One of Britain’s best grouse moors has had its right to use the general licence for controlling predators withdrawn after a police investigation found three dead buzzards in 2019. Millden estate, located in the Angus Glens, has 20,000 acres of moorla
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The Field’s Almanac
Flower: Lily of the valley/hawthorn Pink Moon: 5 May Harvest: Garlic May is named after the Roman goddess Maia, who oversaw the growth of plants. On 29 May people traditionally wear oak apples or oak leaves pinned to their clothing to remember King C
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Field Kitchen Kit
Ubiquitous they may be – chafing dishes are found everywhere from school canteens to the most splendid regal banquets – but for good reason. This piece of kitchen kit is a cook’s best friend, especially for social types who love to entertain large nu
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Food & drink
RESERVATION Where: 4 Chapel Street, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 6HA What: Not so much field-to-fork dining but ‘nose to tail’. The Woodsman is all about using what’s in season, harvesting from the wild and not letting anything go to waste
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Kit To Covert
♦ EMAIL CHARLOTTE.MACKANESS@FUTURENET.COM An updated Calatrava model with Clous de Paris hobnail pattern, rose gold hour-markers and case. Manually wound with 65-hour power reserve. Timeless. ♦ Price £25,720 ♦ Tel 020 7437 5050 ♦ boodles.com Nibble t
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The Reverend Dr Jamie Hawkey
THE Reverend Dr Jamie Hawkey, Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey and a Chaplain to HM The King, goes off to put the kettle on. Through the windows of his sitting room I can see a magnolia tree flowering in a walled garden, where a narrow lawn now
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Faces
The clay shots of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, who returned to EJ Churchill for their annual Varsity match and to compete for The Field Cup, were greeted by a windless and overcast day: ideal conditions for high scoring on a course of 10
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Letters
Write to: The Editor, The Field, Future Publishing PLC, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR Email: field.secretary@futurenet.com LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY OR SPACE There are about half a million people in the UK holding a firearms or sh
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Watching The Fir Fly
IF THERE is anybody who consistently sees the wood for the trees it is forestry expert John Clegg, who has been involved in more than 3,000 woodland sales and acquisitions during 40 years in the business. When Clegg, who is now a director of Tustins,
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Country Estate Of The Month
STAR BUY This Welsh estate comes with 639 acres, including an in-hand shoot and extensive coastal frontage with a private beach. The main Grade II-listed house has 11 bedrooms and a flat, and there is a courtyard of traditional stone barns. The in-ha
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Six Of The Best: Counties With Royal Residences
BRIMPTON, READING, BERKSHIRE A Grade II-listed house in the Royal county of Berkshire, dating from the early 19th century, together with a separate one-bedroom cottage. With views over the Kennet Valley, the four-bedroom property has been extensively
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Stuck In The Clays
Dear Freddie, A REALLY good shot becomes one through constant practice, and for the next three months of the summer I do urge you to take advantage of the opportunities for clay pigeon shooting that are available these days to young shots. It is all
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Bursting With Patriotic Pride
When our late beloved Queen was crowned in 1953, it rained. However, such was the post-war jubilation felt by the nation that no amount of drizzle could dampen the enthusiasm of the enormous crowds that trooped to London to watch the procession. Sinc
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Subscription Offer 6 Months For £24.99*
Celebrating 170 1853-2023 years Delivered direct to your door ➔ Online: thefieldsubs.co.uk/B64M ➔ Telephone: 0330 333 1113 Quote code B64M Lines open Monday to Friday 8:30am-7pm, and Saturday 10am-3pm (excluding Bank Holidays) ➔ Post: Complete the FR
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The King In His Country
ONE CAN only imagine how sobering it must be to be born an heir to the throne. From the moment of arrival into the world, an entire kingdom is only a heart-beat away. Our King, Charles Philip Arthur George, has borne such expectation since 9.14pm on
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The Welsh Crown Jewels
THE WELSH countryside has been shaped over the centuries by its rural community, a sense of common culture and a passion for sport. Shooting is fundamentally tied to this landscape. In his foreword to the Countryside Alliance’s Shooting in Wales – Fo
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A Fine Cross To Bear
FOR MANY hunting enthusiasts a visit to the Wales & Border Counties Hound Show at the Royal Welsh Showground on the last Thursday in June is a highlight of summer. There are several rings for different hound breeds at the spectacular setting within a
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Brave, Spirited And Doggedly Determined
ON A SLIGHT bend in the road to the ferry ports for Ireland in Pembrokeshire, a small sign indicates a village destination a few miles distant. It may mean nothing to the weary traveller but for the devoted aficionados of a small, doughty, feisty and
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Nature Writing Competition 2023
For more information on The Field’s nature writing competition 2023 please visit: thefield.co.uk/nature-writing ■
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The Simple Joy Of Cooking Outside
THERE is a rather beautiful moment in the famous 1969 fly-on-the-wall documentary Royal Family, a moment that many Field readers will be familiar with. It is of a simple – and decidedly not grand – family barbecue on the banks of a Scottish river, pr
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Match The Hatch?
TROUT fishing is a battle of wits, pitting wily angler against crafty fish. It is an undisputed fact that it takes a canny fisher to catch a canny fish. We know this to be true because clever fisherfolk write books and articles in which their sophist
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Pheasant, Chorizo And Cold-water Prawn Paella
With its origins lying with the shepherds in the wilds of southern Spain, paella is the original one-pot dish. For me, it is a New-Year’s-Day-beach-party tradition. Packed correctly, you will feel like a culinary Mary Poppins, as it is perfectly poss
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Wood-fired Lamb With Greek Salad
Perfect for a celebratory Coronation lunch, the lamb can happily sit over the smoking embers for a few hours, requiring only a few turns now and then while you pop a cork with the family. As a nod to the Royal ‘barbecue king’ himself, I am serving th
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Mussels On The Beach With Foraged Greens
Along with the paella, this is one of my go-to outdoor feasting dishes. It requires little preparation, not much kit and has a suitably celebratory feel. There are a number of simple coastal greens you may find, especially in spring and summer. I cam
The Field6 min read
A Brush With Royalty
WITHOUT Francesco del Giocondo there would be no Mona Lisa, and Michelangelo depended on Lorenzo de’ Medici during his career. For centuries princes have known that even those who are not great artists themselves can still be a vital part of the proc
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A Royal Welcome
With many gifts and special celebrations planned for the Coronation, the British Sporting Art Trust was one of the quickest off the mark, unveiling a new Charles Church painting at Palace House in Newmarket’s National Horseracing Museum in the spring
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The Royal Passions And Patronages
Each monarch brings fresh creative energy to the ancient institution, expressing both personal and cultural values through their chosen foundations and patronages. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a review of Royal patronages has been under
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A Living Ring Of Sharpened Steel
AS HM King Charles III’s Coronation procession clatters, creaks, clanks and stamps its way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and back on 6 May, the world will gaze at Great Britain PLC doing something at which it is still world-beating: loo
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The Kings Of Savile Row
DURING the course of his very long apprenticeship, His Majesty King Charles III has been a far-sighted champion of many causes, from the needs of the natural environment to concerns for the built environment. But of all the areas in which The King ha
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Ringing In The Old
WHEN HM The King is crowned at Westminster Abbey, he will have the Sovereign’s Ring placed on his right hand. It is a clunking bit of bling, the Union flag made out of diamonds, sapphires and rubies, and often called the ‘marriage ring of England’. H
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The Crowning Glory
HOW MANY monarchs have been crowned at Westminster Abbey? Is it 38 or 39? Intriguingly, we don’t know. William the Conqueror was crowned on Christmas Day in 1066 but it’s possible that Harold Godwinson, the Saxon king who got an arrow in his eye at H
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Birds With Grace And Favour
SWANS are the Eliza Doolittle of the bird world: elegant and graceful in appearance but far from easy on the ear and always up for a fight. Yet despite this, there isn’t another bird so laden with symbolism. Sure, Christmas is replete with robins, th
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Native Swans
There are three species of swan in the UK: whooper, Bewick’s and mute. Distinguishing between the first two can be hard but for the fact the Bewick’s is slightly smaller. The other differences – in beak shape and the speed with which their wings beat
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The Spectacle Of Swan Upping
Every year, during the third week of July, a flotilla of skiffs embarks on a five-day journey up a 79-mile stretch of the River Thames from Sunbury Lock to Abingdon. While once largely a ceremonial event, it has now become more focused on education a
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A Love For The Linden
THE narrator in Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past famously sets off a train of memories when he eats a cake dipped in tea. He is reminded of Sunday mornings as a child when his Aunt Léonie would crumble a madeleine in her lime flower tea and
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Norman’s Conquest
THEIR ponies were cheerful little shitlands. The children – mainly girls – grew up to manage careers and families and anything else that needed sorting out. The adults ran around picking up cast shoes and fallen riders and the pieces generally. Yet i
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Kippered!
▸ Tonda: a New Forest thug belonging to Thelwell’s daughter, Penny Jones, who thought himself a cut above the average Thelwell pony. ▸ Smokey: each generation of Royal children goes through its Thelwell moments on the family’s adored Shetland ponies.
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Wallis’ Tour Through England And Wales, A New Geographical Pastime
A map board game with hand-coloured engraved paper on linen, with each player having a marker and four counters, and the game requiring an eight-sided teetotum spinner. The places and their descriptions are listed at the sides of the playing surface
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Country Queries
Q I have recently found a chapeau claque, a collapsible opera hat, which had been left hidden in a cupboard that had belonged to my late father. It is in need of a little attention, particularly the band. Who could assist? VD, Essex A For a full rest
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Franchi Esprit side-by-side
THIS month we look at a Franchi-branded Esprit 20-bore side-by-side from GMK. It has a single selective trigger, multi-chokes and weighs just 5lb 12oz. Our test gun has 28in steel-shot-friendly, fleur-de-lys-proofed barrels equipped with a traditiona
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Colour Outside The Lines
IT’S LONG been argued that a good horse can’t be a bad colour, and I reckon that’s generally true with gundogs, too. However, most of us have preferences, so when it comes to choosing the colour of our next puppy we have generally made up our minds b
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Captain Amy Cooper
AT TWO years old I remember being sat on a little grey pony named Smokey. I haven’t wanted to get off a horse since. My parents took me for weekly lessons at our local riding school. Eventually, they were worn down and we got a loan pony, Milly. She
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Staying True To Cannon
I FEEL as if I dodged a high-velocity bullet last week. What happened is this. Most of the locals are in delirious agreement that I am one sandwich short of the proverbial picnic for squandering such few spare pounds as I ever have on ancient arms an
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Art In The Field
THERE is a recent work by Piers Browne that I would love to see, as he describes it: “I have been doing a big drawing of birds in a wide land- and seascape, and the water is very important. You have the space and the sea and the movement of birds in
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Become A Patron
Patrons are given access to the collection, our expertise and a sneak peek at what goes on behind the scenes. Patrons are also invited to a series of social occasions across our sites. The programme for 2023 is already shaping up with the first exclu
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A Royal Pistol Returns
IN THIS Coronation year the Royal Armouries is proud to announce the acquisition of a rare royal pistol once owned by one of the British monarchs least represented in our collections, King James II. Arms and armour have had a greater impact on geopol
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The Arch, Fonthill
THE ARCH at Fonthill is cartoon grand: a soaring masterpiece built in 1755 to mark the entrance to the original Fonthill estate and welcome a steady flow of Georgian A-listers from Turner to Byron who visited this rolling corner of Wiltshire. Perched
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The Boot Room
Woven in Lancashire and made in Nottingham, this 100% cotton tablecloth is ideal for coronation parties with its sunny colour and jaunty frill. Later, use it to brighten up shoot lunches – the mustard colour will hide splodges of the condiment. It is
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A Good Weed Is Its Own Reward
AH, the merry month of May. How much we look forward to it, since it always feels like the time of greatest promise in our gardens. You can almost taste the optimism in the air. The late tulips are in full flight, herbaceous perennials are in fresh g
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Coronation Stricken
SO, there we were on our way to the Glyndebourne Opera Festival. My old chum Charlie had assembled a fine crowd to join him and Mrs Charlie for the evening. We were travelling from many starting points, picnic baskets groaning with fine comestibles –
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Coronation Kitchen
AS THE Prince of Wales, King Charles III regularly championed British food and drink producers. So this month, I have used a few of their products for inspiration. In 1999 at Highgrove he brought together cheesemakers, cheesemongers, government minis
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From The Archives
SOONER or later the shape of things to come is revealed to each of us. To a prince who is next-in-succession to the throne, the revelation is made soon rather than late. On a day when the whole grown-up world rejoices, there must occur to a boy aged
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Parks And Recreation
The writer’s surname might be something of a double-edged sword. Association with his actor brothers and his explorer distant cousin is good marketing but such links could divert attention from Jake Fiennes’ expertise, honed over three decades in lan
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Mercedes Benz C300d AMG Line
THERE was a time (and you may find this hard to believe, kids) when the SUV didn’t exist. It was estate cars that did all the hard work back then. My childhood was full of Cortinas and Mini Travellers doing school runs and shopping, Volvos being very

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