Founded in 1883, Radnor Hunt is the oldest continuously active hunt club in the United States, recognized by the Master of Foxhounds Association of America.
History of Radnor Hunt
1883-1915
1916-1930
1931-1945
1946-1962
1963-1999
2000 to present
Founded in 1883, Radnor Hunt is the oldest continuously active fox hunt in the United States, recognized by the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America (MFHA). Originally located in Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, in 1931 the club moved seven miles west to the small village of White Horse in Willistown Township, Chester County, near the borough of Malvern. In 2004, Radnor acquired additional hunting territory in Chester and Delaware counties and the northern part of the state of Delaware when hunts in those areas disbanded.
Except where noted, the images that follow are of documents and photographs from the Radnor Hunt Archives, which collects, preserves, and makes available the official records and other materials documenting the history of Radnor Hunt.
Origins of Radnor Hunt
Radnor Hunt traces its origins to a group of fox hunters who began hunting with a pack of hounds owned by Thomas Mather in Radnor Township, Delaware County, around 1880. There were many “private packs” and “farmer packs” in the Philadelphia western suburbs in this period—packs of hounds maintained by wealthy landowners or local farmers who enjoyed fox hunting. In December 1883 the group that had been hunting with Thomas Mather’s hounds established Radnor Hunt, with James Rawle and Horace B. Montgomery as president and master of foxhounds, respectively. In 1886, the Hunt incorporated and purchased a property on what is now Darby-Paoli Road near Darby Creek to serve as its headquarters (see Original Radnor Hunt Clubhouse). They renovated the farmhouse on the property into a clubhouse, built new kennels, acquired Mather’s hounds, and commenced hunting at the new location. For the first few years, there were no scheduled hunts; members hunted the pack of hounds as they wished.
Detail from 1897 atlas of Radnor Township in Delaware County, showing original location of Radnor Hunt
Hunting at the original clubhouse in Radnor Township in 1909. Courtesy of Radnor Historical Society.
INFLUENTIAL LEADERSHIP
Radnor’s leadership in the early years constituted some of the most influential figures in Philadelphia business and industry. A. J. Cassatt was president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the largest corporation in the world at the time. His predecessor as president, James Rawle, was a president of J.B. Brill Company, the largest streetcar manufacturer in the world. Charles Mather was founder and president of Mather & Company, one of the most successful insurance firms in the city.
EARLY HUNTING
By the late 1880s, hunting had become fixed on a regular schedule, with Radnor members receiving “fixture cards” in the mail each month announcing when and where the hunt would meet. Hunts were generally held Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays as well as certain holidays, as evidenced by this February 1891 fixture card.
Radnor Hunt fixture card for February 1891, showing that the hunt met Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Saturdays at the kennels at the clubhouse
Front page coverage of fox hunting at Radnor in the November 29, 1889 Philadelphia Inquirer
Map of Radnor’s hunting country in 1923. In Radnor’s early years, hunting was focused primarily in the vicinity of the club in northern Delaware County and eastern Chester County, but as these areas became developed over time, hunting shifted westward.
OTHER EARLY ACTIVITIES
While fox hunting was the chief pastime at Radnor, the club sponsored other social and equestrian events, including an annual hunt ball, Thanksgiving breakfast and hunt, and steeplechase races.
Invitation for the first annual Radnor Hunt Ball, held December 17, 1885
A longstanding Radnor tradition that started soon after the club’s founding was the annual Thanksgiving Breakfast and Hunt. Instituted as both a celebration of fox hunting for the wider community and a show of appreciation to the local farmers and landowners who allowed the Hunt to traverse their properties. The event featured a lavish meal followed by a hunt with a large field in full hunting regalia. Guests came from near and far to enjoy Radnor’s hospitality and witness the spectacle, all of which was covered with great fanfare by Philadelphia newspapers.
Headline from November 27, 1887, Philadelphia Times reporting on Radnor’s annual Thanksgiving Breakfast and Hunt
The Radnor Races was another tradition that began early on. Shown here is a flyer for the October 24, 1891, Radnor Hunt Steeplechases. The event entailed five races, the first of which was open to local farmers. The other races featured members of Radnor or other established hunts, and, there was also a race for local youths who were pony club members. The Philadelphia Times reported that more than 2,000 people attended the event, with a headline noting the “Large Attendance of Countryfolk, Who Enjoyed the Sports Immensely and Cheered the Winners.”
Flyer for October 24, 1891 Radnor Hunt Steeplechase
good neighbors
Radnor’s leadership strove to maintain good relations with area farmers and landowners, while also protecting the habitat of the local fox population. In this February 1916 letter, Radnor MFH Benjamin Chew informs Mrs. Caleb Piersol of Newtown Square that the club will reimburse the Piersol’s ten dollars for their loss of chickens and turkeys to foxes while asking them to “use every effort in your neighborhood to prevent the trapping and digging out of foxes.”
February 11, 1916, letter from Radnor Hunt MFH Benjamin Chew to Mrs. Caleb Piersol
In fall 1920, Radnor MFH S. Laurence Bodine issued this notice to club members, with instructions for compensating landowners for broken fences and directing members to avoid riding over wheat fields.
1920 notice from Radnor Hunt MFH S. Laurence Bodine to club members
WORLD WAR I
World War I presented major challenges to Radnor Hunt. Dozens of members were called to military service, including several key leaders of the club, and hunting and social activities had to be curtailed. In May 1917 the board of governors instituted a 10% tax on all club services and supplies “as a War measure to defray the increased expenses of the Club.”
MFH Benjamin Chew, who had done much to improve hunting and morale at Radnor since taking on the mastership in 1915, resigned in 1918 following his commission as Captain in the US Army Remount Service, which supplied horses to allied troops. Chew was highly regarded at Radnor and the board accepted his resignation “with regret.”
There was discussion of suspending all hunting activities, but the board opted instead to pare hunting days to twice a week. The popular Thanksgiving Day Breakfast for local farmers and landowners was cancelled in both 1917 and 1918.
January 25, 1918 letter of resignation from MFH Benjamin Chew
Benjamin Chew
May 10, 1917, resolution of Radnor Hunt board of governors
On October 31, 1917, Radnor secretary Harry Harrison issued a notice that the club will be accepting contributions to purchase tobacco, “which will be packed and shipped to France, and delivered direct to our soldiers in the field, wherever they may be.”
Radnor received several letters from members on active duty during World War I, asking if the club would waive their membership dues during their service. Shown here is a November 9, 1917, letter from Alexander Yarnall in the War Department in Washington DC, asking “whether, in common with other clubs in or around Phila, you are remitting annual dues to those who are on active duty in the service of the U.S.”
On November 15th Radnor treasurer Jacob Waln replied that “Radnor Hunt is not remitting the annual dues” of active service members, noting that the club “is unable to cut down our expenses very materially, and must therefore look to our members for their annual dues to keep the organization going.”
November 9, 1917, letter from Radnor member Alexander Yarnall
Radnor treasurer Jacob Waln’s November 15th reply to Yarnall
RADNOR'S POWER COUPLE
Challenges during World War I gave rise to an important development at Radnor Hunt: the appointment of a woman to a key hunting position. Born in 1894 into a prominent Philadelphia family, Ellen Mary Cassatt was the niece of Radnor founding member and early president A. J. Cassatt and his sister, the noted artist Mary Cassatt, for whom young Ellen Mary was a favorite painting subject. Ellen Mary was an avid horsewoman whose riding skills were well-known at Radnor. Reportedly, she was the first woman to ride astride rather than sidesaddle at Radnor. With hunting staff depleted during World War I, Ellen Mary was appointed honorary whipper-in, responsible for assisting the huntsman in managing hunts in the field. After the war, on January 28, 1919, she was officially appointed to Radnor’s hunt committee, becoming the first female member and the first time a woman held a governing position at the club.
Ellen Mary Cassatt
New York Times, December 5, 1915
In this playful circa 1921 letter, Ellen Mary Cassatt, writing from “Kelso,” the family estate in Berywn, informs Radnor treasurer Radcliffe Cheston that she is donating $50 to the Radnor subscription fund, with the following stipulation: “but may I send my cheque next month? I am really rather busted now so it won’t make much difference what you say about it!”
On April 22, 1924, Ellen Mary Cassatt married Horace Binney Hare, another important figure in Radnor history. Born in 1876, also into a prominent Philadelphia family, Hare served as Radnor MFH in two different time periods: 1909-1914 and 1921-1929. In between, he served as a Captain and Major in the U.S. Army during World War I. In his two terms as MFH, spanning almost 20 years, Hare formed an effective partnership with huntsman Will Leverton, also a longtime influential figure at Radnor. Leverton served as Radnor huntsman for 25 years, although, like Hare and others, his work was interrupted by service in the military during the war. Together, Hare and Leverton presided over one of the great periods of fox hunting at Radnor.
Ellen Mary Cassatt and Horace Binney Hare wedding photo, April 22, 1924
In addition to his focus on foxhunting, Horace Hare oversaw two other important developments during his second tenure as Radnor MFH in the 1920s: a new racecourse at Chesterbrook and the club’s acquisition of an outstanding collection of paintings by local artist Charles Morris Young. Racing had been a popular activity at Radnor since the 1890s, regularly drawing thousands of attendees, but by the 1920s the racetrack on the clubhouse grounds was considered substandard. Radnor made arrangements with the owner of Chesterbrook, the expansive Paoli estate of founding member and former president A. J. Cassatt, who had died in 1906, to build a racecourse on that property. Radnor races were a popular event at Chesterbrook from 1928 until the club built a racecourse at its new location in White Horse, near the borough of Malvern, in 1946.
March 1928; William Jackson, First Whipper-in; Will Leverton, Huntsman; Horace B. Hare, Esq., M.F.H.
The Radnor Pack
Charles Morris Young and Horace Hare were neighbors in Radnor Township and in 1927 they arranged for a number of Young’s paintings to be displayed in the Radnor clubhouse and began discussing the club’s possible purchase of them. In 1931, when he was no longer involved with Radnor, Hare helped facilitate the agreement by which the club formally purchased the paintings. The purchase took place after Radnor had moved to its new location in White Horse, where the paintings have been on display in the clubhouse ever since.
“White Horse” by Charles Morris Young, 1923
In this October 13, 1931 letter to Radnor Hunt president Thomas Stokes, Horace B. Hare gives the details of his discussions with Charles Morris Young regarding Radnor acquiring a group of Young’s paintings. The Radnor board of governors subsequently agreed to purchase the paintings as per the terms Hare had worked out with Young.
His longstanding commitment to Radnor notwithstanding, Horace Hare and a number of other officers and board members of the club resigned their positions in April 1929 over the Van Meter Hounds affair, a dispute that caused much dissension and a major change of leadership at Radnor.
Van Meter Hounds
One of the most contentious episodes in Radnor Hunt history occurred in the late 1920s, when a group of hunters affiliated with the nearby Newtown Square Hunt Club began conducting unauthorized hunts in Radnor territory. Warren Van Meter, who kept a pack of hounds in Newtown Square, was the chief protagonist, and the matter came to be known as the “Van Meter Hounds” affair. The dispute became very serious, prompting special meetings and negotiations, involvement of the masters of neighboring hunts, and ultimately the intervention of the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America, the governing body of organized fox hunting in the United States and Canada. The MFHA had declared the Newtown Square Hunt an “outlaw” pack. The matter reached a head in March 1929, when the Radnor board of governors voted to cancel the remainder of the hunting season rather than risk further confrontation with the Newtown Square hunters. The dispute was eventually resolved but not without much bad blood, both in the broader foxhunting community and within Radnor itself. The April 26, 1929, meeting of the Radnor board of governors saw the resignations of numerous key leaders, including MFH Horace Hare, founding member and longtime president Edward Beale, and a half dozen other prominent board members. It was the end of an era at Radnor.
At its March 13, 1929 meeting, the Radnor board of governors authorized the printing & distribution of this “History of Case: Radnor Hunt vs. Van Meter Hounds”
A New Era, A New Home
The Van Meter affair was a turning point for Radnor Hunt in that it ushered in new leadership who charted a new direction for the club. M. Roy Jackson, an experienced, respected foxhunter who had at one time been MFH at nearby Rose Tree Hunt, was chosen to replace Horace Hare as Radnor MFH in 1929. The following year Thomas Stokes was elected president. Both men had long tenures at Radnor—Jackson served until his death in 1944, Yarnall until 1946—marking a period of exceptional stability. Along with developing world-class kennels at Radnor, Jackson oversaw the transition of its pack to an American breed, the Pen-MaryDel foxhound, that he had helped to create.
M. Roy Jackson (far left) hunting the Radnor Hounds. Jackson served as Radnor MFH from 1929 to 1944.
Increasing development in the area around the clubhouse in Radnor township was making hunting difficult in that vicinity and by the late 1920s Radnor leadership was looking elsewhere. Radnor had been hunting regularly “upcountry” to the west, in the vicinity of the small villages of White Horse and Sugartown, in Willistown Township, Chester County, not far from the borough of Malvern. In February 1930 the board of governors appointed a committee to explore options for acquiring property in that area. Subsequently, at a special May 9, 1930, general meeting the full club membership approved the board’s recommendation to purchase the 139-acre Gallagher property, formerly Hibberd Farm, on Boot (now Providence) Road in White Horse. Noted architect, and Radnor member, Arthur V. Meigs was hired to renovate the Hibberd farmhouse into a clubhouse and to design new, state-of-the-art stables. Kennels, a huntsman’s cottage, and other facilities were built or renovated, and, in the fall of 1931, hunting commenced at the new location. It was a new era at Radnor Hunt, indeed!
Excerpt from a resolution passed at a special May 9, 1930, meeting of the Radnor Hunt membership for the purchase of the Gallagher property in the village of White Horse, in Willistown Township, Chester County, near the borough of Malvern. The purchase was completed in 1930 and Radnor began hunting in the new location in fall 1931.
Fixture card for December 1919, showing that Radnor hunted regularly in Sugartown and White Horse prior to moving to White Horse in 1931.
In this June 10, 1931, letter Francis Brooke, chair of the Radnor house committee, invites Mrs. J. Parker Norris to join a Ladies Committee that was recently appointed to decorate the new clubhouse.
The farmhouse on the Gallagher property, built by the Hibberd family in the 1850s, was renovated into the new Radnor Hunt clubhouse in 1930-31, and still serves in that capacity.
The new Radnor Hunt stables, designed by noted architect and club member, Arthur Meigs.
THE 1930'S: DEPRESSION & RENEWAL
Radnor’s relocation to White Horse in 1931 coincided with the deepening of the Great Depression, the severe worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929 and lasted for a decade. Hunting subscriptions declined in the early 1930s and some longtime club members resigned (although not all for financial reasons), necessitating cutbacks in staffing and operations. Such challenges notwithstanding, President Thomas Stokes and Master M. Roy Jackson maintained Radnor’s hunting standards and significantly improved the club’s relations with local farmers, which had deteriorated in recent years. The Philadelphia Public Ledger reported on February 26, 1933, that Radnor’s “former arrogance has quietly changed to an air of friendly democracy and good fellowship. Neighboring farmers who not long [ago] couldn’t mention the club or its members without an oath are now its warmest friends.”
M. Roy Jackson, Radnor Hunt MFH, 1929-1944
Thomas Stokes, Radnor Hunt president, 1930-1946
While excellent hunting continued and relations with local farmers improved, another controversy arose in the mid-1930s that caused considerable dissension within the club. Radnor had long kept a crossbred pack of English-American hounds, while Master M. Roy Jackson kept an American pack, the Penn-MaryDel foxhound (a breed he had helped to develop), at his state-of-the-art kennels at his nearby estate, Kirkwood Farm. In 1934 Jackson offered to house Radnor’s pack at his own expense at Kirkwood, an attractive proposition to the Radnor board of governors in a financially challenging time. Some club members and staff objected to the merging of the two packs, wishing to maintain Radnor’s separate hound tradition, but the board approved the plan. Several members, including board secretary Clifton Lisle, resigned, as did longtime huntsman Will Leverton, who had been with Radnor twenty-six years at that point. Over time, Jackson consolidated and merged the Radnor pack with his Penn-MaryDel hounds at his Kirkwood Kennels.
Roy Jackson oversees unloading of hounds, brought over from his nearby Kirkwood Kennels, at Radnor Hunt
Financial conditions improved later in the 1930s as the nation emerged from the Great Depression, even as the threat of war loomed in Europe. No doubt the club’s acquisition of a liquor license following the repeal of Prohibition in December 1933 and the resumption of the sale of alcohol helped the bottom line. The board of governor’s minutes for December 3, 1937, noted the “increasingly good financial condition” of the club and in July 1939 Radnor netted $15,000 from the sale of its original twenty-three-acre site in Radnor Township. By this time, things were back in full swing at Radnor Hunt and the club was again a focal point of equestrian life and high society in greater Philadelphia. In May 1939 local newspapers reported on the large turnout and many prominent attendees at the annual Radnor Races, held at Chesterbrook in Paoli, along with the social whirl of parties and other festivities held in conjunction with the high-profile event.
Opening hunt for the 1936-1937 season, November 14, 1936
Philadelphia Inquirer ad for Radnor Races, May 13, 1939
WORLD WAR II
The United States’ entry into World War II in late 1941 once again prompted cutbacks, along with measures to conserve resources and support the war effort. At the September 15, 1942, board of governors meeting, treasurer John Alden Towers noted that “stored in boxes in the Club [are] a number of small copper cups and trophies won by the hounds in years past…that have not been on display for number of years.” The board authorized Towers to “donate all such small copper trophies to the war salvage drive.” At the same meeting, the board opted to scale back the annual dinner to a lunch following a Saturday hunt. The board also considered reducing hunting from four to two days per week and selling some staff horses, but decided that the savings derived from such measures would not be significant enough to warrant them. They did reduce hunting to three days a week in the 1944-1945 season, however.
Detail from September 15, 1942, Radnor Hunt Board of Governors minutes noting the board’s decision to donate copper cups and trophies to the war salvage drive.
Radnor’s greatest loss during World War II occurred on the home front when M. Roy Jackson, MFH since 1929, died suddenly in January 1944 at the age of sixty-seven. Jackson had done much to maintain Radnor’s high standards of hunting and cordial relations with its neighbors; his passing was a great blow to the club. His widow, Almira Rockefeller Jackson (grandniece of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller), agreed to serve as joint Master of Foxhounds with Walter Stokes, brother of Radnor president Thomas Stokes, and to continue to house the Radnor hounds at Kirkwood Kennels, smoothing the transition to new hunting leadership.
Together, M. Roy Jackson and Thomas Stokes presided over a productive fifteen-year period at Radnor. When Stokes resigned as president in early 1946, it marked the end of yet another era at the club.
POST-WAR PROSPERITY
The years following World War II were prosperous ones for Radnor Hunt, even as post-war suburbanization began to seriously encroach on the club’s hunting territory, despite the fact that the club had moved westward to Chester County for this reason in 1930. Large-scale real estate development that had been curtailed by the Great Depression and the War in the 1930s and 1940s, took off in Chester County the 1950s and 1960s, as farmland and wooded areas were converted into housing and commercial tracts, and two-lane country roads became busy highways. Amidst this changing landscape, Radnor carved out hundreds of acres of hunting territory, both its own land and that of neighboring properties whose owners were either active members of the Hunt or allowed hunting on their lands.
Drawn in 1947, this map shows Radnor’s hunting territory before large-scale development of the area in the post-World War II period. Radnor’s old and new locations are in the center, with two other area hunts, Rose Tree and Brandywine Hounds, shown at the bottom center and lower left, respectively. The date span noted at upper right refers to Radnor’ earliest years, when it was still possible to hunt in eastern Montgomery County.
February 1947 Radnor fixture card, showing hunt locations that month. Walter Stokes and M. Roy Jackson’s widow, Almira, who by that time had married Samuel W. Scott, were joint MFHs at the time.
Almira Rockefeller Jackson (later Scott), Joint MFH, 1944-1949
Walter Stokes, Joint MFH, 1944-1949, sole MFH 1949-1951
Morris Cheston assumed the Radnor presidency in 1946 and served until 1958. Almira Jackson, who had become joint MFH with Walter Stokes upon the death of her husband M. Roy Jackson in 1944, resigned her position in 1949, whereupon Walter Stokes became sole MFH. It was at this time that the Radnor hounds were moved back to the hunt kennels from Kirkwood Kennels. Almira had married Samuel W. Scott in 1945, but he died in 1948 and in 1950 she married another man named Scott, U.S. Congressman Hardie Scott. Based at Kirkwood, Hardie and Almira Scott remained active at Radnor for many years. Almira hunted into her eighties, while Hardie rode until he was eighty.
Radnor Hunt was featured prominently in the April 1950 edition of Holiday Magazine, in an article and photo spread entitled “Philadelphia’s Main Line: Suburbia at its Best.” The article was written by the great author, and Bucks County PA native, James Michener. In May 1951, Walter Stokes stepped down as MFH and was replaced by Henry L. “Eddie” Collins, Jr., who would serve for eleven years. Together with William “Bill” Evans, Jr., who served as huntsman from 1944 to 1964, Collins presided over another golden era of foxhunting at Radnor. Fields were often large and hunting excellent in this period. John B. H. Carter served as president of Radnor for part of this time, from 1958 to 1962. Eddie Collins’ sudden death in late 1961 was another blow to the club. Algernon “Algie” Craven replaced Collins, serving as sole MFH at first and then co-MFH with Bill Evans and George S. Hundt until 1969.
Photograph of a hunt at Radnor in the April 1950 edition of Holiday Magazine.
Radnor MFH Eddie Collins (right), Huntsman Bill Evans (center), and Whipper-In Joe Bird with the Radnor Hounds at the 1952 Bryn Mawr Hound Show, held that year at Rose Tree Hunt in Media. In 1956, the show moved to Radnor Hunt, where it has remained ever since.
ANNUAL EVENTS
Radnor became home to several popular annual events in the post-war era: the Radnor Races, Radnor Hunt Hunter Trials, and the Bryn Mawr Hound Show. As previously noted, the Radnor Races began in the 1890s at the original club location in Radnor Township, then moved to Chesterbrook Farm near Paoli in 1928. In the mid-1940s, Radnor leadership decided to move the races to its own grounds in White Horse. In February 1946 a committee formed to explore the possibility reported that “A race course on the grounds is not only feasible, but the Committee considers the natural terrain ideal for building of a first class hunt meeting course both from the standpoint of riders and spectators…. The Committee therefore recommends that a course suitable for holding a program of races … be built on the Club grounds.” The course was built soon thereafter and on May 11, 1946, thousands attended the inaugural races at Radnor. The Radnor Races have been an annual fixture at the club, and a highlight of the Main Line social scene, ever since.
Undated mid-20th century photo of the Radnor Races at the club’s White Horse location.
Point-to-Point Races came to Radnor in 1943, and Hunter Trials were added to the event in 1951. The Point-to-Point Races were discontinued in 1981, with the focus shifting to the Hunter Trials, a one-day event held each spring after the close of the hunting season.
Program for 1954 Radnor Hunt Point-to-Point Races and Hunter Trials. The Point-to-Points began at Radnor in 1943; the Hunter Trials were added in 1951.
The Bryn Mawr Hound Show began in 1914 and was held in various locations until moving to Radnor Hunt permanently in 1956. One of the hunting world’s premier shows, the Bryn Mawr Hound Show, like the Radnor Races, remains a popular annual tradition that draws people from all over the region and nation. There has long been a close relationship between Radnor Hunt and the Bryn Mawr Hound Show, with the two organizations sharing many officers and members.
On September 8, 1956, the Philadelphia Inquirer published this photo of two blue ribbon winning beagles at the 1956 Bryn Mawr Hound Show, the first year the Show was held at Radnor Hunt.
EVANS FARM
While hunting continued to thrive at Radnor, a major loss of hunting territory occurred very close to home in the early 1960s when Willowdale Farm, the 225-acre Evans farm located directly across the street from Radnor, was developed into the White Manor Country Club. The story behind this development is unclear and rather curious, as the property’s owner, William “Bill” Evans, was longtime huntsman and later joint MFH at Radnor, and his attorney for the transaction was the aforementioned Hardie Scott, another longtime, prominent Radnor member. While the tract has remained mostly open space for golfing, land that had long been part of the Radnor hunting tradition was no longer available for this purpose.
1950 Franklin Survey Company atlas map, showing the 225-acre “Willow Dale Farm” property of William W. Evans, located directly across Providence Road from Radnor Hunt. In the early 1960s the property was sold and developed into the White Manor Country Club.
LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Hunting continued throughout the late twentieth century, while development pressures in the region intensified. Radnor partnered with, and helped to support, two area conservation organizations that were founded in this period to preserve open space: Brandywine Conservancy and Willistown Conservation Trust, established in 1967 and 1979, respectively. Both organizations have been the beneficiaries of events and activities at Radnor that have served as fundraisers to support their important work.
Long-established Radnor social events continued in the late twentieth century as well. Some of these events were hunting focused—the annual Hunt Ball, Full of the Moon Dinner, Thanksgiving Hunt and Blessing of the Hounds, sponsored hunt breakfasts—while others were strictly social in nature, such as holiday parties and fashion shows. One of the things that distinguishes Radnor from other area hunts is that it is both a social and a foxhunting club; while other local hunts focus strictly on foxhunting, Radnor offers a wide range of other activities—some for members only, others major public events.
Radnor’s leadership was relatively stable in the 1960s through 1980s. George S. Hundt, William Evans, and Algernon Craven served as joint MFHs from 1962 to 1969, while Frederick S. Nicholas served as club president during this period. All four were key figures at Radnor in the mid to late twentieth century, serving in a variety of roles: Evans as huntsman from 1944 to 1964 and co-MFH from 1962 to 1969; Craven as sole MFH in 1961 and 1962, then co-MFH from 1962 to 1969; and Hundt as co-MFH from 1962 to 1969, sole MFH from 1969 to 1974, co-MFH with Nicholas from 1974 to 1983, and co-MFH again from 1988 to 1990 with Antonia D. “Toni” Mayer. Nicholas has the distinction of being the only individual to have served as both president (1962 to 1970) and MFH (1974 to 1983) at Radnor. He was followed as president by Cortright Wetherill from 1970 to 1986 and Anson W. H. Taylor, Jr., from 1986 to 1989.
Frederic “Freddie” Nicholas, who served as president of Radnor from 1962 to 1970 and co-MFH from 1974 to 1983, the only person to have served as both president and MFH at Radnor.
Algernon “Algie” Craven (left) with Radnor member Art Pew. Craven served as sole MFH at Radnor from 1961 to 1962 and co-MFH from 1962 to 1969.
HUNDT FAMILY
The Hundt family was particularly prominent at Radnor at this time. While George Hundt served as longtime MFH, his brother Lester, known to all as “Rad,” was a fixture at the club and a well-known commentator on hunting and horsemanship for many years. George’s wife Sheila, an accomplished equestrian and author of books on riding, was among those who helped to establish the Radnor Hunt 3-Day Event in 1974. The latter was one of the nation’s premier equestrian events for over thirty years. It was discontinued in 2006 and replaced by the Radnor Hunt Horse Trials, yet another popular annual tradition that continues at Radnor. George and Lester’s parents were active at Radnor before them, while George and Sheila’s son, George, Jr., followed in their footsteps and took an active role in the club as well.
George and Sheila Hundt, both of whom played important roles at Radnor in the late 20th century. George served as MFH for nearly 25 years, while Sheila helped to establish the Radnor Three-Day Event.
Lester T. Hundt, Jr., known as “Rad,” a longtime popular figure at Radnor.
Flyer for the 1995 Radnor Hunt International Three-Day Event, benefitting Paoli Hospital. Begun in 1974, the Three-Day Event continued until 2006, when it was replaced by the Radnor Hunt Horse Trials.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
A notable late-twentieth-century development was Radnor’s purchase in 1973 of a 25-acre tract of land bordering the western edge of the club, a property that for many years had been in the family of former Radnor MFH, the late Henry L. “Eddie” Collins, Jr (see 1950 atlas above). A group of Radnor members raised the money for the purchase and the Hunt entered into an agreement with the Radnor Hunt Pony Club in which the Hunt would retain 8 acres and the Pony Club would purchase the other 17, making the latter one of the few pony clubs in the nation with its own property. The partnership enhanced the already close relationship between the two organizations.
Pony Club members, 1968
Front row, left to right; Tracy Reath, Candy Booth, Laura Alexander, Carol Atterbury, Donna Diutalo
Back row, left to right; Peter Zinmmerman, Lauren Dowler. Terry Reath, Charlene Thomas, Stephen King
Tragedy struck on February 10, 1983, when the Radnor Hunt kennel building was destroyed by fire. Fortunately, according to the board of governors’ minutes, despite the “total loss of the Kennel … due to quick thinking and luck, 65 hounds were saved.” Radnor president Cortright Wetherill sheltered the hounds at his nearby estate, Happy Hill Farm, while the kennels were rebuilt.
Radnor fixture card for November 1984. In addition to meeting at the club five times and joint meets with other hunts, meets were held at nearby Brushwood Farms, the renowned thoroughbred training center of longtime Radnor member Elizabeth “Betty” Moran, and at Featherfield Farm, owned by the Paul family. Radnor president Cortright Wetherill hosted the traditional Thanksgiving Day hunt at his Happy Hill Farm in White Horse.
Radnor presidents in the closing years of the twentieth century were Elizabeth D. Abbott from 1989 to 1992, Peter F. Waitneight from 1992 to 1995, and Samuel W. M. Griffin from 1995 to 2000, while MFHs in this period were Antonia D. “Toni” Mayer, 1983-1991 (joint), Deborah S. “Debbie” McKechnie, 1990-2003 (joint), Frank H. “Terry” Griffin III, 1990-2008, (joint, Griffin died while MFH), and John K. Sheldrake, Jr., 1996-2001 (joint).
new millennium
The early years of the twenty-first century saw the addition of major new hunting territories, the continuation of longstanding equestrian and hound events at the club and the reorganizing of others, and the establishment of new activities and organizations that have become important in the Radnor tradition.
Hunting at Radnor in the early twenty-first century
NEW TERRITORY
Over the years, Radnor members had often hunted with Brandywine Hounds near West Chester and at Big Bend Farm, the estate of artist, conservationist, and equestrian George “Frolic” Weymouth (1936-2016) in Chadds Ford. Brandywine Hounds was established in 1901 by Radnor founding member and former MFH Charles Mather. After over a century of hunting under five generations of the Mather family, Brandywine Hounds disbanded in 2004. That year, the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America officially designated Brandywine Hounds country as part of Radnor’s hunting territory, along with Weymouth’s Big Bend Farm, which straddles the Brandywine Creek in Chester and Delaware counties and extends into the northern part of the state of Delaware, including the former territory of Vicmead Hunt in Greenville, Delaware. Vicmead was founded as a fox hunt in 1921, but later discontinued hunting and became a country club. The addition of these two territories, located some twelve to fifteen miles south and west of Radnor, gave hunting members of the club considerably more land to hunt in the region.
1962 map of Brandywine Hounds hunting territory in central Chester County, west of the Borough of West Chester, shown on the far right. Brandywine Hounds disbanded in 2004 and its country was added to Radnor’s hunting territory that year.
Hunting at Brandywine Creek in former Brandywine Hounds territory
HUNTSMEN
Radnor has benefited from the talents and expertise of several excellent huntsmen who carried the horn for the club for extended periods in the early twenty-first century. Thomas R. McClintock, who had previously been whipper-in at Radnor, became huntsman in 1993 and served until 2003. Joe Cassidy, longtime huntsman for Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Hounds in Unionville, served as huntsman at Radnor from 2006 to 2012. Beginning in the 2013-2014 season, three generations of the Dean family served as Radnor huntsmen. John Dean, Jr., filled in for a season before his son, John “Johnny” III, who had whipped-in under his father, took over as huntsman in 2014. Johnny was a beloved figure at Radnor, but sadly died of complications from COVID in early 2021. His son James, who had also whipped-in under his father at Radnor, took over as huntsman upon his father’s death, and continues the family tradition in the 2020s.
Huntsman Joe Cassidy blows the horn during a hunt
John Dean, III, Huntsman at Radnor Hunt from 2014 to 2021
EVENTS
The Radnor Races and Bryn Mawr Hound Show, both over a century old, remain popular annual traditions at Radnor in the early twenty-first century. The Bryn Mawr Hound Show, established in 1914, has been held at Radnor since 1956 and attracts dozens of exhibiting packs and hound enthusiasts from throughout the nation. The Radnor Races, begun in the 1890s and held at the current location since 1946, remains a top national equestrian event and highlight of the Main Line social season. Since 1980 the event has been known as the “Radnor Race for Open Space,” benefiting Brandywine Conservancy’s open space and clean water programs.
Scene from the 2007 Radnor Races
The Carriage Parade has long been a popular event at the Radnor Races. Attendees enjoy the pageantry of vintage, exquisitely maintained horse-drawn vehicles and their finely customed drivers and occupants parading the Radnor grounds between races. Afterwards, they have the opportunity to inspect the carriages and animals close-up.
Renowned “whip” (driver) George “Frolic” Weymouth piloting his four-in-hand carriage at the Radnor Races
The Radnor Hunt Horse Trials began in 2007 and grew out of the Radnor 3-Day Event, which began in 1974 and ran until 2006. A scaled-down version of the 3-Day Event, the Horse Trials is a popular one-day event whose mission is to perpetuate the sport of eventing in the Radnor Hunt area, support the local equestrian community, and have fun while doing it.
Cover page of program book for 2022 Radnor Hunt Horse Trials. The Horse Trials began in 2007 as an outgrowth of the Radnor 3-Day Event, which was established in 1974.
The Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance started in 1997, initiated by Michael G. Tillson III, who would serve as longtime Radnor co-MFH beginning in 2004. Featuring vintage and unique automobiles, motorcycles, and wheeled carriages, the Concours d’Elegance has grown to a multi-faceted, three-day event that showcases some of the finest vehicles in the nation. Proceeds from the event have benefited several local non-profit organizations over the years, including Willistown Conservation Trust, Thorncroft Equestrian Center, and local Boy Scout troops.
2006 Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance
BRIGHT HUNTING MORN
Radnor Hunt celebrated a major milestone in 2008 with the publication that year of Bright Hunting Morn: The 125th Anniversary of Radnor Hunt, a comprehensive, highly illustrated history of the club written by historian, fox hunter, and philanthropist Collin F. McNeil, who would serve as Radnor co-MFH beginning in 2011. Through text and numerous photographs, prints, and other images, the book tells the rich history of Radnor from its founding in 1883 through its 125th anniversary in 2008.
Bright Hunting Morn is a richly illustrated history of Radnor Hunt from its founding in 1883 through its 125th anniversary in 2008.
Author Collin F. McNeil, noted historian, fox hunter, and longtime Radnor co-MFH
LEADERSHIP
James M. Caldwell, Jr., served as president of Radnor Hunt from 2000 to 2005, followed by Donald B. Wilkins, Jr., from 2005 to 2010, and Richard H. Thompson from 2010 until his death in 2012. Francis H. Abbott, Jr., served from 2013 to 2018, Eileen M. Corl from 2018 to 2020, Janice Murdoch from 2020 to 2023, and Eric A. Corkhill III beginning in 2023.
Masters in the turn-of-the-twenty-first-century period, all serving as joint-MFHs, were Deborah S. McKechnie from 1990 to 2003, Frank H. “Terry” Griffin III from 1990 until his death in 2008, John K. Sheldrake, Jr. from 1996 to 2001, Christian Hueber II from 2003 until his death in 2005. Joint MFHs in the years following include Michael G. Tillson III from 2004 to the present, Collin F. McNeil from 2011 to the present, Esther Gansky from 2012 to the present, Andrea Parsons Herr from 2014 to 2017, John Wesley Hardin from 2017 to the present.
1883 FOUNDATION
In 2021, a group of Radnor Hunt members formed a new organization, the 1883 Foundation (named for Radnor’s founding year), with a mission to preserve and enhance the historic structures, landscape, archives, equine and equestrian artifacts and sporting art collection of Radnor Hunt, and work to advance the understanding and appreciation of Radnor’s cultural heritage and contributions to local Chester County history. The 1883 Foundation sponsors a variety of events and activities in fulfillment of this important mission. Accomplishments include preserving the original 1883 Radnor Hunt charter, restoring the stone wall at the club’s entrance, sponsoring the appraisal and a public program on Radnor’s extensive silver trophy collection, offering tours of the historic structures on the Radnor property, and other history and heritage activities.
1883 Foundation logo, based on a drawing by noted early 20th century foxhunting enthusiast, author, and longtime Radnor Hunt member, J. Stanley Reeve
826 Providence Road | Malvern, Pennsylvania 19355 | [email protected]
The 1883 Foundation is an Internal Revenue Code section 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. The official registration and financial information of the 1883 Foundation may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free within Pennsylvania 1 (800) 732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. The 1883 Foundation only accepts contributions from states where it is registered and/or from states that do not require registration.