When Charles II returned to London on May 29, 1660, after nine years in exile, one of his first acts was to appoint James Darcy the elder Master of the Royal Stud at Tutbury in Staffordshire. He was appointed on June 6, 1660 and remained in office until his death in 1673. When he arrived at Tutbury he found that the place had been so vandalised that it was in no fit condition to be used as a stud. He therefore proposed that he supply the King from his own stud at Sedbury in Yorkshire, which was not far from Place's stud at Dinsdale and Fairfax's stud at Helmsley.
The loss of Tutbury meant that Charles II was without a stud of his own. In fact, the Royal studs were not re-established and remained in abeyance until the reign of William III, when Richard Marshall was sent by the king to Barbary in 1699 to procure some Eastern horses. He returned with nine stallions and five mares, which formed the foundation stock of the new Royal Stud which had been set up at Hampton Court.
The General Stud Book, volume 1, 5th edition, suggests that there was a stud at Hampton Court between the Restoration and the reign of William III. This is incorrect. The horses supposedly bred at Hampton Court during this period were, in fact, bred at Sedbury. This confusion was caused by John Croft of Barforth, Yorkshire, whose breed was descended from Darcy blood but who knew the horses at Sedbury by other names.
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 388, says - "though foaled in England, was a Natural Barb. His dam, a Barb Mare, was imported in the time of Charles the Second, and was called a Royal Mare. She was sold to Mr Child by the stud-master, after the King's death, for 40 gs., at twenty years old, when in foal (by the Helmsley Turk) with Vixen, dam of the Old Child Mare. He was sire of Dicky Pierson (called in some pedigrees The Son of Dodsworth)". This was copied from Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 72, where the sire of Vixen is given as the Earl of Holderness's Turk. Conyers Darcy, the eldest brother of James Darcy the elder, was created Earl of Holderness in 1682 and held the title until his death in 1689.
This information furnishes us with some approximate dates for these horses. Charles II died in February 1685, so if the Royal Mare was sold that year, then Vixen was foaled in 1686. As the Royal Mare was said to be twenty years old, then she was foaled in 1665. The year of foaling for Dodsworth must have been about 1670.
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 389, says - "was the sire of Spanker, Brimmer, and the great great grandam of Cartouch".
The Racing Calendar for 1744, by John Cheny, in the index, page ix, says - "The Yellow Turk, which got Spanker, got Brimmer, the Great Great Grand-Dam of Old Cartouch, and many others".
This is an extremely interesting piece of information. Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 17, says Old Cartouch - "was got by the Bald Galloway; his dam was bred in the Royal Stud at Hampton-Court, and got by the Cripple Barb; grandam by Makeless; great grandam by Place's White Turk, a daughter of Dodsworth, out of Mr. Layton's Violet Barb Mare". The GSB's version of the pedigree on page 13 is incorrect, by making the Makeless mare a sister to Brown Farewell an extra cross has been added which would make the great great grandam by Place's White Turk. The GSB, page 388, however, states that Place's White Turk was sire of the great grandams of Wyndham, Grey Ramsden and Cartouch.
The Newcastle Courant, Saturday, March 23, 1727-8, Number 152, says - "This is to give Notice, that Mr Robert Carter of Brumpton upon Swale, in the County of York, has a Chesnut ston'd Horse, Six Years old, free from Blemish, that he leaps at a Guinea a Mare: He is 14 hands three Inches high, fine shap'd and strong, he was got by Woodcock, and out of a Royal Mare, she got by Lord Darcy's Arabian which he bought of Mr Curwen, her Dam got by Wastel Turk, Duchess was out of the same Mare with this Horse Dam, her Dam got by Black-legs, which got Crecket, her Dam got by the white Turk which got Hautboy, her Dam was the old Royal Mare, which Lord Darcy found at Sadberry, in 1690, so he became the Owner of this Stud; her Dam got by the old Chesnut Turk which got Leeds' Spanker, and all the best Horses of England, betwixt forty and fifty Years ago, as Lord Darcy Witnesseth".
Darcy's Yellow Turk has been identified with the old Chesnut Turk, mentioned in a letter to Christopher Croft by James Darcy the younger in 1684, part of which is reproduced on page 94 of The Royal Studs of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, by C M Prior. In Early Records of the Thoroughbred Horse, by C M Prior, page 30, however, the Bustler mare at the head of Family 8 is traced back to a mare by Bay Dodsworth, which would appear to deny this identification, but the use of the adjective "Bay" here is superfluous unless there is more than one Dodsworth, so this may mean a bay son of Dodsworth. There are many instances in the stud book where a horse is known simply by its colour and the name of its sire, for example, Grey Bloody Buttocks, Bay Cade, Grey Slouch, Bay Slipby, Brown Regulus, Grey Hautboy, etc.
The rogue statements by John Cheny and the GSB that Darcy's Yellow Turk, and not Dodsworth, was the sire of the great great grandam of Cartouch, led me to the conjecture that they were one and the same. I now have evidence which proves that Darcy's Yellow Turk was also known as Dodsworth.
The Place's White Turk mare in the pedigree of Old Cartouch was also dam of Trumpet by Hautboy, and she is usually known as Trumpet's dam. The Sporting Kalendar for 1757, by John Pond, page 221, says she was - "a grey Mare of Mr. Croft's, called Trumpet's Dam, which was out of a Darcy Yellow Turk Layton Mare, and she was got by Place's white Trugunwell Turk, that got Commoner and the Ranter Gelding".
The York Courant, Tuesday, March 18, 1745-6, Number 1066, says - "In the Hands of Mess Hassels in Ripon, For this Season will be Leaped, the famous Old Cartouch, at five Guineas a Mare and half a Crown to the Groom. Bald Gallaway was his Sire, the Cripple Barb, his Grandsire, Makeless his Great Grandsire, Place's White Turk his Great Great Grandsire, and Lord Darcy's Yellow Turk his Great Great Great Grandsire. He is in Health and Vigour, and from his Covers of the last season, nine Mares in ten are known to be in Foal. If any Mare does not hold, she shall be cover'd gratis the next year, Good Grass in early and rich Ground, and all due Care will be taken".
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 389, says - "Oglethorpe Arabian (sire of Makeless). This may be the horse described as Mr Oglethorpe's son of the Yellow Turk".
Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 3, says Makeless - "was got by Sir Thomas Oglethorpe's Arabian".
The 2nd Marquis of Rockingham's pedigree collection, Sheffield Archives, Document Reference WWM/R/193/49, says - "Makeless - was got by General Oglethorpe's Arabian his dam by Ld D'Arcy's Yellow Turk - & out of a Natural Barb Mare - which Sr Jno Lawson (a Sea Admiral) bought from Barbary & gave her to King Charles - who gave her to Ld D'Arcy".
Makeless was used by Mr Croft on mares descended from Dodsworth, and Sir Mathew Pearson, Kt, owned the famous Makeless mare, the dam of Bay Bolton.
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 388, says Dodsworth was - "the sire of Dicky Pierson (called in some pedigrees The Son of Dodsworth)". Dicky Pierson's only known produce is a mare that bred Mr Croft's Old Thornton.
Makeless was by a son of Darcy's Yellow Turk, and Darcy's Yellow Turk was Dodsworth, so Makeless was by a son of Dodsworth. Makeless was used as a stallion by Sir Mathew Pearson, Kt, who had a son called Richard Pearson, so this son of Dodsworth may be Dicky Pierson, if so, then Dicky Pierson was Oglethorpe's Arabian. It is also more than probable that Dicky Pierson was the stallion known as Bay Dodsworth, as it is certain that Dodsworth, alias Darcy's Yellow Turk, was a chesnut.
Early Records of the Thoroughbred Horse, by C M Prior, page 30, in Cuthbert Routh's Stud-Book, says - "[Routh's Surley] A Gray Horse [1720] bought of Mr Hutton in April, 1725. He was gott by Surley, which Horse was gott by his Gray Barb, his dam by ye Royall Colt, her dam by Byrley Turk, her dam by Bustler, her dam by a Barb, and her dam by Bay Dodsworth".
Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 7, says - "Wyndham was got by Old Hautboy, (son of the White D'Arcy Turk) ; his dam, (Crutches's dam,) by the Marshall or Selaby Turk ; grandam by Bustler, (son of the Helmsley Turk) ; great grandam by Place's White Turk, (that got Wormwood) ; out of a daughter of Dodsworth. - This is the Pedigree of Wyndham, as it was generally given ; there have been objections made to the reality of it, though there were never any plausible reasons for them".
The GSB, volume 1, 1793 edition, page 291, says - "Cottingham, Mr Constable's, 1735, Hartley's Blind Horse - Son of Snake - Son of Rockwood - Windham & Crutche's dam, by the Selaby Turk - Bustler - Burnet's White Barb - Dodsworth". Burnet's White Barb must have been Place's White Turk as one of the co-executors of Place's Will was his cousin John Burnett.
The stud book of an unidentified breeder, Doncaster Archives, Document Reference DD\BW\J\1, says - "Cottingham was got by Mr Hartley's Blind Horse, his Dam by a son of Snake, his Grand Dam by a Son of Rockwood out of Windham & Crutches Dam, who was got by the Sellaby Turk, his G: Grandam by Bustler, His G: G Grandam by Bay Dodsworth. This from Thomas Jackson".
The Newcastle Courant, Saturday, March 23, 1733-4, Number 465, says - "To be leap'd this Season at Sunderland near the Sea, in the County of Durham, a Chesnut Horse, named Jack Childers, rising 8 Years old, free from any natural Blemish, full 15 Hands high, exceedingly well form'd, and proportionably strong. He was bred by Mr Thomas Cottingham, and got by Ovington's Childers, (who was the Sire of Mr Bartlett's Horse, and also Mr Smales's, who conquered the famous Victorious) out of a Mare got by Snake; her Dam by a Son of Rockwood; her Dam out of the Dam of Windham and Crutches, who was got by the Selby Turk; her Dam by Bustler; her Dam by Burnett's white Barb, and her Dam by bay Woodcock. He will be leap'd at 15 s and 1 s to the Keeper: Enquire of Mr John Smales near Sunderland, abovesaid, who will find very good Grass at 2 s a Week each Mare".
The Newcastle Courant, Saturday, March 15, 1739-40, Number 777, says - "A Bay stone Colt, three Years old, got by a Son of the Ball'd Galloway, who got Mr Ibetson's Chesnut Horse, that won the Plate at Durham, and out of a Childer's Mare, got by Mr Wm. Ovington's Childer's, who was full Brother to the Duke of Devonshire's Childers; her Dam by Snake; her Dam by Pullen's Rockwood; her Dam by the Bellarby Turk, Sire of Wyndham and Crutches; her Dam by Brimmer; her Dam by Mr Curwen's old Woodcock, out of a Royal Mare of Mr Darcey's of Sedburgh.--Note. The above Horses are both free and clear of any natural Blemish".
GSB PICK PRIOR UNKNOWN BREEDER COURANT 465 COURANT 777
Royal Mare of Mr Darcey's
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Dodsworth mare Dodsworth mare Bay Dodsworth mare Bay Dodsworth mare Bay Woodcock mare Curwen's Old Woodcock mare
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Burnet's White Place's White Barb mare | Burnett's White |
Barb mare Turk mare | | Barb mare |
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Bustler mare Bustler mare Bustler mare Bustler mare Bustler mare Brimmer mare
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Selaby Turk mare Selaby Turk mare Byerley Turk mare Selaby Turk mare Selby Turk mare Bellarby Turk mare
(Crutche's dam) (Crutches's dam) | (Crutches dam) (Crutches dam) (Crutches dam)
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Son of Rockwood WYNDHAM Royall Colt mare Son of Rockwood Son of Rockwood Pullen's Rockwood
mare by Old Hautboy | mare mare mare
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Son of Snake SURLEY Son of Snake Snake mare Snake mare
mare by Hutton's Gray Barb mare | |
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COTTINGHAM ROUTH'S SURLEY COTTINGHAM JACK CHILDERS Ovington's Childers
by Hartley's 1720 by Hartley's by Ovington's mare
Blind Horse Blind Horse Childers |
1735 1726 |
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BAY COLT
by Son of Ball'd
Galloway
1736
In the pedigree of Surley, the Barb mare appears to have been a Place's White Turk mare and the Bustler mare may well have been the dam of Crutches dam.
Bay Dodsworth and Curwen's Bay Woodcock seem to be identical and Mr Darcey's Royal Mare was probably the Burton or Layton Barb Mare.
The following two versions of the pedigree of Ancaster Starling show that, as with the Hautboys, the Snakes and the Coneyskins, the practice of naming horses after their sires has also caused confusion between Dodsworth and his son Dicky Pierson.
The Racing Calendar for 1747, by John Cheny, page 110, says - "[Ancaster] Starling was got by the Bolton Starling, Son of Bay Bolton, son of Grey Hautboy, Son of Old Hautboy, Son of the White Darcy Turk. His Dam was got by Partner, his grand Dam by the Croft's Bay Barb. his great grand Dam by Makeless, her Dam by Dodsworth out of a Barb Mare".
According to the GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, pages 173 and 211, Ancaster Starling was by Bolton Starling oo Ringbone by Partner oo Lusty Thornton by Croft's Bay Barb oo Chesnut Thornton by Makeless oo Old Thornton by Brimmer oo mare by Dicky Pierson oo Burton Barb Mare.
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 388, says - "was the property of Mr Place, stud-master to Oliver Cromwell, when Protector, and was sire of Wormwood, Commoner, and the great-grandams of Wyndham, Grey Ramsden and Cartouch". This is confirmed by Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 71.
The Racing Calendar for 1744, by John Cheny, in the index, page x, says - "The White Turk that got Wormwood, and also the Great Grand-Dam of Windham, I suppose to be the Turk of Mr. Place's, Stud-Master to the Lord Protector Cromwell; but this I am not absolutely certain of". Page xi says - "The White Turk of Mr. Place's, which (as I conjecture) got Wormwood and the Great Grand-Dam of Windham, got Commoner and the Ranter Gelding, the Great Grand-Dams of Grey Ramsden, Scar, Guy, Cartouch, Young Greyhound, and the Great Great Grand Dam of Barforth".
The Sporting Kalendar for 1757, by John Pond, page 221, says he was - "Place's white Trugunwell Turk, that got Commoner and the Ranter Gelding".
He is commonly identified with the Arabian horse purchased for Cromwell in Aleppo in 1657, but this date is much too early for Place's White Turk, as he would have been at least thirteen years old when Dodsworth was foaled and there is no evidence that Dodsworth ever covered a Place's White Turk mare.
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 389, says - "also called Sedbury Turk, was the sire of Old Hautboy, Grey Royal, Cannon, etc".
In Early Records of the Thoroughbred Horse, by C M Prior, page 36, in the pedigree of Creeper, James Darcy says - "Blundrbush Royall's dam was out of my own Gray Royall, and gott by the White Turk". C M Prior, in his note on this pedigree, says - "In the foregoing pedigree of Creeper, in his allusion to 'the White Turk,' James Darcy probably referred to Place's famous stallion, rather than to a horse of his own, as supposed in the G.S.B. Dinsdale, where Place's White Turk stood, was only some ten miles from the Darcy estate at Sedbury. It will be noted that for such animals as were his own property, James Darcy uses the term 'my'."
This identification has long been conjectured but I now have evidence which proves that Place's White Turk was also known as Darcy's White Turk. The following text is taken from a portrait of William's Squirrel by James Seymour - "Squirril was bred by the late Mr. Smith near Middleham Yorkshire, & got by Snake, whose Dam was a Daughter of Hautboy. His Sire the Stradling, or Lister Turk. Hautboy was out of a Royal Mare, and the White Darcy Turk, which got Commoner & the Ranter Gelding". According to John Cheny and John Pond, above, Commoner and the Ranter Gelding were sired by Place's White Turk.
Prior also says - "It will be observed that James (Lord) Darcy says Blunderbush Royal's dam was out of Grey Royal, whereas the G.S.B. shews her dam to have been Grey Royal herself". Prior's inability to read old pedigrees correctly has further complicated the matter. Firstly, Grey Royal is not a name, it is a description. Secondly, pedigrees were written down backwards. So, Blundrbush Royall's dam was out of my own Gray Royall, and gott by the White Turk, means that the Royal mare was by Blunderbuss, and her dam [the Grey Royal in the GSB] was by the White Turk out of my own Royal mare which happens to be a grey.
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 10, says Grey Royal was - "got by Darcy's White Turk, dam by Darcy's Yellow Turk - Royal Mare". We know from Prior, above, that the dam of Grey Royal was James Darcy's own Gray Royall, and since she was by Darcy's Yellow Turk, a chesnut, her dam must also have been a grey Royal Mare. It is only conjecture, but it seems likely that this grey Royal Mare was the Old Morocco Mare.
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 14, says the Old Morooco Mare was dam of a filly by Darcy's Yellow Turk, owned by Darcy, that was dam of Lord Lonsdale's Counsellor by the Shaftesbury Turk. Early Records of the Thoroughbred Horse, by C M Prior, page 28, however, says the dam of Lord Lonsdale's Counsellor was - "gott by the White Turk, who got Cannon and Ho'boy. And her dam by the Yellow Turk, who got Old Spanker".
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 15, shows a Place's White Turk mare, Trumpet's dam, that was dam of fillies by Makeless and Hautboy. On the same page is Miss Betty Darcy's Pet Mare, that was dam of three foals by Hautboy. On page 10 is Grey Royal by Darcy's White Turk, the only mare in the GSB to have produce bred by Miss Darcy, and she had a filly by Makeless. If Grey Royal was Miss Betty Darcy's Pet Mare and Place's White Turk was Darcy's White Turk, then we have two mares by Place's White Turk that bred foals by Makeless and Hautboy. This means that in both cases Hautboy was mated to a half-sister, but this kind of incestuous breeding was commonplace at that time.
The Racing Calendar for 1746, by John Cheny, in the index, pages 138 and 139, says - "The Turk that got Hautboy, was also the Sire of Cannon, of the Darcy Grey Royal, the Grand Dam of the Devonshire Dutchess, which was the Dam of the Hampton-Court Childers, and many others".
The Racing Calendar for 1746, by John Cheny, in the index, page 143, says - "The Hampton-Court Childers was bred by his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, and got by Childers. The Dam of the Hampton-Court Childers, was call'd Dutchess (she was got by the Newcastle Turk) her Grand Dam was got by the Westal Turk ; her Great Grand Dam by the Darcy Black Legs ; her Great Great Grand Dam was called Old Royal ; she was out of a Darcy Royal Mare, and the Darcy White Turk".
Early Records of the Thoroughbred Horse, by C M Prior, page 124, in the list of the Duchess of Newcastle's Mares for 1712, mentions - "A filly foal Bay, 4 years old, by ye Pagett Arab of her Call'd Darcy's Young Sorrill out of a Royall Mare Call'd Black Leggs & Gott by Wastell's Turk, her Dam Gott by Duke of Rutland's Black Leggs out of Darcy's oldest Royall Mare".
The evidence here points to Darcy's Oldest Royal Mare being the same mare as Old Grey Royal.
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 7, gives the pedigree of the Coppin Mare as - "Got by The Selaby Turk, her dam by Place's White Turk". A note has been appended - "The Coppin Mare is confused in Pick, and in old pedigrees, with The Coffin Mare (a mare so called by being concealed by Mr Place in a cellar in Fenchurch Street, at the time of the Restoration, which was probably her grandam). Pick also, vol. i., p. 223, makes the grandam of Little Bowes as out of an own sister to The Coffin Mare".
Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 223, gives the pedigree of Mab as - "got by Hobgoblin; her dam, Little Bowes, by Lord Chedworth's Mixbury; grandam by Mr. Hutton's Grey Barb, brought over by Mr. Marshall, great grandam by the Byerley Turk, out of a full sister to the Coffin Mare. The Coffin Mare was got by the Marshall or Selaby Turk, out of a daughter of Mr. Place's White Turk".
An Introduction to a General Stud-Book, page 90, gives the pedigree of Mixbury as - "got by Regulus - Brother to Mixbury -Hutton's Barb, brought over by Mr. Marshall - Byerly Turk - Selaby Turk - Mr. Place's Mare, which he had out of Oliver Cromwell's Stud".
An Introduction to a General Stud-Book, page 194, gives the pedigree of Lord Chedworth's Snap as - "got by Old Snap, his dam (called Young Bowes), was got by Dormouse, grand dam (called Little Bowes) by Mixbury, great grand dam (called Bowes) by Hutton's Barb, brought over by Mr. Marshall, great great grand dam by the Byerley Turk, out of a full sister to the Coffin Mare, whose sire was the Selaby Turk, and her dam a Place Mare - Mr. Place of Dimsdale [sic], Stud Master to Oliver Cromwell, stole this Mare out of the Stud, and kept her concealed in a cellar, till the search for her was over".
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 42, gives the pedigree of Little Bowes as - "Got by Chedworth's brother to Mixbury Galloway, her dam, Bowes, by Hutton's Grey Barb - Byerly Turk - Selaby Turk - Mr. Place's mare, by Hautboy - sister to Morgan's Dun, by a son of the Helmesley [sic] Turk - Dodsworth - Burton Barb".
Place's White Turk must have been foaled about 1670, as he would have to be old enough to be associated with Rowland Place, who died in 1676, and young enough to get foals in the 1690's when he was known as Darcy's WhiteTurk. In the pedigrees above, the Coppin Mare and her sister were out of a Place's White Turk mare. This Place's White Turk mare cannot have been "Mr. Place's Mare, which he had out of Oliver Cromwell's Stud", because she was foaled before 1657, and Mr. Place's mare cannot have been by Hautboy, because Hautboy was foaled after Place's death. If the extension of the pedigree back to the Burton Barb Mare is correct, then the cross of Hautboy must be wrong, as the Coppin Mare and her sister were out of a Place's White Turk mare. But there is no cross of Place's White Turk in the pedigree.
Consider these two pedigrees taken from the GSB:
mare by Hautboy - mare by Place's White Turk - mare by Dodsworth - Layton (Violet) Barb Mare. In Darcy's Stud.
mare by Hautboy - sister to Morgan's Dun by son of Helmsley Turk - mare by Dodsworth - Burton Barb Mare.
Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 242, traces Young Greyhound back to "Mr. Layton's Violet Barb Mare" and Desdemona back to "Mr. Burton's Violet Barb Mare, in Lord D'Arcy's Stud". The evidence here seems to point to there being only one mare which was known as the Violet Barb Mare. If this supposition is correct and the above pedigrees are identical, then that would make Morgan's Dun and his sister by Place's White Turk, a son of the Helmsley Turk.
Bustler, one of the few horses known to have been sired by the Helmsley Turk, is called Mr Place's Bustler in the GSB and Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 20, says he was bred by Rowland Place, but it is most unlikely that Bustler was Place's White Turk. The following text, part of a letter from Thomas Pulleine to John Holles, Duke of Newcastle, taken from Early Records of the Thoroughbred Horse, by C M Prior, page 126, clearly shows that they were two different stallions:
"1706, 28th [October], Bolton. The pedigree of the maires I send for
yor Grace to have the refuseall off is as follows
The Lame philly's dam was gott by Mr Place white Turke & vnder a ffenwicke
maire & her sire is my Chessnutt Arabian
thother 4 yr old philly's dam was out of Sr Mathew Peirson Running maire wch
was the most famouse maire in my time & gott by Mr Place Turke & the
philly's sire my Chessnutt Arab.
the 6 yr old maire was out of a maire gott by Brimers [Brimmer] out of a Buttler
[Bustler] maire & she was gott by my white Turk [Rockwood]".
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 389, says he was - "from the stud of Lord Fairfax, Helmsley, became the property of the Duke of Buckingham, and got Bustler, etc". Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 20, says he was - "the Duke of Buckingham's Turk, generally called the Helmsley Turk".
Helmsley was given by the Commonwealth to Lord Fairfax in 1651 and it was in his possession until 1657 when, on the marriage of his only daughter, Mary, to the second Duke of Buckingham, he restored the estate to his son-in-law from whom it had been confiscated. It is generally accepted that the horses attributed to Lord Fairfax were all bred and owned by him during his time at Helmsley and that, for some reason, he neither owned nor bred any horses after 1657. If it is assumed that the ownership of all the horses in the stud reverted to the Duke of Buckingham and that the Old Morocco Mare, which is credited in the GSB as being bred by Fairfax, was foaled in 1657, and that Fairfax's Morocco Barb was a yearling when he covered Old Bald Peg, then he would have been foaled in 1655. This would make him thirty years old when he covered Dodsworth's dam in 1685. Not an impossible scenario, but stretching the imagination.
The GSB, volume 1, 5th edition, page 377, says - "Aimwell, Mr Pembroke's, 1750, by Babraham - Sir Everard Fawkener's Grey Turk - Hampton-Court Childers - Conyers Arabian - Vernon Barb - Curwen's Grey Morocco Barb - Leedes Arabian - Spanker - the Old Morocco Mare (Old Peg)". The mare by Curwen's Grey Morocco Barb has been listed under the dam of Chaunter on page 12.
The Sporting Kalendar for 1754, by John Pond, page 149, says - "Aimwell, Mr. Pembroke's, was got by Babraham, Son of the Godolphin Arabian; his Dam by Sir Everard Faulkner's grey Turk, his Grandam by the old Hampton Childers, his Great Grandam by Conyer's Arabian, his Great Great Grandam by the Vernon Barb, his Great Great Great Grandam by Mr. Curvin's grey Morocco Barb, his Great Great Great Great Grandam by Leeds's Arabian, that got Leeds, his Great Great Great Great Great Grandam by old Spanker, out of Bald Peg".
If the GSB and Pond are correct then the fifth dam of Aimwell was by Curwen's Grey Morocco Barb. This is probably the stallion known as Curwen's Grey Turk and The Turk, sire of Flanderkin. In Early Records of the Thoroughbred Horse, by C M Prior, page 37, in Cuthbert Routh's Stud-Book, he is called Mr Curwen's Gray Turk, which got Flanderkin. Flanderkin was foaled in 1707 and Chaunter was foaled in 1710, so although it is possible that Curwen's Grey Turk could have sired a filly out of the dam of Chaunter, it is unlikely that the Leedes Arabian mare here is the dam of Chaunter. The third dam of Chaunter, the Old Morocco Mare, who was also known as Old Peg, was never known as Bald Peg. Pond says Aimwell traces to Bald Peg, which may be her sister Leedes (Young) Bald Peg or her dam Old Bald Peg.
The pedigree of Aimwell, as recorded in Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 156, reads - "by Babram, his dam by Sir Everard Fawkener's Grey Turk, grandam by Hampton Court Childers, Conyer's Arabian, Mr. Vernon's Barb, Lord Fairfax's Grey Morocco Barb, Mr. Leeds's Arabian, (sire of Leedes), a daughter of Spanker, out of Old Bald Peg, the grandam of Spanker".
Pick says the fifth dam of Aimwell was by Lord Fairfax's Grey Morocco Barb but this would appear to be an error for Curwen's Grey Morocco Barb. He also states that Aimwell traces to a mare by Spanker out of Old Bald Peg, whom he further identifies as the grandam of Spanker.
It seems more likely that the Bald Peg in this pedigree is Leedes (Young) Bald Peg thus making the Leedes Arabian mare identically bred to Bay Peg, the dam of Fox.
In the pedigree below the dates are hypothetical and are there simply to suggest a possible timescale:
| Curwen's Grey Morocco Barb mare (1705) 5th dam of AIMWELL |
CURWEN'S GREY MOROCCO BARB (1690) |
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| Leedes Arabian mare (1690) |
LEEDES ARABIAN (1680) |
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| Spanker mare (1680) |
SPANKER (1675) |
DARCY'S YELLOW TURK (1670) |
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| Old Morocco Mare (1670) |
FAIRFAX'S MOROCCO BARB (1660) |
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| Old Bald Peg (1660) |
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| Leedes Bald Peg (1670) |
FAIRFAX'S MOROCCO BARB (1660) |
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| Old Bald Peg (1660) |
ARABIAN | ||||
| Fairfax's Barb Mare |
The date for Darcy's Yellow Turk, alias Dodsworth, 1670, is very close to being correct, and the date for his half-sister Vixen, 1686, shows that her sire the Helmsley Turk was alive in 1685. Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 72, says the sire of Vixen was the Earl of Holderness's Turk. Possible lifespans for the Helmsley Turk range from 20 years (1665 - 1685) to 25 years (1660 - 1685).
The owner of Fairfax's Morocco Barb, Lord Fairfax,
lived 1612 to 1671.
The owner of the Helmsley Turk, the Duke of Buckingham, lived
1628 to 1687.
The owner of the Earl of Holderness's Turk, Conyers Darcy, was
created Earl of Holderness in 1682 and died in 1689.
This stallion was, therefore, Fairfax's Morocco Barb until 1671, the Buckingham or Helmsley Turk from 1671 to 1685 and the Earl of Holderness's Turk sometime between 1682 and 1689. These dates allow the Old Morocco Mare to be bred by Lord Fairfax and Spanker to be bred by the Duke of Buckingham, as stated in the GSB. Pick's Turf Register, volume 1, page 11, says Spanker was bred by Charles Pelham of Brocklesby, Lincolnshire.
The use of these names was not confined to the dates shown but depended on who wrote down the pedigree.
Lady Wentworth says the Taffolet, or Morocco, Barb was the same as Fairfax's Morocco Barb, but this is impossible as the Taffolet Barb sired Mustard in 1707. See LAYTON GREY BARB, ROCKWOOD, TAFFOLET BARB AND TREGONWELL'S BARB MARE