Stuffed Grayrigg fox to be sold at auction
A fox which was caught in a hunt across Cumbria more than 100 years ago is going up for sale.
The Grayrigg Fox was preserved and stuffed after a three-hour chase by the Ullswater Foxhounds in 1898.
Owned for more than a century by the Woods family at Grayrigg Hall near Kendal, it is now going to auction in Newcastle.
Auctioneer Rod Meek said its "provenance" would make it of interest to people in Cumbria and hunting folk.
The animal is in a 1.2m (4ft) long glass case and bears a handwritten note and an account of the hunt which appeared in the 1921 book, Reminiscences of Joe Bowman.
The story tells how the fox was found and caught by a hound called Cleaver, who had been raised at Grayrigg Hall and was the author's favourite hound.
The fox, which is expected to make £400-£600, is among a number of taxidermy items being auctioned at Anderson & Garland's Town and County sale on Wednesday.