YORKY CLUB MAGAZINE #10 -- August 2008

"A few more pieces to the fascinating puzzle!" by Richard Haynes

From that time onwards I have interested in all aspects of the breed although a business career interrupted various phases. However I now find myself semi-retired and the old passions of research into Yorkie dogs & people can once again be pursued. The internet has been an incredible help and opened so many doors that were once firmly shut. The men and women that created our breed developed ‘a fine art’ in covering their tracks. There is something typically English about a mystery and re-examining all available data has revealed numerous clues. The more people hide information, the more we want to learn the truth. I started with my own local library which has an incredible collection on breeds of dogs – some 3000 volumes, and some quite old such as J. F. Perry’s Kennel Secrets the clever American author who wrote under the name of Ashmont who wrote so well about Yorkies, and many others.

The Kennel Club library in London has been a great help and provided much – at a price but I am hugely grateful to them. I started collecting vast quantities of information some interesting but some only of interest to real breed aficionados. I joined various local history societies and took out a subscription to the Scotsman newspaper, so I could examine all their archives looking for anything on small terriers right back to the 1830’s and I did find some things of interest – particularly references to small Skye Terriers.

I also found a number of references to young Peter Eden (owner of Albert the first Yorkshire Terrier in the first Stud Book and many times behind the great Huddersfield Ben) winning and judging dog shows – often with such phrases as ‘giving satisfaction’ for his judging and the presentation of both his dogs and his prize winning Pigs was noted. He was just one of the pioneers to whom we should all be grateful. I found out quite a bit about him, and if people are interestedthis can be included in another article.

Then a real breakthrough happened just last November, whilst visiting the Del Valle KC in Livermore California when I was able to purchase 5 copies of The Kennel Review published in London in the 1880’s which were full of interesting information. We were staying in Dublin CA for the Northern California Yorkshire Terrier Specialty and went to the dinner and auction that night completely unaware that in these newly purchased volumes were details of the first meetings of the first ever Yorkshire Terrier Club, the drawing up of the first breed standard and much more.

If anyone else knows these things, to my knowledge they have never been published although the wonderful Joan Gordon and Janet Bennett came very close in their two classic books on the breed. It was Easter Monday in 1886 that the first meeting to decide to have ‘A Yorkshire Terrier Club’ took place in the Oak Room, The Old Cock Inn, in Halifax, West Yorkshire. So this last Easter Monday I thought it might be a good idea to go back to Halifax to have a look to see what still remains of the Inn and take in some other places of Yorkshire Terrier history including The Westgate Hotel where Joshua Swift lived and where his famous dog Old Crab (in Huddersfield Ben’s pedigree) was stuffed and was many years to be viewed behind the bar.

We were amazed to find both the Old Cock Inn and the Westgate in good order and took a few photos. I am grateful to the enthusiastic team behind the Yorkie Club and their magazines are a top quality production. I have touched on a few subjects in this article and if people want more I will be happy to write more in depth in future articles. Please share your information and ideas with us. If you have questions about people and dogs I will try to answer them or find others to help. This is a shared heritage which belongs to all Yorkshire Terrier enthusiasts, lets record it before it is lost for ever.

Richard Haynes contact: richaynes07@hotmail.com or yorkshireroots@hotmail.co.uk