The hunt is on

SEPTEMBER is a magical month in the Cotswolds. For lifelong supporters of the Heythrop Hunt, however, this week is a time for nostalgia, following the launch onto the market of North Rye House near Donnington, Gloucestershire, a handsome Cotswold stone house set in 148 acres of gardens, pasture, parkland and woodland, a mile from the pretty village of Broadwell, and 1½ miles north of Stow-on-the-Wold. From 1986, until his death in April last year, this was the much-loved home of former joint-master the late Peter Stoddart and his wife, Joanna, who, during 30 golden years from the late 1980s, hosted the opening meet of the Heythrop each year.

Rupert Sweeting of Knight Frank (020–7861 1078), who quotes a guide price of £7.5 million for the beautifully maintained house and farm, has vivid memories of that golden era: ‘I was fortunate enough to have hunted with the Heythrop during the glory years when Peter was