A Little History
In the Beginning
It all starts with the first Russell or more precisely John Russell who was born in Dartmouth, Devon, England on the 12th December 1795. I can't be sure where John got his love of hunting from some say his family and others that he developed his passion while boarding at Blundell's School, Tiverton. It is know that while at school in Tiverton he kept a hunting pack with the help of his friend Robert Bovey and the village Blacksmith. When their extra curricula activities were discovered by their Headmaster Dr. Richards, Russell escaped with a beating where as Bovey was expelled. Nothing is said about what happened to the Blacksmith though!
After completing his Bachelor's and Master's degrees John Russell became a Deacon and was then ordained in 1820. Russell was given the parish of South Moulton in Devon as curate and although his work within the parish kept him busy he always found time to hunt his own pack of six couples for Otter in the summer and Fox in the winter.
In 1883 Reverend John Russell died his breed of dog however, did not as his remaining dogs were taken by hunt colleagues and friends. Several breeders, such as Augusta Guest and Miss Serrell bred terriers on very similar lines to Russell. After the Parson's death Arthur Heinemann tirelessly kept the breed alive. As secretary of the Parson Jack Russell Club, he was instrumental in writing a Breed Standard based on the terriers that Russell had bred.
His passion for hunting continued while at Oxford University where he would hunt at every opportunity with the Beaufort, the Bicester and the Old Berkshire hunts. It was during his time at Oxford that he acquired Trump, a terrier bitch who was to be the foundation for the Russell breed.
Russell's biographer E.W.L. Davies wrote of the meeting:
"Before he had reached Marston, a milkman met him with a terrier - such as an animal Russell had yet only seen in his dreams; he halted as Actacon might have done when he caught sight of Diana disporting in her bath; but unlike that ill-fated hunter; he never budged from the spot till he had won the prize and secured it for his own."
Davies described Trump thus:
"In the first place the colour is white with just a patch of dark tan over each eye and ear, while a similar dot, not larger than a penny piece, marks the root of the tail. The coat, which is thick, close and a trifle wiry, is well calculated to protect the body from wet and cold, but has no affinity with the long, rough jacket of a Scotch Terrier. The legs are straight as arrows, the feet perfect; the loins and conformation of the whole frame indicative of hardihood and endurance; while the size and height of the animal may be compared to that of a full-grown vixen fox."
John Russell considered her the ideal terrier, saying, "Her whole appearance gave indications of courage, endurance and hardihood." As Russell developed his breeding programme he preserved this feisty, determined character within his breed.
Breed Development
In 1826 the Reverend Russell and Penelope Bury were married and they moved to Iddlesleigh, North Devon where the Reverend took up the post of curate of his father's parish. His marriage to Penelope did little to hinder his hunting, as she too was a keen hunter. The work in the new parish was far less demanding on Russell's time and he was able to enlarge his dog pack and concentrate on foxhunting.
The terrain in the area was tough and demanding and the dogs had to keep pace with mounted huntsmen throughout the day. Russell therefore bred his dogs for stamina and speed without diminishing the courageous temperament he considered so essential. It's reported that Trump and her descendant Tip would run 15-20 miles a day on a hunt.
The Russell's moved to Swymbridge in 1833 to what was to be their home for the next 45 years where Russell served his parishioners well though foxhunting remained his true passion.
Once word of his terriers spread beyond Devon many of his dogs were bought as foundation stock for other packs. One of the Reverend contemporaries asked, "Where shall you find any terrier strain, or for that matter any strain of dogs, so honoured and renowned as that of the Devonshire Parson?"
There are a number of written descriptions of the Parson's terriers one by Thomas Henry Pearce appeared in 'The Dog' in 1872: "The peculiar texture [of the coat] does not interfere with the profile of the body, though there is a shaggy eyebrow and a pronounced moustache. The eyebrows are the great mark, giving the dog the look of a Bristol merchant. Mr Russell's [dogs] have a keen jaw; narrow but strong; short, well set limbs; a long back; small ears; and white is the prevailing colour; a hard-coated enduring dog, fit for any work, however hard, with a rough jacket, defiant of all weather, and resolution (combined with sense enough) to serve him in all difficulties."
The Parson's Legacy
The breed's future seemed secure but following the Second World War the Parson Russell's future looked bleak. As with many breeds during the war years their numbers declined but once the peace was won a new threat loomed for the Parson's terriers.
The breed was crossed with other breeds ranging from the Chihuahua and the Corgi to various other terriers, including Lakeland, Fox and the Staffordshire Bull Terriers. A new short-legged (and some say barrel-chested) terrier started to appear that became a very popular family pet. However, with no control over the breeding lines there was no uniformity of type and it looked as though the breed created by the Parson Russell would be lost forever.
Fortunately a group of enthusiasts based in Devon continued to breed dogs true to the original type and after a long struggle was recognized by the English Kennel Club. The breed today is known as the Parson Russell Terrier and breeders are dedicated to preserving the Parson's terriers as described in Heinemann's Breed Standard now adopted as the basis for the Standard set by the Kennel Club.
