Jack Russell (priest)

John "Jack" Russell (21 December 1795 – 28 April 1883), known as "The Sporting Parson", vicar of Swimbridge and rector of Black Torrington in North Devon, was an enthusiastic fox-hunter and dog breeder,[1] who developed the Jack Russell Terrier, a variety of the Fox Terrier breed.[2]

For other people named John Russell, see John Russell (disambiguation).

The Reverend

Jack Russell
Russell dressed in his hunting clothes
Born(1795-12-21)21 December 1795
Dartmouth, Devon
Died28 April 1883(1883-04-28) (aged 87)
Alma materExeter College, Oxford
Known forDog breeder

Origins

Russell was born on 21 December 1795 in Dartmouth, South Devon, the eldest son of John Russell by his wife Nora Jewell.[3] He lived at Sandhill House.

Education

He was educated at Plympton Grammar School, Blundell's School, Tiverton[4] and Exeter College, Oxford.

Sporting career

It was at Exeter College, legend has it, that he spotted a little white terrier with dark tan spots over her eyes, ears and at the tip of her tail, who was owned by a local milkman in the nearby small hamlet of Elsfield[5] or Marston[6]).[7] Russell bought the dog on the spot and this animal, called "Trump", became the foundation of a line of fox hunting terriers that became known as Jack Russell Terriers. They were well-suited by the shortness and strength of their legs for digging out foxes which had "gone to earth" having been hunted over-ground by fox hounds.

Russell was a founding member of The Kennel Club.[8] He helped to write the breed standard for the Fox Terrier (Smooth) and became a respected judge. He did not show his own fox terriers on the conformation bench, saying that the difference between his dogs and the conformation dogs could be likened to the difference between wild and cultivated flowers.

Clerical career

Russell was appointed vicar of Swimbridge in North Devon, where the local public house was renamed the "Jack Russell Inn" and still stands today. He was also rector of Black Torrington in Devon.[9] At Swimbridge Russell enjoyed a hectic social life, with formal dining, charity fundraising, and an active career as a Freemason.[10]

Marriage

In 1836 at Swimbridge he married Penelope Incledon-Bury, third daughter and co-heiress of Vice-Admiral Richard Incledon-Bury (1757-1825), Royal Navy, lord of the manor of Colleton, Chulmleigh in Devon,[11] who resided at Dennington, Swimbridge. Russell is said to have had expensive sporting habits both on and off the hunting-field, which drained the substantial resources of his heiress wife and left the estate of Colleton in poor condition.[12]

Death and burial

Russell died on 28 April 1883 and was buried in the churchyard of St. James's Church, Swimbridge, where he was vicar.[13]

See also

References
  1. "The Parson Russell Terrier Club, UK - Introduction to the breed". Parsonrussellterrierclub.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  2. "A Field Guide to the English Clergy' Butler-Gallie, F p90: London, Oneworld Publications, 2018 ISBN 9781786074416
  3. Lee, Sidney, ed. (1897). "Russell, John (1795-1883)" . Dictionary of National Biography. 49. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 464.
  4. "Famous OBs". www.blundells.org. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  5. Davies, Norman (1 January 1996). Europe: A History. Oxford University Press. p. 343. ISBN 978-0-19-820171-7. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  6. From the civil war to Jack Russell breed by Chris Koenig, Oxford Times 25 January 2007
  7. "A brief history of the Jack Russell - Jack Russell Terrier UK". Jack-russell-terrier.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  8. "Plentiful Run Parson Russell Terriers - About Us". Dogwebs.net. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  9. Vivian, p.499
  10. Hörter, Ria (2012). "Parson John (Jack) Russell and the Jack Russell Terrier". The Canine Chronicle. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  11. Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.499, pedigree of Incledon
  12. Lauder, Rosemary Anne, A Tale of Two Rivers, Bideford, 1986, p.72
  13. "History of Swimbridge Parish Church of St. James". swimbridgeparishchurch.org. Retrieved 4 December 2013.

Further reading
  • Parson Jack Russell: The Hunting Legend 1795-1883 by Charles Noon, Halsgrove Publishers.
  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. 2004. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  • Baker, Margaret Mitford. Jack Russell, hunting parson of old Devon. Devon Life vol. 7 no. 56 (1971) pp.37. [1796-1833]
  • Davies, E.W.L. A memoir of the Rev. John Russell and his out-of-door life. (New ed.) London: Richard Bentley & Son, (1883), portrait, xii, 397 pp. [Index]
  • Kerr, Eleanor. Hunting parson: the life and times of the Reverend John Russell. London: Herbert Jenkins (1963) 192p, plates: ill.
  • Lamplugh, Lois. Parson Jack Russell of Swimbridge. Swimbridge: Wellspring (1994) [ii], 27p: ill, ports [ISBN 0951534734]
  • Noon, C. Parson Jack Russell: The Hunting Legend 1995-1883, Halsgrove Press, Tiverton (2000) 144 pp. [ISBN 1841140503]
  • Pepper, Frank S. Parson Jack Russell. Swimbridge: Church Council (1981) 8p. [Westcountry Studies Library - p920/RUS]
  • Lifetime Passion for All Forms of Hunting: The Sporting Parson The Reverend John Russell. Devon Family Historian 84 (1997) pp. 2-3. [The Hunting Parson who bred the Jack Russell terrier]
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