Clumber Spaniel

The Clumber is a rare breed with mysterious origins. While we don’t know for sure where this breed originated, some believe that it developed in France – although this is based on speculation rather than facts. One story goes that during the French Revolution, Clumbers were smuggled out of France and across the channel to England.

A more credible explanation is that the breed was developed by English gamekeepers who cared for hunting dogs, in order to meet the sport’s needs and demands, in the latter part of the 18th and first half of the 19th century. The Clumber Spaniel is thought to have resulted from crosses between Basset Hounds and early Alpine Spaniels, which are now extinct – this combination would have given the Clumber his low, long body and heavy head.

The name ‘Clumber’ derives from Clumber Park, in Nottinghamshire, England, a vast estate belonging to the Duke of Newcastle. It is possible that the Duke’s long-time gamekeeper, William Mansell, was responsible for the development of this unique breed, as he and his descendants worked in that vicinity for a long period with a significant number of hunting spaniels.

Several titled families and landed gentry living near Clumber Park also hunted with these sporting spaniels and there are records of Clumber breedings on these neighbouring estates. In fact, these dogs were extremely popular with the British royalty and nobility during the 19th century. Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, was a big fan of the breed, as were King Edward VII, who ruled England for the first decade of the 19th century and George V, an important Clumber breeder in his day.

Many works of art from those times depict Clumbers in hunting situations, including Francis Wheatley’s 1788 painting, “The Return from Shooting”, which depicts the Duke of Newcastle with his hunting party, accompanied by several Clumber Spaniels. Clumbers are portrayed in many other 19th-century artworks and they appear to have not changed much in appearance over the past two centuries.

Clumbers are thought to have arrived in North America in 1848, first to Canada, with enough in the United States by 1883 to be one of the nine breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club when the organisation was founded in 1884. However, it wasn’t until the 1930s that a significant number were shown in the United States. Nowadays, less than 200 puppies are registered each year.

Clumbers were present at the very first British dog shows, held in the mid-1800s, and were shown quite often in the latter part of the 19th century. While the United Kingdom used to export Clumber Spaniels all over the world, today, the British are actually importing them. The UK Kennel Club has designated the Clumber Spaniel a vulnerable native breed, with less than 300 new dogs being registered each year.