Lucas terrier Development

Sir Jocelyn gave up his kennels at Watford in the late 1950s but Enid Plummer continued to breed Ilmer Sealyhams and Lucas terriers.

According to the Ilmer Kennel advertisement in the 1961 Christmas Number Supplement of Our Dogs few of the Ilmer Sealyhams exceeded the standard weight of between 13 and 16 lbs and some were definite miniatures. The late Mr A. Croxton Smith, Chairman of the Kennel Club, wrote in 'Country Life' magazine, "Indeed I think that the Ilmer Sealyhams are more entitled to immortality than the Fox Terriers which belonged to the Devon clergyman (Parson Jack Russell)" In this same advert. is mention of the Lucas terrier, 'Little sporting Lucas terriers, weighing about 10 - 14 lbs are very popular and attractive, and wonderful with children. One Lucas terrier puppy realised £100 at an auction.' Auctioning dogs is, of course, frowned upon nowadays but was acceptable at that time.

The Ilmer Sealyhams were much sought after and were sent all over the world. Owners included Princess Margaret (Ilmer Johnny Boy), three owners of Derby winners, E. Phillips Oppenheim, the famous author, who owned five, Sir Alfred Hitchcock who had four and Fred Karno of Fred Karno's Army fame who had three.

As well as carrying out Lucas/Lucas matings Enid also continued to breed hybrids. In the 1960s she used a Norfolk by the name of Gotoground Brock (mated to Ilmer Sweet Poppet to produce the Lucas terrier Plummer's George Chester, amongst others, he was an fine example of a Lucas terrier), in the 1970s she used Rossut Montelimar Royal Red, her own Norfolk dog Osmor Trevor and Gethavon Juggler while another breeder, Mrs Pitt, used Ravenswing Fore Royal but this line has died out. She was producing a type, and when I studied many old pedigrees (all Lucas terriers were sold with four or five generation pedigree) it became clear that the aim was to have more Sealyham in the Lucas pedigrees than Norfolk terrier whilst type was being fixed. When Norfolk terrier outweighs Sealyham terrier there is a speedy degeneration in type and the desirable attributes passed on from the Sealyham are lost, producing a terrier which lacks depth and strength of muzzle, width between the ears, is light in bone and has little body. The only advantage the Lucas which favours the Norfolk has is that it tends to carry a hard coat, which is not always the case in examples which are more Sealyham biased.

Enid Plummer died in 1986 and her death could very well have sounded the death knell for the Lucas too. Some breeders and owners felt that without Enid at the helm the Lucas should be just quietly fade away. Thankfully, Mrs Jane Irwin, Mrs Irwin's uncle, Mr Basil Wallwork and Miss Jumbo Frost, all Lucas owners, were not of this opinion and, therefore, they joined forces to set up the Lucas Terrier Society. The aim of this informal group was to aid owners to find a suitable mate should they wish to breed from their terrier and to generally promote the breed.

A couple of articles published in 1987 brought a flood of inquiries but, unfortunately, there were nowhere near enough puppies to satisfy the demand.

Jane Irwin had bought a white and tan Lucas terrier from Mrs Diana Howard of Lakerising in Wiltshire, having originally approached Mrs Howard with a view to purchasing a Sealyham. Mrs Irwin relates that Mrs Howard suggested that since Mrs Irwin had a toddler son that the Lucas terrier with its mellower temperament might be a better buy. This advice was heeded and Howard's Bessie joined the Irwin household.

Jane Irwin mated Bessie to Howard's Dusty, bred by Mrs Howard in 1981 and owned by Mrs Judy Colville.

From this mating, in 1984, the tan and white bitches Irwin's Muffin and Irwin's Daisy were born and both were mated to a white and tan dog called Fielder's Polo, bred by Mrs Gillian Fielder of Truro in 1985. This dog had originally gone to a pet home where he had behavioural problems and was temperamentally unsound. At a time when a decision was being considered regarding whether the dog should be put to sleep Mr Jason Barnes of Essex stepped into the picture. Mr Barnes saw Fielder's Polo at a Game Fair and approached his then owners to inquire as to whether the dog was a Lucas terrier. The owners confirmed that he was and told Mr Barnes that they were considering having the dog put down. Mr Barnes offered to take him and he passed over to his ownership. Mr Barnes found that the previous owners had not been joking about the dog's unstable temperament, as he was bitten when putting the dog into his car. However, in time the dog became trustworthy with Mr Barnes who then proceeded to enter him to the world of work. This is not an easy task with an adult dog and it is to Jason Barnes' credit that he ever got the dog to work at all, and work he did. He was entered to fox and, I am told, gave a good account of himself. Bad temperament in the Lucas terrier is almost unknown and it was felt that the Polo's problems could be more down to nurture than a natural propensity to grumpiness. This has been found to be the case, none of Fielder's Polo's progeny (and he has many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren) has inherited his unpredictable manner (or perhaps I should say predictable manner as I understand he would always bite given the chance!)

The mating between Fielder's Polo and Irwin's Muffin produced two puppies, Wallwork's Flurry and Wallwork's Bertie on the 15th of April 1987. Flurry carried on the line but Bertie was never used. The Fielder'sPolo and Irwin's Daisy mating produced Ward's Poppy and she has also been bred from, the line continuing when her daughter, Ward's Rosey, was mated to Frost's Tippytoes in 1998 and produced three bitches. Fielder's Polo was also mated to a bitch called Plummer's Mandy in 1987 and this mating produced two white and tan puppies, Lesslie's Frobisher, a dog, and Lesslie's Truffle, a bitch. Lesslie's Frobisher has never been used, despite encouragement, as he was a very nice example, but Lesslie's Truffle, in the ownership of Mrs Caroline Smeaton of Taunton has produced a handful of litters. Lesslie's Truffle has Lucas terrier parents, grandparents and 7 out of her 8 great grandparents are Lucas terriers - the exception being the Sealyham bitch on Fielder's Polo's side, Jubilee Daisy.

Lesslie's Truffle was mated to Plummer's Johnnie, one of the last, and best, of the Lucas terriers bred by Enid Plummer, in 1990, and the litter contained a white and tan bitch which was named Smeaton's Moppet. She was mated to Whitehead's Wellesley (a Sealyham/Lucas) and produced a very nice dog puppy named Dettmer's Jimmy. It was hoped that he would be used at stud but unfortunately he died, believed poisoned, when he was still only a youngster. However, Jimmy's sister, Dettmer's Pebble, has produced puppies sired by Colville's Monte (a son of Fielder's Polo) and this most illustrious line of Lucas terriers continues today through Mrs Rose Shepherd-Cross' bitch, Dettmer's Treacle. Mated to Frost's Lostmelicence Samson she produced two bitches and a dog puppy in 1999.

In 1989 Jane Irwin realised that fresh blood was desperately needed and she decided to mate her Sealyham bitch, Miss Snowie, to a black and tan Norfolk dog by the name of Champion Newthatch Black Pepper. The litter, all saddle and tans, contained only one bitch, Irwin's Miss Matty, which was unfortunately spayed as she lived with male Irish Wolfhounds. A dog, Irwin's Brutus went to Southern Ireland where it was hoped he would start a line of Lucas terriers there, but the bitch sent to be his mate had problems with her reproduction organs which led to her being spayed, so to date that has been a nonstarter, and the others disappeared from the gene pool. Mrs Irwin mated Miss Snowie again at the end of 1990 to a son of Ch N. Black Pepper called Ch Elve Bingo Baggins, and the litter was born on 18th February 1991. As before, there was only one bitch in the litter, Irwin's Flossie, a tan, which was bought by Mrs Judy Colville, owner of Howard's Dusty. There were two other tans, both dogs, in the litter, Irwin's Scruffy of Carew, which belongs to Mrs Irwin's mother, Mrs M. Bennion and Irwin's Tigger, owned by the Duchess of Wellington. A saddle and tan dog went to Miss Jenny Arden in London and was called Irwin's Don Pedro. This dog really brought the Lucas to the public's attention when he joined Anneka Rice on her 'Challenge Anneka' television programme. The Kennel Club was inundated with calls inquiring about Pedro and eventually approached me to ask if they could pass my details on to callers. I imagine this would be quite an unusual step for the Kennel Club considering the Lucas terrier is not a recognised breed. I was delighted to agree but, sadly, again, demand outstripped supply and few people who fell in love with Pedro in his starring role were fortunate enough to find a Lucas puppy to buy.

1992 was a busy year for Lucas terriers. For some time Jumbo Frost had been waiting for the correct type of Sealyham bitch to become available. A phenomenon usually attributed to the arrival of buses occurred and suddenly there were two to be had! Jumbo had already agreed to take one of the puppies when the second became available. She was not keen to have this second puppy as her breeding was almost identical to Miss Snowie's and Jumbo felt this would not help to expand the gene pool. However, the owner of the sire urged her to visit and look at the puppy which, eventually, she decided to do. This puppy was Bimbi, Dandy's Dainty Ice Lady, and probably the biggest influence on Lucas terriers in recent years. The two puppies were the small old fashioned type Sealyhams favoured by Sir Jocelyn Lucas and Enid Plummer but, even so, the first one, Torset The Only One, known as Chippy, proved to be a difficult whelper, indifferent mother and her puppies were not of the highest quality.

On the other hand, the puppies from Dandy's Dainty Ice Lady proved to be the catalyst the breed needed to reintroduce the correct type. Jumbo's breeding plan was to mate these bitches to Lucas terriers which could trace their ancestry to the Ilmer kennels. For the question had to be asked - can a Norfolk/Sealyham hybrid with no connection to Ilmer truly be described as a Lucas terrier? The necessity for hybrids to expand the gene pool and improve the breed generally could not be denied but it was felt throughout the Club that a link with the past had to be maintained at all costs.

In April 1993 both bitches were mated to a tan Lucas dog called Brewer's Teddy. Teddy had been sired by Jumbo's dog, Plummer's Bodger, and was one of two pups in the litter. Jumbo had intended keeping Teddy but he continually harassed his father, Bodger, an old dog at that time, so went to Lambourn and Jumbo kept the quieter of the two, Brewer's Mtoto, a saddle and tan. Jumbo knew of Sir Jocelyn's dislike of saddle and tans so decided to use Brewer's Teddy rather than her own dog in the hope that the puppies would be tan. Teddy was a small dog and rather Norfolk-like in appearance which was ideal for mating to a pure-bred Sealyham. Sadly, his life was cut short in 1998 when he was attacked by a neighbour's dogs and later died of his injuries.

Torset The Only One produced three puppies, only one of which survived. The bitch suffered from mastitis and the lone puppy was hand-reared on milk replacement, hence, his registration name with the Club was Frost's Whelpi. Dandy's Dainty Ice Lady produced one saddle and tan bitch, Frost's Szasza, known as Lucy, who went to Mrs Cathy Thomas in Wales, a saddle and tan dog, Frost's Black Jack, was sent to France and there were three tan dogs, Frost's Tippytoes, White Throat and Frost's Noddy. Frost's Tippytoes and Frost's White Throat (known as Barney) were kept back for assessment and eventually it was decided to retain Tippy.

A second litter was bred from Dandy's Dainty Ice Lady the following year, again sired by Brewer's Teddy and all the puppies in this litter were saddle and tan, one bitch and two dogs. Torset The Only One was mated to a white and tan dog called Smeaton's Bertie Wooster - his sire was Phillip's Bugsy Malone and his dam Lesslie's Truffle. There were three bitches and one dog in the litter, the dog and one bitch were white and black, one bitch was white with a black and tan head and the other was white and tan. These puppies were quite large and Sealyham-like. Torset The Only One later had a litter of two puppies, sired by Frost's Tippytoes, but this was not a success and she was not bred from again.

Meanwhile, Mrs Cathy Thomas in Wales was looking for a dog to mate her bitch, Frost's Szasza, to. Mrs Thomas decided to go to the tan Norfolk/Sealyham hybrid bred by Jane Irwin and owned by the Duchess of Wellington, Irwin's Tigger. Two tan bitch puppies from this mating were kept back as potential breeding prospects - Thomas' Coffee Bean, retained by her breeder, and Thomas' Ginger Rogers, which went to Jumbo Frost. A saddle and tan bitch, Thomas' Miss Bumble, was purchased by Lady Guy in Dorset who was also keen to breed. Judy Colville around the same time had mated Irwin's Tigger's litter sister, Irwin's Flossie to Fielder's Polo, producing Colville's Victoria sold to a working home in Essex, Colville's Monte, owned by Mrs Jenny Hopkirk, (Colville's Monte has many Norfolk characteristics and has proved useful in decreasing size and improving coats when mated to Sealyham influenced bitches), and Colville's Treacle, a tan bitch, purchased by Mrs Jo Rodwell of Wiltshire. Mrs Rodwell already had a small saddle and tan bitch, Whitehead's Muffin which had produced a litter of two to Fielder's Polo - a tan dog which went to Scotland and a saddle and tan dog, Rodwell's Humphrey now living in San Fransisco with Ruby Tuesday, a Coton du Tulear - a breed that is perhaps even rarer than the Lucas terrier! Colville's Treacle was mated to her uncle, Irwin's Tigger and from that mating came Rodwell's Maxim, a tan dog owned by Mr and Mrs Paul Harris. It is hoped Max will have a positive input to the gene pool in the next few years.

In 1996 Judy Colville purchased a very small Sealyham bitch, Wilderson Truly Scrumptious, which she mated to Jenny Hopkirk's dog, Colville's Monte. It was hoped that these puppies would add another dimension to the breeding programme but the dog puppy was stolen on the 18th of October 1997 from his home in Burton Joyce, Nottingham, and to date the bitch owners have not indicated that they have any intention of breeding. This would prove to be the one and only litter from Truly as shortly after the puppies were weaned she ran onto the road (clearing a cattle grid in the process) to chase something she saw on the edge of the Colvilles' property and was run over by a passing car.

Of course, this far from covers all the puppies that have been born in the past ten years nor does it come close to mentioning all the breeders who continue to support the Lucas terrier and contribute to the breeding programme. My apologies to anyone who feels they have been missed out or not given the credit they, undoubtedly, deserve. My intention was really only to show that breeding continues and in a considered, well-planned manner, as opposed to the in the willy-nilly, 'which dog lives closest to me' attitude that almost caused the extinction of the breed in the 1980s.

The breeding programme is being taken slowly and surely. It could be a temptation to breed just for breeding's sake because the demand continues to be high and the litters small, 4 puppies is average for this breed. However, it is fortunate for the Lucas that owners and breeders are not interested in 'turning a fast buck' - with such small litters no one in their right mind would come into this breed to make a profit, if a profit can be made at all in dog breeding. The aim of the Club is to improve stock being bred and to keep the all-important link with the past. We operate a registration system and will only include puppies bred from registered parents. I receive enquiries occasionally regarding registration of puppies from people outwith the Club for which pedigrees are, to say the least, of a dubious origin - the phrase 'working Sealyham' can cover a multitude of sins, it would appear.

In 1999 a breakaway Club, known as the Sporting Lucas Terrier Club, was formed for the purposes of registering and promoting a terrier which has a degree of Lucas terrier in its make-up but also has infusions of both Fell and Plummer terrier - the latter being a mix of various breeds including beagle and pit bull terrier. The fact that this terrier bears a very similar name to the original Lucas has created considerable confusion but perhaps that was intentional.

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