It was either 1973 or 1974. I was in my third year at Killerton and my room was number three. the one on the corner right by the cattle grid. Someone let out a shout as we saw the local hunt, horses and hounds riding through the Killerton land. Many of us were quite offended by this as we thought the National Trust was all about preserving life and nature. So a large number of us went out and joined the huntsman as they traversed the grounds searching for foxes. We just made a fuss of the dogs and generally sort of got in the way. After a while the hunt made their exit leaving behind a group of rather annoyed students but with no foxes.
We thought that was that but there were repercussions!! The Master of the Hounds was enraged and wrote in no uncertain terms to Jack Goodall. They were greatly offended by the language of the students. How could they be the teachers of tomorrow with such an attitude? We felt the language was rather less offensive than that used by the group of 'well to do' huntsmen, intent on savaging any fox that crossed their path.
Jack Goodall held out an olive branch. He invited the Master of the Hounds to join us for Sunday lunch. We were, of course, on our most charming behaviour - being Sunday lunch, we all wore collar and ties, as the dress code of Killerton demanded. We all enjoyed a glass of sherry in the bar and from then on peace reigned and we saw the hunt no more. Job done !!