The
breed's history is uncertain before the middle of
the 19th century. One theory is that it originated
in France, stating that the Duc de Noailles at the
time of the French Revolution gave his kennel of
prized spaniels to the Duke of Newcastle at Clumber
Park in Nottinghamshire. Another theory holds that
it was developed in Britain from older breeds of
hunting spaniels, perhaps by crossing them with
Basset Hounds, Saint Bernard, or the Alpine Spaniel
of which records have been lost. A third theory is
that it is descended from the old type of Bleinheim
Spaniel, which was later to be incorporated into the
King Charles breed of Spaniel. Originally these dogs
were large gundogs, coloured lemon and white whereas
the modern breed is much
What is certain is that the breed took its name
from Clumber Park and that the Duke of Newcastle's
gamekeeper, William Mansell, is credited with their
development and improvement. Prince Albert, the
Prince consort of Queen Victoria, was a fancier and
promoter of the breed, as was his son King Edward
VII, who bred them at the Sandringham estate in
Norfolk. The breed was shown in England from 1859
onward. They are referred to in Queen Victoria's
diary: on October 16, 1840, she wrote, "Walked out
directly after breakfast before Albert went to
shoot. He had his seven fine Clumber Spaniels with
us and we went into the Slopes, with such a funny
old Gamekeeper, Walters, in order that I should see
how the dogs found out their game. They are such
dear, nice dogs."
Until the mid 19th century the breeding of the
Clumber Spaniel was mostly restricted to the
nobility. During World War I breeding was stopped
entirely causing their numbers to decrease to a
record low. In 1925, King George V re-developed a
line of Clumbers in the Royal Kennel and were used
in the fields in the Sandringham Estate
At the end of the 19th century the
Clumber spaniel was attributed with having “a
superior nose and great perseverance in both hunting
and retrieving.” In reality they
never were a fast or stylish working dog, being more
methodical, plodding dog. Perhaps that suited
the shooting gentry of that era.
Of all the spaniel breeds it is the Clumber
spaniel that has suffered at the hands of the show
fraternity in the UK and Ireland. So much so,
that they have degenerated almost entirely into a
show dog. This is sad because they were once
regarded as the most useful and easily trained
spaniel breeds. In Ireland their demise as a
working spaniel breed is almost total.
