​History of the Breed
The English Springer Spaniel is one of the oldest gundog breeds, with a rich history that spans over two millennia. This breed has evolved from ancient spaniels mentioned in Roman and Welsh laws to the modern, versatile companion and working dog known today. Shown below is a brief historical timeline from the earliest days to the popular breed that exists today.
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The "Espagnol"
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• Early writers described the “Espagnol” as a group of dogs originating in Spain and used for pointing out game, helping with the nets, retrieving dead or wounded birds and bringing back birds from the water.
• The group was divided into what we now know as Land Spaniels and Water Spaniels according to their specialised roles in hunting on land or retrieving from water.
• Edward, second Duke of York, wrote in “The Master of Game” (1406 -1413) that a good spaniel should “not be too rough", but "his tail should be rough," and that they "commonly go before their master, running and wagging their tail, and raise or start fowl and wild beasts”.
• 17th Century illustrations show unmistakably spaniel-like dogs similar in type to those of today – a spaniel dog with floppy ears, the chest, belly and feet white picked out with black spots, the rest of the body black.
• Land Spaniels were subsequently divided into "Crouching Spaniels" and "Springing Spaniels“, both of which are shown in this image.
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(Image right from Blome’s “Gentleman’s Recreation” 1686)
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Springer or Cocker?
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• In 1790 Bewick first used the terms “Springer”, “Cocker” and “Setter”, with only size distinguishing the first two from the Setter, which was the tallest.
• Over the next ten years, Springers and Cockers were further divided by size, a division encouraged by the eventual introduction of the sporting gun which replaced the net and falcon, where a shorter-limbed, less speedy dog (the Cocking Spaniel) was initially preferred over the “fleetness, wildness and courage” of the taller dog (Springing Spaniel).
In his work of 1837 Thomas Bell describes the English Spaniel as an elegant dog of a
moderately strong make, the muzzle rather broad, the ears remarkably long and full, the hair plentiful and beautifully waved, particularly that of the ears, tail, the hind parts of the thighs, legs, and the belly. He gives the colours as liver and white, red and white, though sometimes black, with a tan spot over each eye, on the face and breast.
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(Image of Spaniels left from Edwards’ Cynographica
Britannica, 1800)
The Norfolk Spaniel
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• In 1859 “Stonehenge”, a sporting writer, included in his description of “springer spaniels” the Norfolk Spaniel, being a thick-made English Setter in shape and general proportions, but of smaller size, seldom exceeding 17 to 18 inches in height. The colour was black and white or liver and white accompanied by ticks of either.
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•The Norfolk Spaniel had a lovely, loyal and affectionate temperament, but was also known for its stubbornness, independence and occasional disobedience, and could sometimes be noisy during the hunt. It was said to need a trained professional with a lot of patience to train it.
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Sounds familiar?
The Norfolk Spaniel is considered to be the ancestor of the modern-day English Springer Spaniel!
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In 1902 the English Springer Spaniel was registered by the Kennel Club as a separate Spaniel variety, albeit already an ancient breed with its long history of being bred and kept for work. As you will see when we come to the current breed standard, it remains the highest on the leg of all British Land Spaniels (but not as tall as a Setter!)
Article kindly supplied by Teresa Dunsdon