Norfolk Spaniel

History

The Norfolk Spaniel was once believed to have originated from a cross of spaniels with the Black and Tan Terrier, cultivated by an unspecified Duke of Norfolk. Later historians disputed this, arguing that the Duke's spaniels were of the King Charles type and that terrier stock was not involved. The theory was further disproven by 19th-century spaniel breeder James Farrow, who wrote to Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk. The Duke denied any connection to the breed, though he noted that his grandfather, Henry Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk, owned Sussex Spaniels.

This letter was printed in The Kennel Gazette in 1899. An alternative origin was proposed by Rawdon Briggs Lee in his 1897 work, suggesting the Norfolk Spaniel descended from a crossing of a curly-coated water spaniel with a Sussex Spaniel or another land spaniel. In the 18th century, spaniels were divided into land, water, and toy types, with land spaniels further split into Cocker and Springer categories. The Norfolk Spaniel was placed within the Springer type alongside the Sussex and Clumber Spaniels.

By the 1860s, it was described as the commonest breed in England, though its description varied so much that the only consistent point was an average height of 16 inches at the withers.

Temperament

The Norfolk Spaniel formed a strong attachment to its owners and was typically unhappy when separated from them. Compared to other 19th-century springer spaniels, it was more ill-tempered and could be headstrong and wilful if not successfully trained. Some members of the breed were noisy, described as babbling on the hunt like hounds, while others were far quieter. It was useful for hunting both on land and in water, and became particularly successful in America, especially around Boston, where the Spaniel Club of America rated it as good in water as the Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

Appearance

The Norfolk Spaniel was a freckled white dog with either liver or black markings. The breed standard in 1859 set its height at 17 to 18 inches at the withers. It had long legs, feathered ears, and a white area on the forehead that was said to add to its beauty. Compared to the English Springer, it had a broader skull and shorter neck, and was likened to the English Setter in build and proportions, though much smaller.

While other field spaniels of the era displayed colors beyond liver and white or black and white, the Norfolk did not. Breeding lines varied greatly, as some were not kept pure and included stock from Sussex and Clumber Spaniels. By the end of the 19th century, the Spaniel Club's 1897 standard described the Norfolk as having a non-curly coat of black and white or liver and white, a reasonably heavy body, legs longer than other field spaniels but shorter than the Irish Water Spaniel, a deep chest, long sloping shoulders, strength in back and loins, lobular ears, and a docked tail. In brief, it looked like a large Cocker Spaniel.