Though scarcely in the ordinary sense of sporting fame, the late Canon H. D. Rawnsley, of Grasmere, was a keen lover of the outdoor life. His delightful chapters on hunting the hare and the fox on the rugged Cumbrian fells, and the otter in the becks of the dales, will long be remembered for their spirit and faithfulness. The Canon, though not of Cumbrian stock, stood for the most worthy of the mountain sports, particularly arousing enthusiasm for the local style of wrestling, for the hound trail and the guides’ race. Few of the notable sheep-dog trials in his locality were without his presence, and shepherds’ meets were his great delight. He tramped many a mile of rough track to reach the less known of these picturesque survivals. Nor did he omit Grasmere Sports from the most crowded years of his life’s work.

(Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 1920, 5 June, p. 7.)