French Bulldog

And what was happening in England meanwhile? When the French Bulldog appeared in England in 1898 it caused a genuine scandal in the English media. One can read in the specialist press of the day, " We English, who have always felt a special affinity for our national symbol, must reject this little abomination that has been brought to our country, even though it be called French Bulldog". It is difficult to understand the reasons for such vitriol, given that, as we have seen, dogs of similar characteristics were hardly unknown in England. Furthermore, in an illustration of 1849 there appears a small Bulldog named Nottingham Frank, property of one William Tupper, which clearly shows many of the characteristics of a Frenchy, the only significant difference being the long tail. This illustration later appeared in the 1904 edition of Kennel News. In a show organised by the Kennenl Club of 1893 G. R. Krehl showed , out of competition, his small bulldogs imported from France. The following year The Kennel Club had a separate class specifically for this type of dog, now called French Bulldog. The maximum weight was 20lb ( a little less than 10kilos). In some photos taken in1915 we find Colonel and Mrs Romilly with some of their champions, though it is well known that Mrs Rommily obtained her first Frenchy as early as 1894. They were very closely involved with events of the French Bulldog Club of England. The first president, Lady Lewis, had a portrait with her Frenchies taken in the gardens of Harpton Court, Herefordshire. But this, as the current president Vivien Watkins has elegantly written, forms part of the "warp" of history. The "weft" as Vivien Watkins recounts, started in 1945 with the modern pioneers of the renaissance of the breed, which had been in a state of stasis during the 2nd World War. The nexus between the warp and the weft was established by: Mrs. Helen Colman, Mrs.David Sugden and Mrs. Gladys Loseby. Their affixes (Nork, Silpho and Millhouse), gave a new impetus to the breed by means of dogs imported from the USA: ch.Hunk«s Bequest, Berbay«s Le Boy, Rodney Erie Perie, Rodney Bon Chance and Keysoe Ambassador.All these fine animals shared a common ancestor, the great American ch. Nellcote Gamin was in fact the father of Hank. Together with Millhouse there appeared on the scene in 1930, Gladys Anderson with her affix The Moorings. She managed, despite the great difficulties of the war years, to keep some dogs. "Froggie" as she was affectionarely known can be seen in a photo taken at the champion show in Blackpool in 1952 where she showed ch. Bijou of Milmai. She would later become president of the Club. All these people had a great influence on the development of the breed and enjoyed success as breeders. Ch. Mark of Millhouse had an almost mythical unfluence on the breed, as did Ch.Fifi of The Moorings.