The right to wear hunt buttons is granted purely on merit, and for this reason these small but significant additions to a hunt coat have, justifiably, been treasured for generations.

There are many strands to the hunt-button story. Tom Arthey, Joint Master of the Pytchley with Woodland, unpicks why they are bestowed: “Individual packs have their own etiquettes but in general they are awarded to subscribers who have actively helped the hunt, whether it be on or off the hunting field.” Qualifying factors include being on gate duty, holding the huntsman’s horse, going on point regularly or helping to scoop up fallers and loose horses.

Off the field, those who volunteer to help run fundraisers or repair fences will also be in contention for recognition. “Ideally all this is done without complaint, too,” Arthey jokes. “The length of time someone waits is usually commensurate with how supportive they are so some people may wait quite a long time if they aren’t willing to roll their sleeves up. In that regard buttons are rather like being given a school colour.”

It is usually the privilege of the mastership to decide who to award buttons to, although the secretary may have a say and the chairman ultimately approves the nominees. Though there is no set number, there’s usually only two or three people invited each year. Arthey explains the process: “As a mastership we gather in early December to decide who the contenders are. We have a rigorous process where each of us will put forward nominees and then we will debate the individuals between us all. If the majority is in agreement, we speak and write to the successful nominees just before Christmas. It’s our own version of the New Year Honours List.” (Read: How the Meltonian Dandy transformed hunting dress.)

Clockwise from top left: Hampshire Hunt, showing the Prince of Wales’s feathers; an early livery button used by the Barlow Hunt; the black subscribers button of the Zetland, showing the Marquesses’ coronet; a later Barlow button

Hunt buttons – who wears what?

One of the most intriguing aspects of the hunt button story is who wears what, and the breakdown resembles the ‘cricket as explained to a foreign visitor’ riddle. Jane Winterton, a Quorn supporter and hunt button enthusiast from Leicestershire, helps to decipher the history: “Hunt buttons have their beginnings in the family livery worn by servants in the great houses of Britain. Many of the coats were adopted by the ducal foxhound packs (the Buccleuch, Beaufort and Belvoir, for example) and they all have a minimum of two buttons on the back, which were necessary in the days when frock coats were much longer and needed to be fastened back to make mounting a horse easier.” The numbers of buttons vary according to the hunt’s origin as well as the status of the members. As a general rule, if the hunt was originally formed as a committee- led or ‘farmers’ pack, a subscriber may wear three black emblemed buttons on the front of the coat and two on the back. If they wear scarlet, brass buttons are allowed. Masters wear four brass buttons on the front and hunt staff five. Packs started privately (by an aristocratic family, for example) have an extra button at each stage, so subscribers have four, Masters five and hunt staff six. In addition, huntsmen from private packs may wear six buttons on the coat tail.

The famous Padua-red coat of a Pytchley Master, adorned with five hunt buttons

However, due to the expense and upkeep, many packs of this livery have resorted to five buttons. Unless permitted under individual hunts’ criteria, brass buttons should not be worn on a black coat other than by former Masters.

Collars also need to be taken into account. “In many hunts, if they have a collar then this might also be worn when invited to wear the buttons,” Arthey explains. “For women this means stitching the collar on to their black or navy coat. For gentlemen, traditionally this meant that they were entitled to wear the scarlet coat of the hunt. However, a lot of packs set additional rules about who is entitled to wear scarlet, so most gentlemen would wear a black coat with the black emblemed buttons.

“We have a two-stage process. Subscribers may be invited to wear the hunt buttons but this does not extend to a right to wear the white collar, so men and women are expected to wear black emblemed buttons with their black or navy coat,” Arthey continues. “Only after a few more Seasons of continuing to ‘do their bit’ will they then be invited to wear the white collar. For ladies it is on their black or navy coat. Gentlemen can then wear a scarlet coat with the white collar and brass buttons, though this is the ‘usual’ scarlet; only hunt staff and Masters wear the famous Pytchley Padua red.” (Read: How to prepare for the hunting season.)

Some hunts allow collars to be worn when buttons are awarded

Flat, convex or two-piece

If you were hoping that the buttons themselves were a lot more straightforward, think again. As a simple starter, larger ones serve to fix the coat together, while cuffs bear smaller decorative ones. However, the options for customisation on metal ones are vast. The button itself may be flat, convex or two-piece; made from polished or gilt brass, silver or chrome; without a rim or with one that is lipped or roped. The background could be plain but there are options for it to be lined, stippled or squared. Then there is a choice of hobbed, engraved, mounted or struck.

The green coat worn by Beaufort hunt staff with its specific brass buttons

When it comes to the customisation for each hunt, if the button carries the initials of the pack options include block, script, monogram or Gothic script. If it bears an image instead, this could range from a horse, hound, fox mask or coronet to other features. Many of these represent the provenance of the hunt. The Hampshire Hunt (HH) button, for example, carries the Prince of Wales’s ostrich feathers, a tradition that dates to 1788 when the future King George IV was Prince of Wales and lived at Kempshott Park. He gave permission for those who hunted with the foxhound pack to wear his crest on the buttons above ‘HH’ and his patronage was so gratefully received that the Hunt applied to keep the emblem with each change of Prince of Wales thereafter.

A Firmin pattern book containing 268 hunt buttons

“As for blackened buttons,” Winterton continues, “they were worn as a sign of mourning, often painted black or professionally ‘blued’ and worn upon the death of a Master or prominent hunt member. It is thought that these rose in popularity when Queen Victoria declared a state of national mourning following the death of Prince Albert. However, there were other influences. At the end of Queen Victoria’s reign and into the Edwardian era, the hunting parson came into prominence. They were sometimes known as the ‘black crows’ due to them hunting in their black ecclesiastical clothes, and they would blacken their hunt buttons to match.”

Bramham Moor buttons – horn subscribers, blued for mourning, and hunt staff/subscribers

The manufacturing process has changed significantly with the advance of modern technology. Ian Compton, from Calcutt & Sons saddlers in Hampshire, has witnessed a dramatic shift over the decades. “We have supplied hunt buttons in black or brass for more than 50 years and, whereas all buttons were originally hand engraved, the images are now produced on a computer. It is still a highly skilled process but less painstaking. If the hunt’s design is not in Baily’s Hunting Directory, any pattern can be copied. The ready-made black polyester buttons are engraved and then the pattern is painted in white, while the brass ones are stamped out, polished and engraved before the shank is added.”

In centuries gone by, buttons have been made from a variety of materials, including silver, chrome, ivory, gilt, Whitby jet, bone, horn and black vulcanite.

Seven 18th century silver buttons belonging to notable huntsman John Peel sold for £7000 at auction

Collector’s items

With so many variations it makes sense that button collecting remains popular, and Thomas Jenner- Fust of Chorley’s Auctioneers in Gloucestershire believes there is plenty of life in the market. “Hunt-button collectors (often keen foot followers or retired hunt servants) are frequently in competition with more general button collectors, plus there are others looking for a set to use in the field. There is also a huge following from abroad, especially America, Australia and with a raised coronet and raised ‘Quorn’ across the New Zealand. The interest isn’t exclusively for British packs: there are lots of buttons from places where the Army had outposts to add to the possibilities.” (Read: As smart as a whip.)

His confidence is justified following a sale at Chorley’s earlier in the year when seven 18th-century silver buttons that had belonged to John Peel were sold. One button featured a mounted huntsman, while the others had inscriptions of individual hounds’ names. The set fetched an impressive hammer price of £7,000. However, collecting doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby. “Hunt buttons present an affordable way to enter the collecting game,” says Jenner-Fust. “In the same auction as the Peel buttons we had lots going for £20.”

Vale of the White Horse cuff buttons

So, while it is technically possible to buy sought-after buttons, nothing but dedication will earn the most precious type: those awarded in recognition of one’s service to a hunt. “Awarding them is one of the highlights for us as Masters,” Arthey concludes. “There are often tears of joy from the recipients. I know from receiving mine how much it means. I felt such pride to be properly recognised as a key member of the Hunt who was willing to help it be a success. As humans we all strive to belong to a tribe, and the buttons are a visual representation of that.”

And with many packs restricting the wearing of scarlet or altering the livery entirely to black or tweed since the Hunting Act 2004, buttons are vital for identification. So, they may be small but they do more than simply secure two sides of a coat. Long may hunt buttons keep us unflappable in the winds of change.