| The Clumber is the heaviest of the spaniels, with
the Basset and the now extinct Alpine Spaniel in its
ancestry. It is a reliable, slow, but sure dog mainly
confined to country areas where it excels in flushing
game over rough ground and as a retriever. In the
years just prior to the French Revolution, the Clumber
was promoted by the Duc de Noailles and became
renowned as a beater and retriever. At the beginning
of hostilities, the French Duke brought his dogs to
England and entrusted them to the Duke of Newcastle
at Clumber Park, near Nottingham, from which the
breed gets its name. The French Duke met his death
in the Revolution but the breed lived on.
The Clumber is of good temperament and may be
kept as a pet, but its ideal role is as a working gundog
in the countryside. It needs a fair amount of brushing,
and care must be taken that mud does not become
lodged between its toes.
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