Million Dollar Literature: Darley Arabian

A personal note before I begin the blog on "Darley Arabian."

I was in the USAF for thirty years and one day. Almost exactly half of that time was spent overseas. Six years were spent in England.

I spent a lot of time at RAF Menwith Hill Station in northern England, Yorkshire County. I was sent there many, many times on temporary duty for weeks at a time. I usually stayed at the Wellington Inn in the village of Darley just a mile or so down the hill from Menwith Hill. I generally did not have a rental car and either walked or hitchhiked between the base and the inn. When hitchhiking I was often picked up by the same woman (long story) who lived in Pateley Bridge, a bit further away from the air base. She recognized me from the base and always stopped to give me a ride. Sometimes I preferred to walk. Such an incredible walk.

So, I spent a lot of time in Darley, York, UK.

At the time I did not know about "Darley Arabian," but now I do and I feel very, very good about connecting all the dots.

See maps below.

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Darley Arabian

This blog got its start with this book, a birthday gift from my middle granddaughter:

Lexington: The Extraordinary Life And Turbulent Times of America's Legendary Racehorse, Kim Wickens, c. 2023

The "original" breed was the "Darley" breed. It was bred with a horse Thomas Darley bought in Aleppo in 1700; that line became known as the Darley Arabian line. Source: reddit.

From Your Darley Ancestors, Lon J Darley, 1979. Source: reddit.

Edmund Darley was born in Erle, Normandy, France, in 1034. Edmund assisted William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy) in the Battle of Hastings, 1066, and for that support, Darley was granted a large amount of land and money when William the Conqueror was crowned, King William I. Darley was knighted as Sir Edmund Darley by King William I.

The support that Darley gave the French as the Battle of Hastings was the use of the Darley horses.

Print: The Duke of Devonshire's Flying Childrers, sired by The Darley Arabian, the print dated 1742. Source: fineprintsondemand.

The Darley Arabian, full entry, wiki.

The Darley Arabian (foaled c. 1700) was one of three dominant foundation sires of modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock. The other two founders were the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk.

This bay Arabian horse was bought in Aleppo, Syria, by Thomas Darley in 1704 and shipped to Aldby Park in England, as a present for his brother. [Another source states that Thomas bought the horse for his father Henry, who died two years after the gift was presented.]

One author in 1840 described Darley Arabian's arrival in England during the reign of Queen Anne as the event which "forms the great epoch from which the history of the Turf [as in "turf racing"] should be dated."

There he stood at stud, usually private but sometimes open to outside mares. He was the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1722. By all accounts, the Darley Arabian stood about 15 hands high and was of substantial beauty and refinement.

Source: at genuki.org.uk:

In 1702 Thomas Darley; born Aldby Park 1664; while serving as Her Majesty's Consul to the Levant (Syria) during the reign of Queen Anne (1702 - 1707); bought a Arabian horse from Sheik Mirza for his father, Richard Darley.

The Arabian "said race" from which the the Darley Arabian descended: "Mannicka." [Some years later, Darley Arabian sired a "Manica."]

The horse whose original name was "Ras el Fedowi," translated as "The Headstrong One", became immortalised as the Darley Arabian.

In Thomas Darley's own words, "he was immediately striking owing to his handsome appearance and exceedingly elegant carriage". Although he never raced, he covered mares at Aldby Park from 1705 until 1719, and lived until the advanced age of 30. His genes added speed to those of stronger English horses of the time. Through his offspring, including his great grandson, the famous and never beaten Eclipse, he has had the greater influence of the three foundation stallions of the Thoroughbred breed.

His bloodline is said to be present in 80 or 90% of today's racehorses.

Source: more from wiki:

The Darley Arabian sired the undefeated Flying Childers. He also sired Bartlett's Childers, an unraced brother of Flying Childers, who was the great-grandsire of the extremely influential Eclipse. The Darley Arabian was to become the most important sire in the history of the English Thoroughbred. His son Bulle Rock was the first Thoroughbred to be exported to America, in 1730.

Most Thoroughbreds can be traced back to Darley Arabian. In 95% of modern Thoroughbred racehorses, the Y chromosome can be traced back to this single stallion. This is mainly through his descendant, Eclipse, who is the direct male ancestor of 95% of all thoroughbreds and in the pedigree of many of the rest.

Yorkshire: we know for a fact that the Darleys were from Yorkshire. Their current home is Buttercrambe [see link below], just east of York and one hour by car from Darley (Darley to the west. Darley to Harrogate to York to Buttercrambe.)

Place names:

Darley: there is only one Darley in the UK; Darley, North Yorkshire.

Darley in Nidderdale.

Buttercrambe: likewise, there is only one Buuttercrambe in the UK; link here, by Peter Darley.
Aldby Park: where Thomas Darley was born (1664); a manor to the northwest of Buttercrambe;
The Ancient Parish of Bossall: eight named places including Buttercrambe and Aldby Park