A nice reference to show we had barbets in the UK many years ago, this variety was ' The English Water Spaniel now extinct' always good to find an English author, 1853 a long time ago.
A fine variety of the Barbet group is the English Water- Spaniel, popularly so called. The fur of this dog is short, curly, and usually of a deep brown colour, and his general aspect is mild and graceful. He is docile and sagacious, valued by the sportsman as a retriever, and capable of receiving any kind of instruction. The race has now become rare. It was probably produced by a mixture of the blood of the Barbet with that of the Old English Setter.
