Cock-Fighting Days

The Sport of Princes synonymous with horse racing, originally applied to cock- fighting. George Wilson, writing in the earliest known book on the sport (The Commendation of Cocks and Cock Fighting, 1607) says of Henry VIII:

'He did take such pleasure and wonderful delight in the cocks of the game that he caused a most sumptuous and stately cock pit to be erected in Westminster, wherein His Majesty might disport himself with cock fighting aznong his most noble and loving subjects who in like manner did affect that pastime so well, and conceived so good an opinion ofit... that they caused cock-pits to be made in many cities, boroughs and towns throughout the whole realm'.

In 1619, William, the sixth Earl of Derby, made a cock-pit at Chester, in a garden under St. John's, by the Groves. An earlier cock-fighting site, as the name implies, was Cockfight Hill, some little way from Queen Street. The Romans were also keen enthusiasts and there must have been much earlier sites in the city.

The Grosvenor Hotel of today incorporates some of the structure of an older inn known as The Golden Talbot, later the Royal Hotel, which had its own cock-pit.

In April, 1738,'gentlemen of quality from Cheshire and Flintshire 'set' 31 pairs of cocks at 10 guineas a 'battle' (individual fight) and 200 guineas the main'(series), with 10 cocks'to hand' for bye-battles.

The Sporting Magazine, June, 1832 reads:
'During the Chester races a main of cocks was fought between the Earl of Derby (Pot-
ter, feeder) and Mr. H.B. Houghton (Woodcock, feeder) for twenty sovs., a battle, ten sovs., a bye, and 500 sovs., the main. After various vicisstudes it ended in a tie."

The city of Chester's corporation cock-pit was to be found next to the Newgate when cock fighting was at the height of its popularity... more widely acclaimed and a greater attraction than horse racing. More often than not cock-fighting and horse racing was arranged to coincide.

Indeed, the first racing calendar (J. Cheney,1772) contains particulars of 'cocking, as it was commonly known, at many meetings.

The relative importance attached to racing and cocking is shown by an incident which occurred at Chester in 1834.

"It was represented to the Executive of the race meeting that the battles in the pit were likely to be well fought and prolonged, and that the main would not be over at the hour fixed to begin racing. The Clerk ofthe Course made no demur to postponement of the first race till three o'clock".

It was calculated at the time, that upwards of 1,000 cocks met their deaths by the close of the horse racing season at Chester alone. The Earls of Derby had as long association with 'sod' and 'turf' and the 12th Earl owned his own strain of fighting cock ... the Knowsley Strain, black-breasted Reds and considered the finest and most select in the country.

The story goes that a few hours before his death in 1834, a fight was staged for Lord Derby's amusement in the bedroom where he lay dying!

A noted Cheshire cocker was Dr Bellyse of Audlem, near Nantwich who also owned a famous strain known as Brown-Reds. Dr Bellyse was something of a personality during Chester Race week and H.H. Dixon (The Druid) writing in 'Silk and Scarlet' records that he wore ablue dress coat with gilt buttons, light coloured kerseys (trousers) and gaitors, a buff waist coat, and a pig-tail, just peeping from beneath a conical low-crowned hat.

A golden greyhound, the gift of his friend Lord Combermere, lent a tasteful finish to his snowy frill.
Dr Johnson, 1709-84, was full of condemnation for the sport and is reported as saying "cocking and bear-baiting may raise the spirit of a company, just as drinking does, but they will never improve the language of those who take part.

Nevertheless, cocking has left a legacy of expressions and phrases still in common use today. 'cocky, 'cocksure' and 'cock ofthe walls need no explanation. Others which reveal echoes of the cock-pit are 'battle royal','show a clean pair of heels', 'showing his spurs' and 'well heeled'.

The oldest spurs still in existence is a silver pair given by Charles II to his mistress Nell Gwynn, in 1650. Both silver and gold were used in the making of spurs but even in countries where cock fighting is still legal they are no longer used.

Of course, the darker, practical side fo cock-fighting was a truly heinous affair, and the 'battle royal' one of the bloodiest examples of it.

Any number of cocks were placed in the ring together and the conflict best described as a 'free for all', in which the birds attacked one another indiscriminently. It takes little imagination to picture the scene of blood as the wicked, savagely wielded spurs found their marks. The survivor was adjudged the winner.


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