Sunderland, The Cockpit

HER Number:
2909

District:
Sunderland

Site Name:
Sunderland, The Cockpit

Place:
Sunderland

Map Sheet:
NZ35NE

Class:
Recreational

Site Type: Broad:
Baiting Pit

Site Type: Specific:
Cockpit

General Period:
Early Modern

Specific Period:
C19

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
The Cockpit is shown on Ordnance Survey first edition next to Canal House. Cock-fighting was a popular pastime throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was often referred to as the "Royal Sport". The pursuit had a number of notable folloers including the Duke of Cleveland and Earl of Northumberland. Contests were advertised as "Gentlemen's Subscription Mains" but the "sport" was actually popular with all classes. Established rural cock-pits were often no more than an uncovered earthwork, they were generally located in or near to villages. This feature is about 400m away from Grindon village. The pis consisted of a central fighting platform, 2.5m or more in diameter, surrounded by a shallow ditch and external bank. During the contest low boards were put on the platform to contain the birds. Three classes of birds were normally used - stags which were under one year old, cocks which were older, and blinkards or one-eyed veterans. Birds who refused to fight were known as "fugies" or "hamies". Cock-fighting became a well publicised and financially well-backed "sport". As well as the local venues, cock-fighting also took place at local race meetings, usually in the morning, followed by the horse racing in the afternoon. Events were advertised in the local press, such as the Newcastle Courant. Prizes were normally in the region of 10-20 Guineas, however there were occasions when they could be as much as 500 Guineas. Sometimes the prizes for cock-fighting were of greater value than the awards for the local horse races. By the early nineteenth century opposition against the barbarity of cock-fighting was increasing, due to improved education and a religious revival which exerted moral pressures on society. Many of the local gentry turned to other pastimes, such as fox hunting, which at the time was more politically and socially acceptable. The Cruelty to Animals Act of 1849 made cock-fighting illegal.

Easting:
3745

Northing:
5542

Grid Reference:
NZ37455542

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 2909 >> 1st edition Ordnance Survey map, 6 inch scale, Durham 14; George Jobey, 1992, Cock-fighting in Northumberland and Durham during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Archaeologia Aeliana, Series 5, Vol XX, pp 1-21; P. Egan, 1832, Newcastle may challenge the world for cocking in Book of Sports; Pearson, Lynn, 2010, Played in Tyne and Wear - Charting the heritage of people at play, p 128-129; Archaeo-Environment Ltd., 2008, Proposed relocated council depot at Ettrick Grove to the west of Barnes Park - Archaeological Assessment