Sign for The Cock Inn
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Sign for The Cock Inn by Jonathan Kington as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
![](https://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/35/81/2358180_43d6df2a.jpg)
Image: © Jonathan Kington Taken: 1 Feb 2011
Attached to Image on Derby Street. Although it looks nothing like a fighting cock, the name could allude to the now illegal sport of cockfighting. Cockfighting was a sport that pitted gamecocks against each other. The cocks were trained to be aggressive toward each other and then put into a ring to fight with most fights ending in the death of one of the birds. The history of cockfighting is thought to date back to around 1,000 BC in South-east Asia, and was probably introduced into Britain by the Romans around 55 BC. In the 16th century cockfighting was flourishing in England and during the reign of King Henry VIII, cockfights were held at Whitehall Palace. The game became a national sport at one point, and exclusive schools were required to teach students the finer points of cockfighting, such as breeding, walking, and conditioning of the gamecock. At its very height of popularity with even the clergy encouraging the sport, even churchyards and the insides of the churches were used as arenas for cockfighting. The sport declined in England during the reign of Queen Victoria in the 17th century, when she banned cockfighting with a royal decree.
Image Location
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![Marker](https://streetguide.co.uk/includes/images/marker-icon-2x.png)