A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 



to ' humpy back't Thompson.' An impor- 

 tant main came off at Stanwix, Carlisle, on 

 Tuesday and Wednesday, 29 and 30 March, 

 1828. The feeders engaged for the occasion 

 were Russell and Newton. This great con- 

 test, for 20 guineas a battle, was got up by the 

 gentlemen of east Cumberland against those 

 of the western part of the county. Russell 

 fed for the west, and was victorious at the 

 conclusion of the fighting by three main 

 battles. The weighing in had not been very 

 even, for several matches fell into byes, which 

 were in most instances won by Russell. The 

 gentlemen of east and west Cumberland had 

 another meeting at Oulton near Wigton on 

 6, 7 and 8 April, 1836. According to the 

 advertisement in the Carlisle Journal, the 

 stake amounted to 50 the main and 2 a 

 battle. The eastern gentlemen, fully deter- 

 mined if possible to retrieve their laurels, en- 

 gaged a celebrated feeder from the southern 

 part of the kingdom named Weightman. The 

 western were fortunate in securing the services 

 of the rising feeder Brough. The main was 

 fought out with the bitterest determination. 

 Brough, speaking of the fighting afterwards, 

 said, ' Fwok sed 'et Weetman was niver bet 

 afoor, but I dud gin 'im a dressing.' Soon 

 after this main, signs that this public cock- 

 fighting was tottering to its fall began to 

 manifest themselves. In the year following 

 the Oulton meeting, Isaac Armstrong of Pow- 

 hill was sent to the house of correction at 

 Carlisle by J. Dand, Esq., for fourteen days 

 with hard labour ' for aiding and assisting in 

 a fighting of cocks at Kirkbride in March.' 

 The editor of a Carlisle paper expressed a 

 hope that this example would be the means 

 of putting an end to the cruel and demoralizing 

 practice of cockfighting, which had so long 

 prevailed in many of the country towns of 

 Cumberland. 



While cockfighting was rife, and for many 

 years before it was suppressed, there were 

 throughout Cumberland, Westmorland and 

 north Lancashire numerous cockfighting 

 contests called ' bull fights.' At that time 

 bull beef was not so good or tender or so 

 readily saleable as the three or four year old 

 highly bred shorthorns of the present day. 

 The old English long horned breed of bulls 

 six or seven years of age were a tough lot and 

 difficult to dispose of, even in the then 

 scantily supplied meat markets. A rump 

 steak ever so carefully cooked required strong 

 jaws and sound teeth to masticate it. Far- 

 mers therefore resorted to the popular an- 

 nouncement of cockfighting to turn the car- 

 cass into pounds, shillings and pence. Their 

 friends and neighbours were invited to enter 



the cocks, match them, and fight for the bull 

 beef cut into half quarters. The price put 

 on was generally a trifle over market value. 

 By this means farmers were enabled to realize 

 something more than the threepence per 

 pound which butchers could afford to give in 

 those days. 



From all information that can be gathered, 

 Kirk the publican and Russell seem to have 

 been by far the most popular and successful 

 feeders in Cumberland in the early part of 

 the last century, as Brough and Bailey were 

 at a later period. Brough and Bailey were 

 the last two of the celebrated Cumberland 

 feeders, and may be classed as equals to the 

 Potters, Gillivers, Hines and Woodcocks of 

 southern fame. Brough originally a pupil 

 of Glaister, who lived near Abbey Holme 

 was in great request as a feeder. He had 

 frequently engagements in London, New- 

 market, Birmingham, Staleybridge, Manches- 

 ter, Glasgow and other places. In Brough's 

 various encounters at the places we have men- 

 tioned his skill and experience in a majority 

 of instances brought him off victor. He 

 always set his birds himself, and would not 

 allow any one else to act for him in this way. 

 In the eighteenth century it was usual for the 

 same persons to feed the cocks and set them 

 in a contest ; afterwards the tendency was for 

 the professions of ' feeders ' and ' setters ' to 

 become distinct ; women were sometimes 

 ' feeders.' When a man set his own birds of 

 course he had to have an assistant to bring 

 them to him in the pit. A Carlisle man 

 whose real name was Carruthers, but better 

 known locally as ' Dick the Daisy,' had a 

 great reputation for many years for setting 

 cocks or acting as ' pitter ' at a main. He 

 was reckoned one of the best men of his day 

 in this capacity, and was often engaged 

 months beforehand by the principals in a 

 match. 



In 1846 a main was fought at the 

 Dandie Dinmont without much pretence of 

 concealment, a coach and four taking the 

 sportsmen out from Carlisle. ' Dick the 

 Daisy ' was one of the setters on that occasion. 

 ' Within the last twenty years a gentleman in 

 Carlisle, now dead, kept his cocks in a sodded 

 attic in his house, and fought them within the 

 city.' A friend of the writer tells him that 

 cockfighting was carried on in various parts of 

 Carlisle till quite recently, and that he re- 

 membered a large room above an hotel in 

 Scotch Street into which cartloads of turves 

 were taken and laid on the floor for the pur- 

 poses of cockfighting. In the Carlisle Jour- 

 nal of 17 April, 1868, the following obituary 

 notice appeared: 'In this city on the nth 



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