34 



March, 1684, describes a day in King Charles 

 II's life at Newmarket : 



" Walking in the morning till 10 o'clock. 

 Then he went to the cock-pit till dinner 

 time ; about three he went to the horse- 

 races ; at six to the cock-pit for an hour ; 

 then to the play, though the comedians were 

 very indifferent ; next to the Duchess of 

 Portsmouth's till bed time, and then to his 

 own apartments to bed " 



From Stuart times onward, racing and cock- 



o 



fighting went hand in hand until the law 

 practically made an end of the latter. Race 

 meetings afforded an opportunity for cock 

 matches between individuals, towns and coun- 

 ties ; and of these our ancestors took advantage 

 until the early years of Queen Victoria's reign 



The first Racing Calendar (Cheney's, 1727) 

 contains particulars of cock-matches fought at 

 various meetings, and such are given in every 

 ensuing volume down to that of 1840 



There was a Royal cock-pit at Windsor ; 

 the London Gazette in 1684 advertises a " Great 

 Match of Cock-fighting between Two Persons 

 of Quality " to be held there, with the intima- 

 tion that " it will last the whole week." There 

 were also Royal pits at York and Dublin 



