56 



the nineteenth century. It had nearly gone 

 out of use in 1803*, cockers contenting them- 

 selves with turning the offender out-of-cloors 

 with cuffs and kicks. Hogarth's well-known 

 picture the scene of which is the Westminster 

 Cock-pit shows the basket in use 



The full text of this rule will be found in 

 Appendix A 



COCKING IN THE GEORGIAN DAYS 



The last year of George I's reign saw 

 publication of the first regular annual record 

 of cocking in Britain, at least in so far as 

 important matches are concerned. John Cheney 

 produced his Historical List of all Horse 

 Matches Run in 1726, and included, as an 

 appropriate adjunct to Turf records "a List of 

 the Cock Matches of the Year " f 



These records throw a certain amount of 

 light on the methods of the time. Ardent 

 cockers might agree to meet and pit their cocks 

 annually for a number of years. Thus, at 

 WesLon in Cheshire (always a great cocking 

 county), in 1727, Mr. S teat ham fought 



* Sporting Dictionary. Wm. Taplin. (1803) 



f The term " main " has been used in the foregoing 

 pages as a matter of convenience ; this word, however, 

 did not come into use until about 1727. " Cock match ' 

 was the term till then applied to a battle or series of 

 battles; from 1727, "main" was increasingly used 



