A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



with one of the birds which fell into the byes, so 

 as to make an une\ en number. 



Part of the income of the head master and the 

 usher of the grammar school at Lancaster con- 

 sisted of a gratuity called ' cock penny,' paid at 

 Shrovetide by the scholars who were sons of 

 freemen. Of this money the head master had 

 seven-twelfths and the usher five-twelfths. Cock 

 penny was also paid at the schools at Hawkshead 

 and Ciitheroe, and at Burnley it was in existence 

 till about 1845.' 



A curious notice of cock-fighting is contained 

 in a letter from Sir Henry Saville, dated 1546, 

 printed in the Plumpton Correspondenct, p. 251. 

 He invites all his relations to 



se all the our good cocks fight, if it plese you, and se 

 the maner of our cocks. Ther will be Lannckeshire 

 of one parte, and Derbyshire of another parte, and 

 Hallomshire of the third parte. I perceive your 

 cocking varieth from ours, for ye lay but the battel] ; 

 and if our battel! be but j^io to £^, thear will be 

 j^io to one laye or the battell be ended." 



WHIPPET RACING 



There are no very ancient records of whippet 

 racing in this county, but there is no doubt of 

 its popularity to-day amongst the people of Lan- 

 cashire. Week in week out the sport takes 

 place in most of the large towns, St. Helens and 

 Oldham being perhaps the most noted for their 

 meetings. 



The whippet is now practically a distinct 

 breed ; it may even be called a Lancashire one.^ 

 Originally the outcome of a cross between the 

 Italian greyhound and the fox-terrier, this dog 

 has the appearance of a miniature greyhound. 

 In 1845 Mr. SutclifF Whittar of Burnley pos- 

 se^sed a celebrated black greyhound dog, Sailor. 

 It was mated with a rather leggy, broken- 

 haired terrier bitch, and from this cross came the 

 celebrated whippet stud dog. Spring. The 

 terrier strain still shows itself in the head and 

 coat of the whippet ; the head is shorter and 

 the coat harsher than in the ordinary greyhound. 



Whippet racing is essentially a working-man's 

 sport, although a few years ago an attempt 

 was made to make it fashionable, when a handicap 

 was arranged to take place at the show of the 

 Ladies' Kennel Association held at Ranelagh. 

 The result, however, was a failure. 



This sport is made a great medium for betting; 

 but to give the Lancashire man his due, it must 

 be confessed that he is really devoted to his dog. 

 The dog is often the chief bread-winner in the 

 home, and a good fast whippet is a source of 

 income to its owner not only for the stakes won 

 at the races, but also when he goes to the stud. 

 The worst trait of the whippet is that he is an 

 inveterate scavenger, and for this reason he 

 is nearly always muzzled when at exercise. 



For its size there is no dog faster over a short 

 distance up to about 200 yds., and this distance 

 is usually fixed for the length of a race. In the 

 Whippet and Race Dog by Freeman, dated 1894, 

 there is an account of a race between a whippet 

 and a pigeon in Lancashire for 200 yds. Both 

 were trained to do the distance straight, and the 



' Brand's Popular Antiquities, 1849, i, 72. 



» Ibid. 79. ' H. Dalziel, British Dogs, 1882. 



pigeon beat the dog by a couple of yards only. 

 The true whippet should weigh from 1 2 lb. to 

 20 lb., though in former days dogs of 16 lb. to 

 24 lb. were preferred. 



The races are all handicaps, and the handicap- 

 ping is based on the weight of the dog, its size, and 

 its pace against the clock. The bitch is faster than 

 the dog, and has to allow him a considerable start, 

 but this varies according to the relative weights. 

 A bitch of 20 lb. for instance would concede two 

 yards to a dog of the same weight, but a bitch of 

 15 lb. would have to give a dog of 15 lb. four 

 yards start. The handicap for size is a yard an 

 inch. Timing the dog against the clock is done 

 with great accuracy, and stop watches registering 

 a sixteenth of a second are used. This accounts 

 for the strange sight which is often seen of a 

 working man wearing a watch that probably cost 

 j^20 or so. Owners are pretty smart in reckon- 

 ing up the chances their animals may have in the 

 final by judging of their running in the pre- 

 liminary heats. Although it is the easiest thing 

 in the world to give a dog some little dainty tit- 

 bit just before racing, and so make certain of his 

 not winning, this is very rarely done. Cheating 

 in fact is most uncommon, for a dog whose 

 public performances are known to have been 

 good is of much more value when he goes to the 

 stud, and more money may be made by his 

 services than by betting against him. 



Large meetings such as those held at Oldham 

 have their courses properly arranged, with rail- 

 ings to keep the spectators from interfering with 

 the dogs and the slipper. A small weighing 

 tent is erected near the starting point, and the 

 dogs are most carefully weighed before and after 

 racing. About four ounces are allowed over 

 the weight at which the dog is entered to run, 

 and as much as six extra in the final heat. 

 Directly a dog has been weighed in he is taken 

 to his handicap mark by the slipper. The 

 course should be made of cinders, and well rolled 

 when wet. If the surface gets hard the dogs 

 are almost certain to get lamed. 



The length of the course should be 220 

 yds., and its width 10 yds. This allows 



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