Information for record number MWA2290:
Halford Cockpit, Main Street, Halford

Summary The site of a baiting place, where cock fighting took place during the Post Medieval and Imperial periods. It was situated on Main Street, Halford.
What Is It?  
Type: Baiting Place, Cockpit
Period: Post-medieval - Industrial (1540 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Halford
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 26 45
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Opposite the former Bell coaching inn - now called Halford Bridge Hotel - is the oldest bowling green in the county and one of the five oldest in the country. There was a clubroom with wine cellar below and cockpit in the loft above. Cockfighting took place at least as late as the 1880s. The pavilion was pulled down in 1951 to make room for a car park and because of plans to widen the Fosse Way. These improvements did not actually take place until 1962.
2 A Warwickshire antiquary, Mr.Henry Ferrars, spoke in 1595 of the "Great Bowling at Hawford and Gameing". The cockpit: "at one end of it is a platform raised two or three steps above the general level of the floor and fenced in with a slight railing to keep the combatant birds within bounds".
3 site marked on annotated map.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Halford Cockpit
Author/originator:
Date: 1976
Page Number: 8-9
Volume/Sheet: Feb
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The History, Antiquities and Customs of Halford
Author/originator: Scarlett Potter F
Date: 1912
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: Map
Author/originator: Morris J M
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP50SE
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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period Post Medieval About 1540 AD to 1750 AD (the 16th century AD to the 18th century AD)

The Post Medieval period comes after the medieval period and before the Imperial period.

This period covers the second half of the reign of the Tudors (1485 – 1603), the reign of the Stuarts (1603 – 1702) and the beginning of the reign of the Hannoverians (1714 – 1836).
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period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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monument COACHING INN * A public house offering lodgings to the passengers, and stabling for the horses of stage coaches. back
monument HOTEL * A large building used for the accommodation of paying travellers and guests. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument KEEP * The major tower of a fortification, often acting as its last defence. back
monument FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument BOWLING GREEN * A closely mown piece of ground used for the game of lawn bowling. back
monument WINE CELLAR * A building or subterranean structure used for the storage of wine. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument PAVILION * A light, sometimes ornamental structure in a garden, park or place of recreation, used for entertainment or shelter. Use specific type where known. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument PLATFORM * Unspecified. Use specific type where known. back
monument CAR PARK * A place where cars and other road vehicles may be parked and left. back
monument BAITING PLACE * A site where the baiting of animals took place. Use more specific site type where known. back
monument COCKPIT * A pit or enclosed area used for cockfighting. back
monument STEPS * A series of flat-topped structures, usually made of stone or wood, used to facilitate a person's movement from one level to another. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record