The cock-pit was not infrequently to be found in the inn yards. At Lincoln the corporation pit was in the yard of the _Reindeer_, and here James I, a great patron of this sport, was entertained. Pope, whilst living with his father at Chiswick, took great delight in cock-fighting; all his pocket-money was laid out in buying birds from various choice strains. From this passion, we are told, his mother had the good sense and skill to wean him.
Country towns generally contain an inn called the _Cock-fighters_, sometimes with remains of the old pit _in situ_; and the sign of the _Cock and Bell_ is said to be derived from the shrovetide cock-fights, when boys matched their birds against each other, and to the lucky owner was awarded a silver bell, which he wore in his hat for three Sundays following. Originally, the Shrovetide cocks were mounted on stools and stones thrown at them. Out of this has grown the modern “Cocoanut Shy.”
The sign of the _Bird in Hand_, often merely facetious, may when seen on old inns, as at Widmore, near Bromley, have reference to hawking; so with _Hawk and Buckle_ and _Falcon_ which, as a rule, we are content to treat as heraldic emblems.
The _Kentish Bowman_ and the _Bow and Arrow_ remain to tell us of archery, the favourite village pastime in rural England until quite recently. It is a disputed point whether the resilient virtues of the wood, or their use in Palm Sunday processions had most to answer for the hacked and mutilated condition of the branches of old churchyard yews. _Speed the Plough_ recalls the rustic ploughing competitions.
_Dog and Gun_, _Dog and Duck_, _Dog and Badger_, _Fox and Hounds_, and _Huntsman_, all betray the characteristic trait of John Bull, who celebrates a fine frosty morning by “going out to kill something.” The Hunt meet is usually in front of some leading inn; and hither when the run is over choice blades repair to recount the doings of the day. These inns abound in trophies of the chase, mounted antlers, stuffed foxes, otters, or rare birds in glass cases; though few can vie with the collection of specimens and prints at the _Swan_, Tarporley; where even the plate and crockery bear witness to the pursuits of its patrons.