Preston - bull baiting

Beneath your feet is a little bit of history that often goes unnoticed.  It may look like a poor bodged job of landscaping, but you can see the remnants of an iron ring once used for the cruel sport of baiting.  Many towns and villages would have a baiting ring and it was a popular form of entertainment.   A bull, and sometimes even a bear,  would have a collar placed around its neck and would then be tethered to a stake or iron ring like this one.

Dogs would then be released on the captive animal and attempt to bring it down by grabbing it by the nose which would bring it to the ground.  The struggling, tossing and fighting would often end in death for either the dogs or the bull.   The bull was on its way to the slaughter house anyway, so this was seen not only as a way to have a bit of ‘fun’ and a wager but also as a means of tenderising the meat. 

 This sport was how the Bulldog got his name.  In one aspect they could be ferocious yet they rarely complain and only bark when there is real reason.    A good bulldog would bite on and not let go.  It is no wonder that the Bulldog has been used to symbolise England and Winston Churchill.

A French visitor to England witnessed a bull baiting and reported:

“After a coming Bull-baiting had been advertised, the bull, decorated with flowers or coloured ribbons would be paraded round the streets of the town, and the dog which pulled off the favours in the subsequent baiting would be especially cheered by the spectators.  The parade ended, the bull, with a rope tied round the root of his horns, would be fastened to a stake with an iron ring in it, situated in the centre of the ring.”

The sport was eventually declared illegal by the Cruelty to Animals Act in 1835 which protected the rights of bulls, dogs, bears and sheep and prohibited bear baiting and cockfighting.  

This is an excerpt from the FREE tour Preston Flag Market found on www.obelisktours.co.uk