Cockpit Steps, SW1H

Walkway/path in/near Westminster, existing between the 1750s or before and now

 HOME  ·  ABOUT  ·  ARTICLE  ·  MARKERS OFF  ·  BLOG 
(51.50094 -0.13176, 51.5 -0.131) 
MAP YEAR:18001810182018301860190019502024 
 
Walkway/path · * · SW1H ·
MARCH
8
2021
Cockpit Steps leads from Birdcage Walk to Old Queen Street.

Cockpit Steps was named after connection to the former pastime of cockfighting.

The steps are the single remaining vestige of the Royal Cockpit - an 18th century venue in an inn where cock fights took place. The Royal Cockpit was aimed more towards the upper classes as it had a 5 shilling admission charge. Most towns in those days had at least one cockpit. Incidentally, the word ’cockpit’ as used in boats and planes had no reference to cockfighting, instead originally referring to an area in the rear of a ship where the cockswain’s station was located.

For some, cockfighting was an easy way to make money due to the heavy betting that inevitably went with any combat sport.

The rules were complex - books were written about the correct etiquette around the fights. This rule-based system was important for the later application to football, rugby and cricket. The large sums of money being wagered meant that cockfighting and subsequently other sports had the have rules which were fair and balanced.

Although the Royal Cockpit was more select, cockpits were generally dirty and rowdy but places where the social classes mixed. The Royal Cockpit was demolished in 1810 - even so the stairs remained.

Cockfighting itself was made illegal in 1833.



TIP: If you choose an historical map, an 'opacity' control will appear top right. Slide it to fade in the old map compared to a new map.


Main source: Cockpit Steps. Part of the Secret London series by Historic UK
Further citations and sources



NEARBY LOCATIONS OF NOTE
Westminster Westminster - heart of government.
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, is one of the world’s greatest churches.
Westminster to Green Park walk The heart of government

NEARBY STREETS
Abbey Orchard Street, SW1P Abbey Orchard Street was the heart of a former slum area (Westminster)
Abingdon Street, SW1P Abingdon Street has linked Old Palace Yard and Millbank since at least 1593 (Westminster)
Ambassador’s Court, SW1A Ambassador’s Court is a block on Ambassador’s Court (St James’s)
Ambassador’s Court, SW1A Ambassador’s Court is part of the St James’s Palace complex (St James’s)
Angela Hooper Place, SW1E Angela Hooper Place is a location in London (Victoria)
Artillery Row, SW1P Artillery Row skirts a former artillery ground (Westminster)
Barton Street, SW1P Barton Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
Birdcage Walk, SW1E Birdcage Walk runs east-west from the Parliament Square area (as Great George Street) to Buckingham Palace. (St James’s Park)
Birdcage Walk, SW1H Birdcage Walk runs east from Great George Street, along the south side of St James’s Park (St James’s Park)
Blue Bridge, SW1A Blue Bridge crosses St James’s Park lake (St James’s Park)
Brewer’s Green, SW1H Brewers Green is one of the streets of London in the SW1H postal area (St James’s Park)
Bridge Street, SW1A Bridge Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1A postal area (Westminster)
Bridgewater House, SW1A Bridgewater House is a block on Cleveland Row (St James’s)
Broad Sanctuary, SW1P Broad Sanctuary is a road in the SW1H postcode area (Westminster)
Broadway, SW1H Broadway - formerly the location of the headquarters of both London Transport and the Metropolitan Police (Westminster)
Butler Place, SW1H Butler Place is one of the streets of London in the SW1H postal area (Westminster)
Canon Row, SW1A Canon Row is at least one thousand year’s old (Westminster)
Carteret Street, SW1H Carteret Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1H postal area (Westminster)
Castle Lane, SW1E Castle Lane is one of the streets of London in the SW1E postal area (Victoria)
Caxton House, SW1H Caxton House is a block on Tothill Street (Westminster)
Caxton Street, SW1H William Caxton was responsible for the introduction of the printing press to England (St James’s Park)
Central Buildings, SW1P Central Buildings is a block on Matthew Parker Street (Westminster)
Chubb Court, SW1P Chubb Court is a road in the SW20 postcode area (Westminster)
Church House, SW1P Church House is a block on Great Smith Street (Westminster)
Cleveland Row, SW1A Cleveland Row – after Cleveland House (now Bridgwater House), named for Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland who lived there in the late 17th century (St James’s)
Clutha House, SW1P Clutha House is a block on Storey’s Gate (Westminster)
Cockpit Steps, SW1H Cockpit Steps leads from Birdcage Walk to Old Queen Street (Westminster)
Commissioner’s Yard, SW1A Commissioner’s Yard is a small street behind New Scotland Yard (Westminster)
Cowley Street, SW1P Cowley Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
Curtis Green Building, SW1A Curtis Green Building can be found on Victoria Embankment (Westminster)
Dacre House, SW1H Dacre House is a block on Dacre Street (Westminster)
Dacre Street, SW1H Dacre Street is named after Lady Anne Dacre (Westminster)
Dartmouth Street, SW1H Dartmouth Street leads north from Tothill Street and dates from the seventeenth century (Westminster)
Dean Farrar Street, SW1H Frederic William Farrar was a canon of Westminster Abbey (Westminster)
Deans Yard, SW1P Dean’s Yard comprises most of the precincts of the former monastery of Westminster, not occupied by the Abbey buildings. (Westminster)
Derby Gate, SW1A Derby Gate is one of the streets of London in the SW1A postal area (Westminster)
Dover House, SW1A Dover House is a block on Whitehall (Westminster)
Downing Street, SW1A Downing Street has been the home of British Prime Minsters since the eighteenth century (Westminster)
Eglise House, SW1 Eglise House is a block on Little Smith Street (Westminster)
Fielden House, SW1P Fielden House is a block on Little College Street (Westminster)
Fludyer Street, SW1A Fludyer Street used to be a street which lay parallel to, and south of, Downing Street (Westminster)
Great College Street, SW1P Great College Street borders the south side of Westminster School (Westminster)
Great George Street, SW1P Great George Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
Great Smith Street, SW1P Great Smith Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
Gwydyr House, SW1A Gwydyr House is a building on Whitehall (Westminster)
Horse Guards Avenue, SW1A Horse Guards Avenue stretches from Whitehall to the Embankment (Westminster)
Horse Guards Parade, SW1A Horse Guards Parade dates to the time of Henry VIII (Westminster)
Horse Guards Road, SW1A Horse Guards Road runs along the eastern edge of St James’s Park (Westminster)
King Charles Street, SW1A King Charles Street is a street of government buildings, one block south of Downing Street (Westminster)
King Street, SW1A King Street was an ancient thoroughfare between the regions of the Court and the Abbey in Westminster (Westminster)
Kingsgate Parade, SW1E Kingsgate Parade is one of the streets of London in the SW1E postal area (Victoria)
Lesley Court, SW1P Lesley Court is a building on Strutton Ground (Westminster)
Lewisham Street, SW1H Lewisham Street is a Westminster alleyway (Westminster)
Little College Street, SW1P Little College Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
Little Deans Yard, SW1P Little Deans Yard is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
Little George Street, SW1P Little George Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
Main Building, SW1A Main Building is a block on Horse Guards Avenue (Westminster)
Marlborough Road, SW1Y Marlborough Road was named after the adjacent Marlborough House, built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough in 1711 (St James’s)
Matthew Parker Street, SW1H The Most Reverend Matthew Parker was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 until 1575 (Westminster)
Millbank House, SW1P Millbank House is a block on Millbank (Westminster)
Municipal Insurance House, SW1H Municipal Insurance House can be found on Old Queen Street (Westminster)
New Palace Yard, SW1A New Palace Yard was built by William II (William Rufus) (Westminster)
NIOC House, SW1H NIOC House is a block on Victoria Street (Westminster)
Old Pye House, SW1P Old Pye House is a block on St Ann’s Street (Westminster)
Old Pye Street, SW1P Old Pye Street gets its name from Sir Robert Pye, member of parliament for Westminster in the time of Charles I. (Westminster)
Old Queen Street, SW1H Old Queen Street is parallel to Birdcage Walk (Westminster)
Palmer Street, SW1H Palmer Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1H postal area (St James’s Park)
Parker Street, SW1H Before being renamed to Matthew Parker Street, old Parker Street was a Westminster slum (Westminster)
Parliament Square, SW1A Parliament Square is one of the most important squares in Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey (Westminster)
Parliament Street, SW1A Parliament Street is the name of the southernmost stretch of Whitehall as it meets Parliament Square (Westminster)
Petty France, SW1H Petty France is one of the streets of London in the SW1H postal area (St James’s Park)
Portcullis House, SW1A Portcullis House is a building on Bridge Street (Westminster)
Post Office Way, SW1H Post Office Way is a road in the SW1P postcode area (Westminster)
Price’s Court, SW1P A street within the SW1P postcode (Westminster)
Queen Anne’s House, SW1H Queen Anne’s House is a block on Queen Anne’s Gate (St James’s Park)
Queen Annes Gate Buildings, SW1H Queen Annes Gate Buildings is one of the streets of London in the SW1H postal area (Westminster)
Queen Anne’s Gate, SW1H Queen Anne’s Gate runs parallel to Birdcage Walk (Westminster)
Richmond House Whitehall, SW1A Richmond House Whitehall is one of the streets of London in the SW1A postal area (Westminster)
Richmond House, SW1A Richmond House is a block on Whitehall (Westminster)
Richmond Terrace Mews, SW1A Richmond Terrace Mews originally led to New Scotland Yard (Westminster)
Richmond Terrace, SW1A Richmond Terrace is on the site of Richmond House, destroyed by a fire on 21 December 1791 (Westminster)
Seaforth Place, SW1E Seaforth Place is a road in the SW1E postcode area (Victoria)
Spenser Street, SW1P Spenser Street is a road in the SW1E postcode area (Victoria)
St Anns Street, SW1P St Anns Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
St Ermin’s Hill, SW1H St Ermin’s Hill is a small side street off Broadway (St James’s Park)
St Matthew Street, SW1P St Matthew Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
St. Margaret Street, SW1P St Margaret Street is the road immediately outside Westminster Hall (Westminster)
St. Matthew Street, SW1P St. Matthew Street is a road in the SW1P postcode area (Westminster)
Stable Yard Road, SW1A Stable Yard Road leads from The Mall to Clarence House (St James’s)
Storey’s Gate, SW1H Abraham Storey, one of Wren’s master-masons, built Storey’s Gate that now commemorates his name. (Westminster)
Strutton Ground, SW1P Strutton Ground is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
The Mall, SW1Y The Mall is the processional route between Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace (St James’s)
The Sanctuary, SW1P The Sanctuary is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
The Terrace, SW1P The Terrace is a road in the SW1P postcode area (Westminster)
The Zig Zag Building, SW1E The Zig Zag Building is located on Victoria Street (Victoria)
Tothill Street, SW1H Tothill Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1H postal area (Westminster)
Vandon Court, SW1H Vandon Court is a block on Petty France (St James’s Park)
Vandon Passage, SW1H Vandon Passage probably dates from the fifteenth century (St James’s Park)
Vandon Street, SW1H Vandon Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1H postal area (St James’s Park)
Victoria Street, SW1E Victoria Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1W postal area (Victoria)
Victoria Street, SW1P Victoria Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1H postal area (Westminster)
Wellington House, SW1E Wellington House is located on Buckingham Gate (St James’s Park)
Westminster Central Hall, SW1H Westminster Central Hall is one of the streets of London in the SW1H postal area (Westminster)
Westminster Mansions, SW1P Westminster Mansions is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
Westminster Palace Gardens, SW1P Westminster Palace Gardens is one of the streets of London in the SW1P postal area (Westminster)
Whitehall Gardens, SW1A Whitehall Gardens is a road in the SW1A postcode area (Westminster)
Wilfred Street, SW1E Wilfred Street is one of the streets of London in the SW1E postal area (Victoria)
Windsor House, SW1H Windsor House is a block on Victoria Street (Westminster)
Wood Street , SW1P Little Peter Street became Wood Street in 1868 (Westminster)


Click here to explore another London street
We now have 681 completed street histories and 46819 partial histories


Click here to see photos of the area


  Contact us · Copyright policy · Privacy policy

32744:21794