The Cock sign is situated on the crossroads of

Sutton High Street Sutton High Street is a high street running north–south through the town of Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton. The High Street area constitutes the sixth most important retail centre in London, and is home to many restaurants and major r ...

and Carshalton Road in the

London Borough of Sutton The London Borough of Sutton () is a London borough in south-west London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croydon to ...

. Built in 1907, it was originally a

pub sign A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

for The Cock hotel and pub, before being converted into a road sign and

lamp post A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...

. Since 2018, The Cock sign has been a Grade II

listed structure In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The Cock Hotel in

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

was so named as London and Sutton were an historic centre for

cockfight A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

ing. It was on a main road from London to

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, and at one point in history, it was used as a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

. The hotel was at one time owned by boxer John Johnson, also known as "Gentleman Jackson", who earned the boxing title ''Champion of England''. In 1898, the original Cock Hotel was partially demolished so that the street could be widened. The Cock sign was built in 1907 by

Hart, Son, Peard and Co. Hart, Son, Peard & Co. (1842–1913) were British architectural metalworkers based in London and Birmingham, most associated with ecclesiastical works. Founded in 1842 in Wych St, off The Strand, by ironmonger Joseph Hart, they became art ...

It originally stood on a timber frame outside The Cock Hotel and pub on

. When the hotel was completely demolished in 1914, the sign was moved to its present location on the crossroads of Sutton High Street and Carshalton Road. In around 1915, The Cock sign was converted into a road sign. At that time, the name of the hotel was removed from the sign. The Cock sign is on a column, made out of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

and

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

. Originally the sign had a gas-lit light, and two lanterns. The light was later converted to use electricity, and the lanterns were removed before the sign was moved in 1915. The

fingerpost A fingerpost (sometimes referred to as a guide post) is a traditional type of sign post primarily used in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, consisting of a post with one or more arms, known as fingers, pointing in the direction o ...

s on The Cock sign point to

Cheam Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, south-west of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to tw ...

Worcester Park Worcester Park is a suburban town in South London, South West London, England. It lies in the Boroughs of London, London boroughs of London Borough of Sutton, Sutton and Royal Borough of Kingston, Kingston, and partly in the Surrey borough of Ep ...

Carshalton Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

Banstead Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Downs, it is on three of the four main ...

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ha ...

, and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The road layout was changed in the late 20th century, but The Cock sign remained. The crossroads where the sign stands is known as The Cock crossroads, and is situated a few metres away from the location of The Cock hotel and pub. In 2018, The Cock sign became a Grade II

. It was one of three places in South London that

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

listed in 2018. In 2020, the sign was temporarily taken down for restoration work.

References

{{reflist Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Sutton Buildings and structures completed in 1907 1907 in London Individual signs Grade II listed road signs Sutton, London 1907 establishments in England