Show FALL OP OF AN historical COCK PITI I 1 wn wll have received a late issue of the nury bury lancaster augland pu Cu gland giand land temes times from which we learn that the historical cock pit at preston Pr estoll estori recently met with a mishap three q quarters of the root roof and i a of the nabie gable fell in with a tremendous crash I 1 concerning if it the preston guardian t says ays 1 this building is probably among the oldest in that martof part of the fowhand fow t ownard nand it possesses an historical interest not only lo locally bally but throughout the ehg kingdom we might almost say throughout the world such stich as attaches to few of themore ther the more pretentious edi edl edifices fides tides of the town and neighborhood it is bell beli believed wed to be at least a century old iu in fact 1 act the present lease is dated and it would have run out in the course cour s e of a few sew year the buil bull din is supposed to have eave been erected by the great grandfather of af the present E earl eari liri of V wel wei find tind it prominently associated with moral reform movements in strange contrast to its original use it was there that in 1832 joseph livesey and the band of earnest men inen who acted with him practically commenced their temperance crusade there the first total abstinence sti nence fience pledge was signed b by the seven men inn of preston ami anu this ol 01 old oid building will be long kemem remembered bored as the fist first temperance hall hali in the kingdom k oil on Tuesday May loth 1833 1832 the temperance reformers held their first the cockpit and they continued to occupy this place for twenty years As most of our readers will be aware the first pledge 4 was one of only a partial cha character ra eter but s several everal of the more earnest earile of the tiie leaders had for some time contemplated the absolute necessity of total abstinence and on september a meeting inee ruee was held at the cockpit cockel when mr livesey urged the adoption bf a teetotal pie pledge what took tools place there hlay may be best t told in the slane simple simpie language of the late I 1 mr josfea anthe old oid teetotal historian 1 I remember wrote mr nir dearden attending the meet meeting ln and I 1 may well reme remember in ber the warm discussion which took place at it for t was one who went in for more caution and less speed As the earnest proceedings were drawing to a close anel anil and somewhere some were leaving a number got grouped together ether atone at one side of the room still debating bating ae the matter when at length I 1 mr livesey resolved be would draw up i a total abstinence pledge ile he pulled a small smail memorandum book out of his pocket and having written t the he pledge in black lead he read it over and standing with the book in hk hand he said whose name shall I 1 put down six gave their names and air mr lavese livesey made up the number to seven gis ris this was the pledge which was iva taken staken by those seven men of preston we a aree agree ree to abstain from all liquors of an intoxicating quality whether ale porter wine or ardent spirits except us as medicine and the signatures were john gratrix edward dickinson john broadbelt john smith joseph livesey Ll vesey david anderton and john king 12 of these seven three Grat gratrix dx joseph aseph livesey and ana king now survive when the temperance reformers took possession of their new hall in north road the cockpit again degenerated and since then it has witnessed some e extraordinary vicissitudes degenerating finally into a dancin dancing academy it was used however for an impromptu teetotal gathering so recently as two years ago a 0 on the occasion of a visit by the british temperance league to the town and the celebration of their jubilee jubliee jub lub lieo ileo the ite cockpit has a peculiar historical interest to the latter day saints it was one of the first places where the falness of the gospel was preached on the east side of the atlantic in this dispensation li sensation ensa tion in 1837 when it was carried ril rii e sn to england by elders H C kimball 0 Hyde llyde AV richards joseph fielding J goodson I 1 russell and J snider |