This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2010) |
Former names | Royal Agricultural Hall |
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Location | London, N1 0QH |
Coordinates | 51°32′08″N0°06′20″W / 51.535582°N 0.105688°W |
Public transit | Angel Highbury & Islington King's Cross St. Pancras |
Owner | Family of Sam Morris |
Designation | Grade II listed |
Executive suites | 13 |
Capacity | 5,330 |
Field size | 6,000sqm |
Surface | Carpeted |
Construction | |
Opened | 1862 (as Agricultural Hall), 1986 (as Business Design Centre) |
Architect | Frederick Peck |
Website | |
www |
The Business Design Centre is a Grade II listed building located between Upper Street and Liverpool Road in the district of Islington in London, England. It was opened in 1862, originally named the Agricultural Hall and from 1884 the Royal Agricultural Hall, for holding agricultural shows. It was the home of the Royal Smithfield Club's Smithfield Show from 1862 to 1938. [1] It hosted the Royal Tournament from its inauguration in 1880 until the event became too large for the venue and moved to Olympia in the early years of the 20th century. It hosted the first Crufts dog show in 1891.
During the Second World War, the hall was commandeered by the Government, and from 1943, following the destruction of Mount Pleasant sorting office in an air raid, the parcels depot was moved to the hall. The hall then remained unused and empty until it was converted to its present use as the Business Design Centre in 1986.
According to the official Islington Libraries compilation,[ citation needed ] the Royal Agricultural Hall had its origins when in 1798 the Duke of Bedford, Sir Joseph Banks and other nobles and gentlemen decided to form the Smithfield Club, which would hold annual exhibitions of livestock, agricultural produce and agricultural implements. Following some 40 years of exhibiting, first in Smithfield at Wooton's Livery Stables near Smithfield Meat Market then at a site in the Barbican, the club moved in 1839 to premises in Baker Street. However it outgrew these and it was then proposed that the club erect a hall large enough to accommodate their annual display and also to be available for other shows. The foundation stone was laid in 1861 – although a large part of the building had already been completed, and held its first exhibition in 1862. [2]
When built it was one of the largest exhibition halls in the world.[ citation needed ] It was this building that was the original basis of the present hall, which has expanded on this site so that the main exhibition hall now covers 65,000 square feet (6,000 m2).[ citation needed ]
It hosted the Royal Tournament from its inauguration in 1880 until the event became too large for the venue and moved to Olympia in the early years of the 20th century. Sporting events included six-day cycle races – the first event being held at the Agricultural Hall in 1878. The Islington Gazette reported:
"A bicycle contest was commenced at the Agricultural Hall, on Monday last, for which £150 is offered in prizes for a six days' competition, the money to be allocated thus: £100 for the first man, £25 for the second, £15 for the third, and £10 for the fourth." [3]
It also hosted the first Crufts dog show in 1891. The Smithfield Show, later the Royal Smithfield Show ran here from the opening of the building in 1861 until it moved to Earls Court in 1949 needing extra space to allow the showing of agricultural machinery.
During the Second World War the hall was commandeered by the Government, and from 1943, following the destruction of Mount Pleasant sorting office in an air raid, the Parcels Depot was moved to the hall. [4]
The hall then remained unused and empty until it was bought and converted to its present use as the Business Design Centre by Sam Morris [5] in 1986. As an exhibition venue and conference centre with showrooms and offices, it is home to over 100 businesses, including clothing retailer Barbour, electronics manufacturer Samsung, communications provider TSI Voice & Data, coffee maker Illy, and home furnishings manufacturer Oficina Inglesa.
In 2006, 2009, and 2010, Made in Brunel , a yearly design exhibition hosted by the engineering and design department at Brunel University was held here.[ citation needed ]
The centre is owned by the Morris family. [6]
Islington Local History Centre holds the archive of the Royal Agricultural Hall Company Limited, which contains deeds and maintenance records, correspondence, ledgers, cash books, letting agreements and exhibition programmes. [7]
Islington is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy High Street, Upper Street, Essex Road, and Southgate Road to the east.
Brunel University of London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university in June 1966, when Brunel College of Advanced Technology was awarded a royal charter and became Brunel University; in 2014 the university formally adopted the name Brunel University London. The university is sometimes considered a British plate glass university. Brunel became the University of London's 17th member on 1 October 2024.
The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, England, near to Birmingham and Solihull. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1976.
The Royal Kennel Club (KC) is the official kennel club of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest recognised kennel club in the world. Its role is to oversee various canine activities including dog shows, dog agility and working trials. It also operates the national register of pedigree dogs in the United Kingdom and acts as a lobby group on issues involving dogs in the UK. To celebrate its 150th anniversary on 5 April 2023, King Charles III confirmed the club with a 'royal' prefix.
Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The 197-acre (80 ha) site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments, parkland, sports facilities, and a number of civic, provincial, and national historic sites. The district's facilities are used year-round for exhibitions, trade shows, public and private functions, and sporting events.
Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, held since 1891, and organised by The Kennel Club. It is the largest show of its kind in the world.
Olympia Events, formerly known as Olympia London and sometimes referred to as the Olympia Exhibition Centre, is an exhibition centre, event space and conference centre in West Kensington, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, England. A range of international trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences and sporting events are staged at the venue.
Liverpool Road is a street in Islington, North London. It covers a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) between Islington High Street and Holloway Road, running roughly parallel to Upper Street through the area of Barnsbury. It contains several attractive terraces of Georgian houses and Victorian villas, many of which are listed buildings. There are a number of pubs, small businesses and restaurants along its route, as well as some secluded garden squares. The vast majority of the street is residential, with a bustling shopping and business area at the southern, Angel, end.
Charles Alfred Cruft was a British showman who founded the Crufts dog show. Charles first became involved with dogs when he began to work at Spratt's, a manufacturer of dog biscuits. He rose to the position of general manager, and whilst working for Spratt's in France he was invited to run his first dog show at the 1878 Exposition Universelle. After running dog shows in London for four years, he ran his first Cruft's dog show in 1891, and continued to run a further 45 shows until his death in 1938, as well as running two cat shows in 1894 and 1895. He was involved in a range of dog breed clubs, including that for Schipperkes, Pugs and Borzois. He and his wife upheld a story that they never owned a dog, and instead owned a cat, however Cruft admitted to owning at least one Saint Bernard in his memoirs, published posthumously.
The European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) was an annual trade show for the European video game industry which first ran in 1988, the final event being held in 2004.
Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue in London, England. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, originally opened in 1887, with an art moderne structure built between 1935 and 1937 by specialist American architect C. Howard Crane. With the active support of London mayor Boris Johnson, in an attempt to create Europe's "largest regeneration scheme", its proposed heritage listing was refused after it was acquired by developers, who promptly in 2008 applied for and were granted a Certificate of Immunity from Listing by English Heritage, and its demolition was completed in 2017.
Upper Street is the main street of the Islington district of inner north London, and carries the A1 road. It begins at the junction of the A1 and Liverpool Road, continuing on from Islington High Street which runs from the crossroads at Pentonville Road and City Road and runs roughly northwards from outside the main entrance to Angel Underground station, then past the Business Design Centre, then splits at Islington Green, then past The Screen On The Green cinema, past Islington Town Hall, ending at Highbury & Islington tube station on Highbury Corner, where the A1 carries on as Holloway Road, part of the Great North Road.
The Royal Tournament was the world's largest military tattoo and pageant, held by the British Armed Forces annually between 1880 and 1999. The venue was originally the Royal Agricultural Hall, before moving to Olympia London and latterly the Earls Court Exhibition Centre. In its later years it also acted as a fundraising event for leading forces charities, such as The Royal British Legion.
The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which includes a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities. Opened in 1878, it is a Grade II* listed building, operated by Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited on behalf of Blackpool Council, which purchased the property from Leisure Parcs Ltd as part of a £40 million deal in 2010.
The Shanghai New International Expo Center is an exhibition center in Pudong, Shanghai. It hosts many exhibitions, including the Shanghai Motor Show. It has also hosted the 2002 Tennis Masters Cup, where one of the halls was temporarily converted into a tennis court. With more than 100 exhibitions per year and a turnover rate of 27 (2015), SNIEC is one of the world's most successful exhibition venues.
The King's Hall was a multi-purpose venue located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The King's Hall consisted of 6 event venues. The King's Hall is owned by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS), who moved to the venue in 1896 from their previous showgrounds in Belfast Corporation Markets area. The RUAS moved out in 2012 and the venue was being re-developed as of 2021.
The Rand Show, previously known as the Rand Easter Show, is an annual show held in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is the largest consumer exhibition in Southern Africa. It has been an important event in the city for many years, attracting in excess of 400,000 visitors in 2007. It was also called the Grand Rand Show, when it was held a few weeks outside of Easter in the late 1980s.
The Stanley Cycle Show or Stanley Show was an exhibition of bicycles and tricycles first mounted by the Stanley Cycling Club in 1878 at The Athenaeum in London's Camden Road. Britain's first series production cars were displayed at this show in November 1896. The 34th and last exhibition was held in the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington in November 1910. It was supplanted by the 1911 Olympia Motor Cycle Show and, a few weeks before that, Olympia's International Motor Exhibition.
The Smithfield Show, formerly the Smithfield Club Cattle Show and later the Royal Smithfield Show, was an annual British agricultural show, organised by the Royal Smithfield Club. It was founded in 1799 and was first held at Wootton's Livery Stables in Dolphin Yard, Smithfield, London. From 1862 until 1938 it was held at the Agricultural Hall in Islington, London. From 1949 it was held at the Earl's Court Exhibition Centre in Earl's Court, London. The last show was held there in 2004; it was the last major livestock show in London.