Smithfield Show

Smithfield Show
Status	defunct
Genre	agricultural show
Frequency	annual
Location(s)	from 1799: Wootton's Livery Stables, Smithfield, London; circa 1806–1838: Sadler's Yard, Goswell Street, Islington; 1839–1861: Baker Street Horse Bazaar, London; 1862–1938: Agricultural Hall, Islington, London; 1949–2004: Earl's Court Exhibition Centre, London [1] ;
Years active	1799–2004
Inaugurated	December 1799
Most recent	2004
Organised by	Royal Smithfield Club

Last updated November 12, 2019

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.^[1] The last show was held there in 2004; it was the last major livestock show in London.^[2]^:40

An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show, a trade fair, competitions, and entertainment. The work and practices of farmers, animal fanciers, cowboys, and zoologists may be displayed. The terms agricultural show and livestock show are synonymous with the North American terms county fair and state fair.

Smithfield is a district in the City of London, located in Central London, England. The principal street of the area is West Smithfield.

Islington is a district in Greater London, England, and part of the 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.

History

The Smithfield Club Cattle Show was first held in December 1799, at Wootton's Livery Stables in Dolphin Yard, Smithfield, London. It was organised by the Smithfield Cattle and Sheep Society (later the Royal Smithfield Club), which had been founded at Smithfield in the previous year.

By 1806 the show had moved to Sadler's Yard in Goswell Street, Islington. Sixty-one animals were shown. In 1839 it was moved to larger space, the Baker Street Horse Bazaar, where it lasted for four days and attracted some twenty or twenty-five thousand visitors. Attendance increased after members of the Royal Family began to attend.^[2]^:39

Goswell Road is a road in central London. The road forms part of the A1. The southern part of the road is located in the City of London, it continues north into to the London Borough of Islington through Clerkenwell, crossing Old Street ending at Angel.

Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at a fictional 221B Baker Street address on the north of the street. The area was originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises.

In 1862 the show moved to the new Agricultural Hall in Islington, London, which had been purpose-built for it by the Club. The 1862 show attracted almost 135,000 visitors, a record, and in later years there were regularly more than 100,000.^[3] During and immediately after the Second World War, from 1939 to 1948, the show was not held; the Royal Agricultural Hall was requisitioned for the GPO in 1943. Annual shows recommenced in 1949, at the Earl's Court Exhibition Centre in Earl's Court, London;^[1] the last show was held there in 2004. It was the last major livestock show in London.^[2]^:40

The General Post Office (GPO) was officially established in England in 1660 by Charles II and it eventually grew to combine the functions of state postal system and telecommunications carrier. Similar General Post Offices were established across the British Empire. In 1969 the GPO was abolished and the assets transferred to The Post Office, changing it from a Department of State to a statutory corporation. In 1980, the telecommunications and postal sides were split prior to British Telecommunications' conversion into a totally separate publicly owned corporation the following year as a result of the British Telecommunications Act 1981. For the more recent history of the postal system in the United Kingdom, see the articles Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd.

Earl's Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the sub-districts of South Kensington to the east, Chelsea to the south and Kensington to the north. It lent its name to the now defunct eponymous pleasure grounds opened in 1887 followed by the pre-World War II Earls Court Exhibition Centre, as one of the country's largest indoor arenas and a popular concert venue, until its controversial closure in 2014. The area has long been known as "Bedsitter Land" with many of its stuccoed terraces converted into hotels and hostels.

The Museum of English Rural Life's Royal Smithfield Club collection of paintings and prints of farm livestock executed during the period from 1775 to about 1860 includes animals which had won prizes at the Smithfield Shows of 1834 and 1851.^[4]

The Museum of English Rural Life, also known as the MERL, is a museum, library and archive dedicated to recording the changing face of farming and the countryside in England. It houses designated collections of national importance that span the full range of objects, archives, photographs, film and books. It is also the location of the University of Reading’s special collections archive, housing hundreds of collections of rare books, manuscripts, typescripts and other objects of importance.

The show

The Royal Smithfield Club was named for Smithfield Market, the centre of meat distribution in London.^[1]^[5]^:91 The show was for fatstock, meat breeds of domestic livestock.^[2]^:40 Later, agricultural machinery was also exhibited.^[6]^[7] Between 1876 and 1936 the Dairy Show, a similar show for dairy animals and equipment, was also held at the Agricultural Hall in Islington.^[8]^[2]^:40

Livestock is commonly defined as domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce labor and commodities such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to those that are bred for consumption, while other times it refers only to farmed ruminants, such as cattle and goats. Horses are considered livestock in the United States. The USDA classifies pork, veal, beef, and lamb as livestock and all livestock as red meat. Poultry and fish are not included in the category.

Agricultural machinery machinery used for growing food

Agricultural machinery is machinery used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the countless kinds of farm implements that they tow or operate. Diverse arrays of equipment are used in both organic and nonorganic farming. Especially since the advent of mechanised agriculture, agricultural machinery is an indispensable part of how the world is fed.

The Dairy Show is an annual British agricultural show, organised by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers. It was founded in 1876 and was first held at the Agricultural Hall in Islington, London; it was later held at Olympia, London, and then moved to the National Agricultural Exhibition Centre at Stoneleigh Park, in Warwickshire. It is now held as part of the annual Livestock Event at the National Exhibition Centre, in Birmingham in the Midlands.

Closure

The Royal Smithfield Show was discontinued after the 2004 show, after farm machinery manufacturers and suppliers declined to take part, due to the high costs.^[6]^[7]

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References

1 2 3 4 History. Royal Smithfield Club. Accessed December 2016
1 2 3 4 5 Hannah Velten (2013). Beastly London: A History of Animals in the City. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 9781780232171.
↑ History. Business Design Centre. Accessed December 2016.
↑ "The Royal Smithfield Club". The Museum of English Rural Life. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
↑ Peter J. Atkins, Peter Lummel, Derek J. Oddy (2016). Food and the City in Europe since 1800, second edition. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780754649892.
1 2 Nick Fone (28 February 2006). Smithfield Show is cancelled. Farmer's Weekly. Accessed December 2016.
1 2 Charles Clover (2 March 2006). The end of Smithfield. The Daily Telegraph. Accessed December 2016
↑ The History - 139 Years of Progress. RABDF Events. Archived 7 August 2016.

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[rsc-1] 1 2 3 4 History. Royal Smithfield Club. Accessed December 2016

[hannah-2] 1 2 3 4 5 Hannah Velten (2013). Beastly London: A History of Animals in the City. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 9781780232171.

[bdc-3] History. Business Design Centre. Accessed December 2016.

[4] "The Royal Smithfield Club". The Museum of English Rural Life. Retrieved 11 November 2019.

[peter-5] Peter J. Atkins, Peter Lummel, Derek J. Oddy (2016). Food and the City in Europe since 1800, second edition. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780754649892.

[nick-6] 1 2 Nick Fone (28 February 2006). Smithfield Show is cancelled. Farmer's Weekly. Accessed December 2016.

[tel-7] 1 2 Charles Clover (2 March 2006). The end of Smithfield. The Daily Telegraph. Accessed December 2016

[rabdf-8] The History - 139 Years of Progress. RABDF Events. Archived 7 August 2016.