The Countess of Wessex, Cheshire Show (2015)

The Royal Cheshire County Show (simply referred to as 'Royal Cheshire County Show' and 'Royal Cheshire Show', and formerly Cheshire County Show) is a county agricultural show that is held on two days in June each year on land west of Flittogate Lane in the Tabley area in

Cheshire, England Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county town ...

. The show is organised by the Cheshire Agricultural Society, and marked its 175th anniversary in 2013 with 80,000 visitors expected. In January 2016, it became The Royal Cheshire County Show.

History

The Cheshire Agricultural Society was founded in 1838 by

Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere Field Marshal Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere (14 November 1773 – 21 February 1865), was a British Army officer, diplomat and politician. As a junior officer he took part in the Flanders Campaign, in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War an ...

and fellow Cheshire landowners, with the stated mission "To promote agriculture and encourage the industrious and moral habits of the labouring portion of the community." The society organised exhibitions and competitions for farms to participate in. The Cheshire Show was first held at the

Roodee Chester Racecourse, also known as the Roodee, is a racecourse located in Chester, England. The horse racing venue is officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the "oldest racecourse still in operation". Horse racing in Chester dat ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

in 1893. It amalgamated with the Chester Show in 1904 and returned to the Roodee for the next 50 years. The show had outgrown the Roodee by 1955, and relocated to

Hooton Park Royal Air Force Hooton Park or more simply RAF Hooton Park, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, is a former Royal Air Force station originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 as a training aerodrome for pilots in the First World War. ...

near

Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...

in the years that followed. The show began to struggle by the 1970s, but was revived in mid-Cheshire in 1977 after three years of not being held. After several years at

Tatton Park Tatton Park is an historic estate in Cheshire, England, north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a medieval manor house, Tatton Old Hall, Tatton Park Gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attr ...

, the show moved to its current Tabley showground in 1990. In 2001, the show was cancelled for only the second time in its history due to the national outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that affected nearby

Little Leigh Little Leigh (formerly Leigh-juxta-Bartington) is a civil parish and village within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on high ground on the north bank of the River ...

. 19 years later, the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

caused their third cancellation; though some events went virtual. The show attracts Royal involvement, with

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

becoming the first Lady President of the show in 1999. She reprised her role for the 2013 show, and visited the showground on the second day.

Attractions

Thousands of horses, dogs, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, pigeons and rabbits are involved in competitions in hundreds of classes. With more than 3500 horses taking part, it is the largest light horse section at any county show in the country. Local farm produce including cheeses, meats and homemade preserves are exhibited, with a

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being th ...

marquee and floral displays. Other attractions include country pursuits such as

falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

ferreting The ferret (''Mustela furo'') is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), evidenced by their interfertility. Other muste ...

and

clay pigeon shooting Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting a firearm at special flying targets known as clay pigeons, or clay targets. The terminology commonly used by clay shooters often relates to time ...

as well as demonstrations of cookery and dry stone walling and a motorcycle display team. Notable attendees have included the botanist

David Bellamy David James Bellamy (18 January 1933 – 11 December 2019) was an English botanist, television presenter, author and environmental campaigner. Early and personal life Bellamy was born in London to parents Winifred May (née Green) and Thoma ...

and racehorse trainers

Ginger McCain Donald "Ginger" McCain (21 September 1930 – 19 September 2011) was an English horse trainer who led the champion steeplechaser Red Rum to three Grand National victories in the 1970s. A former national serviceman in the Royal Air Force as a mo ...

and

Jenny Pitman Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of h ...

External links

The Royal Cheshire Show official web site

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Cheshire County Show

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

Cheshire 1838 establishments in England Festivals established in 1838 Annual events in the United Kingdom

Royal Cheshire Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

Lists of fairs Summer events in the United Kingdom Summer festivals

History

Attractions

See also

External links

References