The Royal Lancashire Show (RLS) is an agricultural show which takes place every year at different locations throughout the historical county boundaries of Lancashire in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

. The show is organised by the Royal Lancashire Agricultural Society (RLAS) and is one of Britain's oldest agricultural shows, first taking place in 1767.

History

* 1767: Formation of the Royal Lancashire Agricultural Society. * 1954: From this year the show was at Stanley Park, Blackpool for many years. * 1972:

Blackpool Zoo Blackpool Zoo is a zoo, owned by Parques Reunidos and located in the sea-side resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It provides a home to over 1,350 animals from all over the world. History The zoo opened in 1972 on a site which had pr ...

opened, taking up a large part of Stanley Park, thus the show had to move. The Royal Lancashire Agricultural Show bought land at Ribby Hall, near Kirkham. * 1979: Shortage of money forced the society to cease all activities for some years. * Later: At various sites in Lancashire, including

Witton Park Witton Park is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the west of Bishop Auckland. In 2001 it had a population of 384. Famous people born in Witton Park * Brigadier General Roland Boys Bradford VC—youngest ever Brigadier G ...

, Blackburn. * Later: for many years at Astley Park, Chorley, Lancashire. * 2003 to 2007: On land at Salesbury Hall Farm near

Ribchester Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston. The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze ...

. ** 2006: Hot dry weather gave the show a good profit. ** 2007: Weeks of heavy rain waterlogged the ground and forced cancellation. * 2008: Planned to be at Myerscough near

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

Friday 18 to Sunday 20 July; heavy rain on 16 July night turned the ground into a mudbath and forced the show organizers to keep the public out on 18 July, but the animal classes on that day were judged. Further rain forced cancellation for 19 and 20 July. These two cancellations cost the society over £550,000, * 2009: No show. The Society abandoned the Myerscough site, as it waterlogged easily in wet weather. The show was planned for Duke of Lancaster Park at Bilsborrow, but was cancelled as there was not enough time to rearrange the show, and lack of funds due to the 2008 cancellation. * 2010: No show. * 2011: No show. * 2012: Held in May in

, Blackburn in good weather. * 2013: No show. * 2014: No show. * 2015: Held on 7–9 August in good weather at Salesbury Hall near

, alongside the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

. * 2016: Held at Witton Park, Blackburn on 12–14 August. * 2017: Held at Salesbury Hall, Ribchester, 11–13 August. * 2018: Held on 20–22 July at Salesbury Hall. *2020: Cancelled due the COVID-19 pandemic. *2021, 2022, 2023: Held in July at Salesbury Hall.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Lanc Culture in Lancashire 1767 establishments in England Festivals established in the 18th century Recurring events established in 1767