The Smithfield Show, formerly the Smithfield Club Cattle Show and later the Royal Smithfield Show, was an annual British

agricultural show 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 judged event or display in which selective breeding, breed ...

, organised by the

Royal Smithfield Club 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 ci ...

. 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 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 Agri ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of 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 ar ...

, London. From 1949 it was held at the Earl's Court Exhibition Centre in

Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington 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 ...

, London. The last show was held there in 2004; it was the last major livestock show in London.

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 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 detec ...

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. In 1862 the show moved to the new

, 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. During and immediately after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, from 1939 to 1948, the show was not held; the Royal Agricultural Hall was requisitioned for the

GPO GPO may refer to: Government and politics * General Post Office, Dublin * General Post Office, in Britain * Social Security Government Pension Offset, a provision reducing benefits * Government Pharmaceutical Organization, a Thai state enterpris ...

in 1943. Annual shows recommenced in 1949, at the Earl's Court Exhibition Centre in

, London; the last show was held there in 2004. It was the last major livestock show in London. The

Museum of English Rural Life 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. The museum is run by the University of Reading, and is situated in Red ...

'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.

The show

The Royal Smithfield Club was named after

Smithfield Market Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Bartho ...

, the centre of meat distribution in London. The show was for fatstock, meat breeds of domestic

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

. Later,

agricultural machinery Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices 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 the ...

was also exhibited. Between 1876 and 1936 the Dairy Show, a similar show for

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

animals and equipment, was also held at the Agricultural Hall in Islington.

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.

References

{{reflist, refs= History
Business Design Centre. Accessed December 2016. Hannah Velten (2013)
''Beastly London: A History of Animals in the City''
London: Reaktion Books. {{ISBN, 9781780232171. Nick Fone (28 February 2006)

''Farmer's Weekly''. Accessed December 2016. 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. The History - 139 Years of Progress
RABDF Events. Archived 7 August 2016.
Royal Smithfield Club. Accessed December 2016 Charles Clover (2 March 2006)

''The Daily Telegraph''. Accessed December 2016 1799 establishments in England Agricultural shows in England Recurring events established in 1799 2004 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Annual events in London