The Business Design Centre is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

located between

Upper Street 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 Penton ...

and

Liverpool Road Liverpool Road is a street in Islington, North London. It covers a distance of between Islington High Street and Holloway Road, running roughly parallel to Upper Street through the area of Barnsbury. It contains several attractive terraces o ...

in the district of Islington in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was opened in 1862, originally named the Agricultural Hall and from 1884 the Royal Agricultural Hall, for holding

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 breeding stock is exhibit ...

s. It was the home of the Royal Smithfield Club's Smithfield Show from 1862 to 1938. It hosted the

Royal Tournament 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 and latterly the Earls Court Exhibition Centre. In its ...

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 Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, first held in 1891. Organised and hosted by The Kennel Club, it is the largest show of its kind in the world. Crufts is centred on a championship conformation show for do ...

dog show in 1891. During 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 opposi ...

, 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.

The "Aggie"

According to the official Islington Libraries compilation, the Royal Agricultural Hall had its origins when in 1798 the

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third so ...

, 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. When built it was one of the largest exhibition halls in the world. 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 . It hosted the

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."

It also hosted the first

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 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 ...

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.

Business Design Centre

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 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, web design agency Base Creative, 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. The centre is owned by the Morris family.

Archival records

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.

References

External links

Official websiteArchitectural description

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

Business Design Center Events Calendar
* {{Authority control 1862 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1862 Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Islington Exhibition and conference centres in London Buildings and structures in Islington

The "Aggie"

Business Design Centre

Archival records

See also

References

External links