The Business Design Centre is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

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 Pe ...

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 Terraced ho ...

in the district of

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. 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 selective breeding, bree ...

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, before moving to Olympia London and latterly the Ea ...

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, held since 1891, and organised by The Kennel Club. It is the largest show of its kind in the world. Crufts is primarily a championship conformation show for dogs, and ...

dog show in 1891. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 creation came in 1414 for Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of Fran ...

, Sir

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

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 Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder James Baker. The area was originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises. The street is ...

. 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 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, 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 was owned by the Morris Family until October 2024, when the venue was acquired by Excel London and now forms part of the wider ADNEC Group.

Archival records

Islington Local History Centre Islington Local History Centre is a local studies centre and archive which holds material documenting the history of the London Borough of Islington. History Islington Local History Centre, which is located in Finsbury Library, was opened in 200 ...

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 Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

Business Design Center Events Calendar
* {{Authority control 1862 establishments in England Event venues established 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