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. 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, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Barbados from 1817 to 1820. As a junior officer, ...

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 in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

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 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, on the bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. In the 2021 Unite ...

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 a historic Estate (house), 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 (England), deer park o ...

, 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. 19 years later, the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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 King ...

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 ...

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization 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 the ...

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 and

clay pigeon shooting Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting at shooting target#Clay pigeons, special flying targets known as "clay pigeons" or "clay targets" with a shotgun. Despite their name, the targets ...

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 academic, botanist, television presenter, author and prominent environmental campaigner in the UK and globally. His distinctive, energetic style of presenting became wel ...

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 ...

and Jenny Pitman.

External links

The Royal Cheshire Show official web site

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Cheshire County Show Agricultural shows in England Cheshire 1838 establishments in England Festivals established in 1838 Annual events in the United Kingdom Royal Cheshire Lists of fairs Summer in the United Kingdom Summer festivals

History

Attractions

See also

External links

References