The West Mid Show: End of an era?

The annual West Mid Show is to end after 134 years

The first ever West Mid Show was held in 1875 in the Quarry in Shrewsbury with a £500 grant from the borough.

Earlier that year the Shropshire and West Midlands Agricultural Society was founded by members of the Shropshire Chamber of Agriculture.

Now the show has become another casualty of the recession. The agricultural society has gone into liquidation.

The move comes despite recent support from local businesses.

In pictures: West Mid Show 2009

First show

Newspaper reports from the time of the first show at the Quarry declared, "There is no doubt that it will be one of the most successful undertakings ever attempted in Shrewsbury."

From 1876 and for the next 20 years the show was staged in various towns in the region including Bridgnorth, Whitchurch, Welshpool, Wrexham and Oswestry.

In 1897 the current showground was acquired on a lease from the Berwick Estate and the West Mid Show had a permanent home.

As the years went on thousands of animals and poultry were exhibited and the show gained a reputation for excellence and reflecting the changes in farming methods.

No show

The show was held at the Berwick Road site every year until 1913, when it was suspended for the duration of World War I, although the Royal Show did pay a third visit to the county in 1914.

In December 1919 an extraordinary meeting of the agricultural society was held and the proposal of Sir Bowen Bowen Jones that the society should be revived and a show held the following year was unanimously accepted.

Smaller, one-day shows have enjoyed a renaissance in recent years

So the 39th show was held on 27 and 28 May 1920. The official programme made no mention of what had happened since the previous event in 1913.

Improvements were made to the showground and the event continued as normal until 1924, when it was held in July because of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease earlier in the year.

More conflict

Once again war caused the show to be suspended. This time from 1940 to 1945, during which time all metal was removed from the site to help the war effort.

It was revived after the war by the Chief Executive of the society, Colonel George Ellis.

In 1949 the Royal Show paid its last visit to the county. Some 60 years later the Royal Show is likewise closing down after a long and illustrious history - as things stand 2009 is to be its last year, following falling attendances.

In 1949 the picture at the West Mid Show looked considerably rosier - metal roads were laid out on the showground making it easier for visitors and exhibitors to get around.

Royal visit

The West Mid Show celebrated its centenary in 1975 with a visit from the Queen. That same year Col Ellis retired and new entrance gates to the showground were erected.

The King's Troop returned to the West Mid Show in 2009

Disaster struck in 1985 when fire destroyed the agricultural society's headquarters on Market Street in Shrewsbury, but the show went ahead, with celebrity gardener Percy Thrower as president.

There was another royal visitor in 1991 when the Princess Royal attended the show.

In 2001 an outbreak of foot and mouth disease caused the cancellation of agricultural and livestock shows all over the country. The West Mid was no exception.

Royal artillery

The show continued to develop with big prize money attracting the top livestock breeders and judges. Show jumping was also a prominent part of the programme.

The latest in farm machinery and animal feeds were on display at the showground and the number of trade stands continued to increase.

The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery visited the show in 2005 and again in 2009. The Household Cavalry came in 2007. That same year the President's Pavilion opened after major refurbishment.

Even in 2008 improvements and refurbishments continued. But, despite the investment and efforts to pull in visitors, the event had been losing money for the last decade.

On Friday, 6 November 2009 it was announced that the West Midlands Agricultural Society had been put into voluntary liquidation.

Victims of the recession

Gary Tudor, the commercial director of the society said, "It is a very sad day for the society and I can assure people that everything that could be done to save the society has been done. We unfortunately are victims of the current recession."

The Berwick Estate is looking for an organisation to take on the lease

The 2009 show vice chairman, Neale Sadler said they had tried hard to find a solution, "With the recession it is a very difficult time for everyone. We are the second agricultural show to go into liquidation this week and that follows the demise of the Royal Show."

While the West Mid has struggled, smaller, arguably more traditional Shropshire agricultural shows seem to have thrived in recent years.

Minsterley Show, started in 1875 (the same year as the West Mid), was celebrating greater visitor numbers in August 2009.

It is not just the West Mid Show that is staged at the Berwick Road site. The Shrewsbury Folk Festival is one of the showground's greatest successes and its future is believed to be secure.

Other events have also enjoyed popular and commercial success on the West Mid site.

The showground is leased to the agricultural society by the Berwick Estate and its agents, Balfours, are actively looking for an organisation to take on the site and secure the future of planned events.