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The Showground in Hoole, an engraving from “The illustrated London News”, published on the opening day of the Show: in the foreground the main Show Ring, with Chester’s skyline and the Welsh hills in the background.▼
== The Royal Agricultural Show in Hoole, June 1893<ref>''<small>Cheshire County Records Office; Lancashire County Libraries’ Digital Archive of 19th century newspapers; The National Archives, Kew; and [[The Hoole Millennium Book]]</small>''</ref><ref>''<small>Article researched and written by Monty Mercer, May 2017, Hoole History & Heritage Society</small>''</ref> ==
▲[[File:5LRG1 Showground in Hoole 'The Illustrated London News'.jpg|center|thumb|545x545px|''<small>The Showground in Hoole, an engraving from “The
The Royal Agricultural Show was held in Hoole from 17 – 23 June 1893, the biggest event that has ever taken place in Hoole. It was the Olympics of its time, a national competition and an international exhibition. Regional English cities competed annually for the privilege of hosting the Show. It was similar to a county show, but on a completely different scale 'The New Zealand Herald' called it the “''Premier agricultural event in the world''”.
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== The Decision ==
On
Five days later, on Wednesday
The “Manchester Men” gave of their best, then the RASE Council proceeded to the vote. The Council numbered 41, two of whom were the Duke of Westminster and Cecil T. Parker! There seemed to be no concern for potential conflict of interest.
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The undeveloped part of the site is now registered with Archaeological Services as of archaeological interest. Crockery, silver spoons, the original manhole covers to the drains, and the possible brick footings of the Royal Pavilion, have been discovered.
[[File:5LRG2 Royal Pavilion Dining Room.jpg|left|thumb|''<small>The dining room in the Royal Pavilion, partially set for lunch, James H Spencer</small>'']]
Whilst research was being carried out at the National Archives in Kew, important photographs, undisturbed for 120 years, were discovered, of the interior of the Royal Pavilion, taken on the Tuesday of the Show by a hitherto little-known Chester photographer, James Hampson Spencer. His photographs consisted of double images, taken at slightly different angles, as in some of the early experiments in stereoscopic photography. They reveal a sumptuous drawing room and dining room, specially prepared for the Prince of Wales to entertain his honoured guests on the official Meetings Day of the Show.
[[File:5LRG3 Plan of Showground.jpg|center|thumb|409x409px|''<small>The Plan of the Showground taken from
[[File:5LRG4 Showground Footprint.jpg|left|thumb|''<small>The Showground’s footprint on a plan of modern Hoole</small>'']]
▲The Plan of the Showground taken from 'The Farmers’ Herald', printed on the ground
The exhibits included the following stands and stalls: Implements 50, Cheeses 44, Machinery in Motion 12, Poultry 11, Horses 12, Cattle 18, Sheep 8, and Pigs 4.
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In addition, the Show had its own fire station, post office, telephone exchange, and publishing house, where “The Farmers’ Herald” was printed.
Outside the ground, there had been major changes, to cater for the expected throngs of visitors. A footbridge had been constructed by the Joint Railway Companies, from one of the General Station’s main platforms to an exit on the Hoole Road (its bricked-up entrance can be seen on the south side of Hoole Road today). This bridge was in continuous use until 1967. Hoole Road had been widened from Newton Lane to where the United Reformed Church is today (note the extra-wide footpath on the north side of Hoole Road). A partial one-way traffic system was introduced, up the Hoole Road, for the duration of the Show, which hackney carriages had to follow. Lightfoot Street was paved for the first time as a consequence and was described in the newspapers as “''The most elegant thoroughfare in the whole of Europe''” ([[Streets of Hoole & Newton|'''Streets of Hoole & Newton''']]).
== The Week of the Show ==
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The animals would have been taken into the showground, via the show service road entrance, to stock pens at the rear of the ground, to acclimatise and to settle. (This road is in Alexandra Park, which leads to its maintenance yard along the easterly edge of the Dene Hotel).
A copybook exists, written by Vincent Williams<ref>''<small>Mrs. Churton, for access to her father’s, Vincent Williams’, copybook of 1893</small>''</ref>, an eight-year-old boy at the time, who lived in Egerton Terrace, Hoole Road, and who watched the passage of the animals to the showground: “''Although I did not go to the show, I saw a great deal of it, in the Pigs and Sheep and Cows and Bulls and Horses passing our house to the Show. Some of the Cattle, particularly the Bulls, were very fat. I also saw a great many implements pass and the Steam rollers and locomotive traction engines and all dairy things, churns and such like. The decorations on the road and in the town are very nice''”.
'''Saturday
Partly as a consequence of drought, there was an agricultural depression in England, but this was also caused by more long-term trends. There had been an increasingly successful set of imports of cheap cereals from the mid-west of the United States, with a parallel lack of investment by British farmers in home-grown crops.
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Entry cost two shillings and sixpence (12.5p), £12 50 in today’s values. There were 299 visitors all day. Amongst the engines viewed were some of the earliest internal-combustion engines (“''heavy oil''” engines). They were all, at this stage, stationary engines, which had to be transported to their working site on horse-drawn carts. It wasn’t until a year later that Karl Benz in Mannheim, Germany, produced the first commercially viable “''automobile''” engine.
'''Sunday
Following the service, invited guests of the Duke’s toured the showground.
'''Monday
That evening, Edward, Prince of Wales, arrived in Chester on the 6.10pm train from Euston. Unfortunately, the train stopped short and the Prince had to walk along the platform before he reached the red carpet. He was then driven through the decorated centre of Chester to the Town Hall, where he received, and replied to, the Loyal Address. To a loud pealing of bells, and watched by hundreds of people, he was then driven to Eaton Hall for a house-party that evening.
'''Tuesday
During the afternoon, the Prince and his party sat in the Royal Box of the main horse-ring. There was a parade of the horse prize winners for his benefit. At 4.30pm he left for Eaton Hall.
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The following day the Prince of Wales wrote to Charles Brown, the Mayor, saying that the spectacle had been the best setting he had ever seen.
'''Wednesday
Remarkable on the day was the prize-winning prowess of Thomas Houlbrooke, Calverley Farm, Tarporley. He had four 1st prizes, twelve 2nd prizes, and was champion for Cheshire cheese. His unprecedented prize was £100, with a £10 prize for the dairymaid.
'''Thursday
'''Friday
The total attendance for the week had been 115,908. This makes a stark comparison with Hoole’s population at the time of 3000. The show had been a social, financial and professional success, and it could be believed that the event was all over.
However: on '''Saturday
In the aftermath of the show, the Royal Agricultural Society noted in its proceedings, detailing the 'Chester Meeting' “''farewell glance at the Chester meeting of 1893 must necessarily rest upon those features which possessed special merit. In what was universally admitted to have been a capital show, fully up to the standard always aimed at in the “Royal”, these were afforded by the Hackneys, the Clydesdales and the Shires''”.
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The Show did come to Chester again, in 1925. This time the potential for mud was no bar, and the Hough Green site was chosen – and special railway sidings were built, at Saltney Station.
[[File:5LRG5 Farmers Herald front Page.jpg|center|thumb|511x511px|''<small>The entrance to the Showground on Hoole Road, from the front page of “The Farmers’ Herald”, printed daily at the Show
== References ==
▲The entrance to the Showground on Hoole Road, from the front page of “The Farmers’ Herald”, printed daily at the Show.
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