Roll up! Roll up! for the fantastic farming show...

LOOKING BACK

- CHRIS ROBINSON

THE BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S SHOW, AT PENNYCOMEQUICK, PLYMOUTH.

(CHRIS ROBINSON)

THE second half of the 19th century witnessed several great shows in what we now know as the southwestern corner of Central Park. In those days this area was simply called Pennycomequick.

With acres of open land, sporting panoramic views across the Three Towns, the site was convenient for the people of Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport. But it was to be a long time before it could be regarded as being central to this area, indeed there was little beyond it to the north, west or east.

Today fairs and circuses still come to the park but the crowds they draw are small compared to the many thousands that thronged this area for some of the bigger shows staged here in Queen Victoria's time.

It was during the summer of 1853 that the Bath and West Agricultural Society first brought its annual show to Pennycomequick. Alma Villas had yet to be built, and, although it existed as an established route, Alma Road had not yet been so named. Britain became involved in the Balkans conflict the following year when, together with the French, she invaded the Crimea. The Battle of Alma was fought in September 1854.