It was founded in 1876 and was first held at the Agricultural Hall in Islington, London; it was later held at Olympia, London, and then moved to the National Agricultural Exhibition Centre at Stoneleigh Park, in Warwickshire.
It is now held as part of the annual Livestock Event at the National Exhibition Centre, in Birmingham in the Midlands.
[3] The introduction of milking trials and tests of butterfat and protein content of milk at the show in 1879 was both a response to, and a contributory factor in, the progressive trend towards selection of stock for productive traits rather than purely for physical appearance.
There were about 500 entries in the poultry section,[5] which included chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys.
[5] The British Dairy Farmers' Association was formed at a meeting during the exhibition, at the instigation of J.