A chance sighting of the name Crimwell Chief has sent me off on a real treasure hunt this week!!
Who would
have thought such a name could have resulted in so much time spent on research!
Loughborough Agricultural Association was set up in 1838, and in 1839 its first anniversary show took place on Mr Warner’s land on the London Road – so probably in the grounds of The Elms. There already were other shows happening in places like Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Market Harborough and Waltham-on-the-Wolds, and the hope was that Loughborough’s would equal any similar show in the Midland Counties.
The show did indeed prove to be successful, and ran for nearly 100 years.
The pictures below were taken at the 1948 show:
 |
| Vanners at the 1948 Loughborough Show |
 |
| A bull at the 1948 Loughborough Show |
 |
| A cow at the 1949 Loughborough Show |
 |
| Showing in the ring at the 1949 Loughborough Show |
Around 1880 the show moved to Mr W.B. Paget’s land, Southfields – today’s Southfields Park – and continued in the same format until 1930, when financial difficulties forced a change of focus. Although many of the shows were held on Southfields Park, there were a number of occasions when the show took place elsewhere. In 1920 the former cricket ground at Allsopps Lane was the venue; in 1929 the show took place on the Corinthians football ground, and the final show of its type, in 1930, took place in the grounds of Burleigh Hall.
Most of the shows were held in mid-September, and most years were on a Wednesday, but the association did play with the date a bit, so there were times when it was held in early August. During the period of the First World War, no show took place.
Following the stretch of financial difficulties, the show was rebadged as an exhibition, and from 1937 it was held in various locations, including at Cedars Farm, Normanton-on-Soar in 1937; in Wymeswold in 1939, and at Ladygate Farm, Diseworth in 1947. There were no shows during the period of the Second World War.
I’m unsure where the 1948 and 1949 shows were held, but it was these shows that popped up when I was researching Crimwell Stuart.
Our area has long been associated with Robert Bakewell, the eighteenth-century agriculturalist who developed an animal breeding programme which improved the quality of sheep (the Leicester Longwools) and cattle (the Longhorns). Bakewell, who lived and farmed at Dishley Grange also improved the process of irrigation. The other improvement that he made was to the heavy horse, which was the forerunner of the Shire horse, a type of draught horse, being tall, strong and hardworking and often used in farm work like ploughing. Shire horses, often known as draught horses, were often used to pull carts, perhaps carrying beer.
So, like Songster – Loughborough’s war horse - and Sunloch – a Loughborough winner of the Grand National in 1914 – Crimwell Stuart turned out to be a horse! On 31st July 1948, Crimwell Stuart, a bay gelding, took part in the Loughborough Show, where he came first in his class, and was the runner-up of the challenge cup for the best horse in the draught horse section. Crimwell Staurt was owned by Offilers Brewery, of Derby: they also entered another of their horses, Samson, into the show, and it was he who won the challenge cup.
As well as owning Ambrose and Birkwood Surprise, Offilers also owned quite a number of horses whose names began with ‘Crimwell’, including Crimwell Quality; Crimwell Chief, and Crimwell Prince. Other Crimwell horses included Crimwell Mimic; Crimwell Goldlust, and Crimwell Modern Boy, although I am not sure who owned them.
These horses were all around in the late 1930s-late 1940s, and appear to have been bred by William Brock at his stud farm called Crimwell Pool in Lower Whitley, Cheshire. Legend has it that the farm was actually named after Oliver Cromwell, as it is thought Cromwell watered his horses here in 1645 – which reminds me that Cromwell is reputed to have rested his horses and his men in our parish church during the Civil War, and, of course, it also reminds me of the story of the Bloody Pool in the grounds of Garendon Hall, so named because legend says that during the Civil War, the pool turned red on four consecutive days, which was believed to represent the 4 years of the Civil War.
However, the name of Cromwell Pool, was changed to Crimwell when the farm became registered to breed pedigree Shire horses. In 1841, at 175 acres, the farm was one of the largest farms in Lower Whitley. 143 of those 175 acres were sold to William Brock around 1941, where as well as breeding Shire horses, he also bred British Friesian cattle, and large white, and Saddleback pigs. His Queen Mary line of pigs trace their lineage back to Derby in 1881, and the prefix ‘Crimwell’ was first used for the large white pigs in 1922. Foot and mouth disease in 1967 meant that the farm had to be re-stocked. Descendants of William Brock continue to farm at Crimwell Pool.
Offilers, of course, was a brewery formed in Derby in 1876. Although taken over by Charrington in 1965, and closed in 1966, there is still evidence of Offilers in Loughborough, in the windows of the Peacock on Factory Street, and in off-licence ghost signs advertising their ‘nut brown ale’, like the one on the corner of William Street and Curzon Street.
As for the Loughborough Agricultural and Horticultural Show, well this was rather like today's Leicestershire County Show, which did for a few years take place on the land next to Dishley Grange, but which now takes place at the showground in Market Harborough, or like the Sutton Bonington Show - some pictures towards the end of this post. Here's hoping these will return next year.
