The show has a long heritage. The first flower show in Winchcombe was held at Sudeley Castle, organised by John Coucher-Dent and his head gardener William Pierce in August 1860. In subsequent years the Flower Show amalgamated with the Winchcombe Agricultural Show which ran until the beginning of the Second World War.

After the war, the show was revived in 1949 and our late President, Joyce Curnock, was the first Show Secretary. The show was originally part of a Festival week of entertainments including the election of Miss Winchcombe, a gymkhana, an open air service and a series of plays. Given the show’s long history, there are over fifty trophies to win. The grandest trophy is the Cavendish House Rose Bowl. It has been fought over for many years and is still one of the most handsome trophies that many want to win.

In the headlines

Below is a report about the show in 1923 (Gloucestershire Echo):

Winchcombe was to be congratulated on doing so remarkably well especially as this was the first time that the show was in the town and not at Sudeley Castle. The sweet peas were exceptionally good and Mr Gardner’s Rhode Island Red cockerel was an outstanding winner.

While digging through the show archive we have managed to find some interesting past events. One of the most entertaining is the Beer Race of 1973. Below is an excerpt from a local paper:

They take their drinking seriously in Gloucestershire, not least particularly in picturesque Winchcombe. It was an event that closed roads, had local policemen holding up traffic to allow the inebriated to cross, had church bells ringing and the local populace lining the streets as 159 worthies sweated and drank their way around the town. The last stop was the Plaisterers Arms. The air was heavy with the unmistakable aroma of regurgitated beer. The rose bushes will never recover! There were no arrests, no punch-ups and not a window broken. ‘There’s less tension in these parts’ explained a special constable as he steered another beer sodden athlete towards the saloon bar.

The winning team (from Bishops Cleeve) received a 10 gallon barrel of beer – should think that was the last thing they needed and amazingly the winning team got around the pubs (Plaisterers Arms, Corner Cupboard, The Bell, The Sun, The Lion and the White Hart) in 17 minutes. 800 pints were drunk. It is extremely unlikely that there will be a re-run!

Just a little snapshot from the show’s long history.

One of the best ways to get involved with the show is to enter our competitions. For those with four-legged friends, consider entering the dog show on the day.

If you’re interested in having a stall at this year’s show, including food or drink vendors, please contact us via the stalls page.

For  all other enquiries, including volunteering, committee membership and sponsorship enquiries, please see our get involved page.