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The show has had many venues over the years since it conception .It has been held in all parts of Thornaby and organised by a lot of different groups.In its early years it was on The Village Green and better known as the Thornaby Feast.It has since been held at venues such as , The Village School, Queen St.Community Centre, The Robert Atkinson School, The Harold Wilson Centre and The Pavillion.
Keith Featherstone and Mary Obrien
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THE START OF THORNABY SHOW
The first show was held on August 6th 1945 organised by residents of Thornaby Village ,and led to a meeting held on August 13th in the Oddfellows Arms at 7.30pm to discuss the formation of a Horticultural Society ,the meeting so agreed , the appointment of officers took place ,notably Mr J R Carr , The Town Clerk was voted in as President ,Vice Presidents, Group Captain Ward ,Doctor Mackay ,Mr T Malcolm ,Mr A Canwell and Mr G Shickle . The management positions were as follows Chairman Mr E Sockett, Secretary Mr A Peacock, Ass` Secretary Mr A Rudd, Treasurer Mr Robinson.
The next meeting was held in the Oddfellows Arms, at 7.30pm August 27th 1945 this dealt with the proposed rules of the Society, one decision concerned the limitation of membership and the following boundaries were defined, all residents on the West Side of Thornaby Road from the Andrews Allotments to the Two Mile Cottages and the East Side of Thornaby Road from The Gilpin Brown Allotments to the Aerodrome, all residents of Millbank Lane, The Green, Orchard Road, Brisbane Crescent and Basselton Lane.
The membership decision can be explained by realising that the residents of Thornaby Village considered their area as still being a village , there was a vast amount of open countryside certainly on three sides of the village ,and the formation of a show and Society took place a very short time after peace was declared , they had faced the rigours and heartache of six years of wartime , the prime movers were in the main mature people who held positions of authority and prominent businessmen who displayed the admirable British spirit of overcoming adversity and getting back to normal ,
The younger people were away on wartime service and it would be considerable time before those who had survived returned home.
So the Village Show was born and the residents gave considerable support in fund raising and of course running the show, many twists and turns have taken place over the years involving the show but that is a story for another time.
Keith Wilson Featherstone (Former Chair Thornaby Village Horticultural Society)
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Top class exhibits
Thornaby Show in the 1980`s was seen to be a benchmark for exhibitors. If you were any good at growing flowers and veg. you had to show at Thornaby.
It was normally held on the August Bank Holiday Monday, so people were not at work and good crowds were guaranteed. Showmen came from all over the north east to exhibit at Thornaby, produce ranged from exhibition roses and gladioli to giant leeks, onions and cabbages.
Many a show, people came straight from the allotments with an enormous cabbage in their wheelbarrow, far too big to carry.
The show also catered for the ladies with homecraft and handicraft sections. It also had some of the best floral art exhibits in the north east, especially the class for an arrangement of flowers in an unusual container.
People had a tremendous imagination and exhibits were seen in things like, football boots, potties, tea pots, kettles, hollowed out marrows and cabbages. One year there was even a toilet and a kitchen sink.
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New venue and organisers.
The show ran into difficulties in the late 1980`s /early 90`s with the loss off key committee members due to old age and illness and it was decided to fold the show up.Some of the many Trophies that were presented to the show were passed back to the relatives of the people who originally donated them and profits in the bank were donated to charity(Butterwick Trust).
In 1996 the newly formed Town Council decided to hold a show ,This was in mid June(wrong time of year really but it was a success)at the Robert Atkinson Community Centre. They managed to involve the few remaining committee of the old show as advisors and since then the show has been going from strength to strength.
The venue for the current show is back at the Harold Wilson Centre and the show held in 1999 saw record attendances, hopefully the standard of exhibition in the horticultural sections will improve and the novices now showing will turn out to be better than their peers. There are classes for roses, gladioli, dahlia etc, and all types of veg.
The show is now at its permanent home on the Harold Wilson Playing Fields and is supported very strongly by Thornaby Town Council with funds from the council precept. Unfortunately the show had to be cancelled at short notice in 2008 due to a flooded field but this year will be bigger and better with a new steering group working all year round to ensure success and value for our money.
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