#ThrowbackThursday: The Great Yorkshire Show we saw 22 years ago

The Great Yorkshire Show has been one of the largest annual events on the Harrogate calendar since it moved to its permanent home here, in the early 1950s.
Crowds gather along a busy throughfare at the show in 1995.Crowds gather along a busy throughfare at the show in 1995.
Crowds gather along a busy throughfare at the show in 1995.

In 1995 more than 120,000 people passed through the gates of the showground to catch a glimpse of some of the shows more bizarre attractions.

But incredibly it wasn’t the largest number of visitors the show had ever seen.

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In 1979 the show boasted a whopping 131,075 visitors, which stood as the all-time record until 2006 when some 135,111 people showed up.

Manager Mr Ray Sanderson (left) and owner Mr Michael Abrahams pictured with their overall beef shothorn champion. It finished third overall in the championship.Manager Mr Ray Sanderson (left) and owner Mr Michael Abrahams pictured with their overall beef shothorn champion. It finished third overall in the championship.
Manager Mr Ray Sanderson (left) and owner Mr Michael Abrahams pictured with their overall beef shothorn champion. It finished third overall in the championship.

The 2006 record was closely matched last year with a turn out of 135,026.

But some 22 years ago, 10,000 less visitors didn’t stop people putting a serious dent in the food provisions across the three day event.

In total showgoers had consumed a colossal 1,000lb of strawberries, 1,000lb of fresh salmon, 3,000 sandwiches and 1,200 Yorkshire puddings.

The year also saw 9,411 livestock entries, a seven per cent increase on the previous year and the first year of the furry Ferret Roadshow.

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