Kent County Show

The Kent County Show is an event hosted annually by the Kent County Agricultural Society at their Kent Showground headquarters at Detling near Maidstone in Kent, England. The event is primarily an agricultural show, showcasing the produce of Kent farmers such as soft fruit, alongside a livestock show and various other attractions such as demonstrations of traditional skills like blacksmithery and displays from the Royal Artillery.

First held in 1929, the show remains the shop window for rural Kent life, attracting around 100,000 visitors each year.

The Kent County Agricultural Society was formed in 1923 with the amalgamation of the Mid Kent and East Kent Show Societies. The Society’s primary objective was to host an annual agricultural show.

This led to the very first Kent County Show being held that year at Wombwell Park in Gravesend. The show was declared by Gravesend's mayor of the time as "the greatest advertisement the town had been privileged to enjoy."

The official programme listed details of a band and smoking concerts with a sports gala and carnival as a Saturday night grand finale. There were 833 livestock entries and 15,000 people turned out to watch the prize cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses take the rosettes.

The first county show turned out not to be profitable and the Society relocated the event to Ashford in 1924. This year marked the first royal attendee when Prince Henry visited to peruse the livestock. This time, the event turned a profit.

In 1927, the county show moved on to Knole Park in Sevenoaks. Up to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, a three-day Show was held in various parts of the County. In the years immediately preceding WWII it was held at Canterbury before then moving to Mote Park in Maidstone. From 1939 to 1945 it was cancelled as Kent farmers agreed that they needed to focus their energies on producing food for the nation.

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