According to the Penistone Almanack for 1953, Penistone Agricultural Society marked the year as the centenary of the show. This means that year 2003 was the 150th year. There was a nine-year lapse until the 80th show in 1948.
Penistone Show used to be held in fields behind the town hall, roughly where Church View Crescent is now. I don't have a date for the top pictures but the chimneys of the Cammel Laird factory are puthering out pollution behind. The air was very sulphurous in those days as everyone had coal fires and local factories would not have worried about air quality. Old stone buildings are black from air pollution.
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Station Row, top left, was fully occupied at the time of this picture but demolished in the 1960s. The rooftop of the main building of the railway station is visible above the rightmost house. Names on the tents to the right were 'Day, Son & Hewitt' of London and further to its right is 'Makbar'. I could find only one person without a hat. The close-up shows the florid style of dress which the ladies wore. Children universally wore stiff white shirt collars.
The third picture scan was kindly contributed by Paul Fieldsend and shows the 1974 Penistone Show on the showground. It was a time of flared trousers and miniskirts and with many headscarves on the ladies.
This last picture is the very proud Penistone Show committee of 1913. The photograph was taken by J Biltcliffe & Sons who had shops at Penistone, Skelmanthorpe and Denby Dale. There is not enough detail on the very hazy day to give a clue where it was taken.
From left to right, they are: Harry Lindley, George Beard, Fred Bailey, James B. Durrans (blacking works at Thurlstone), John Fallas and James Henry Wood (Wood's Printers).
Notice the old-fashioned uniform of the policeman, right of JB Durrans' bowler hat. All of the committeemen appear to be wearing waistcoats, some of them with prominent chains to their pocket watches. Mr Wood has some kind of badge of office on his lapel, which is not clear enough to make out in close-up. (picture coutesy of Don Press).
