Mottram Show

Dressed to impress for the Mottram Agricultural Show in Cheshire.

This rare amateur footage conjures the excitement and sense of occasion generated by Mottram's Agricultural Show. The splendidly groomed heavy horses steal the scenes and are clearly the central attraction - one working horse is even greeted with a peck on the cheek (perhaps by its proud owner?). The event continues to draw thousands from all corners of Cheshire and beyond.

Beyond the gaiety, imposing textile mills point to the area's rich industrial heritage. Artist Laurence Stephen Lowry moved to Mottram in 1948 and a year later interpreted the show in his painting 'Agricultural Fair Mottram in Longendale, 1949'. He remained in Mottram until his death in 1976. Look out for the bicycle wheel-bedecked shopfront - a reminder that two-wheel transport, as well as horsepower, was very popular in 1912.