“As happens with most traditions that have small beginnings, the infancy of the Windmill Hill Show went almost un-noticed by the Press, and no records have come down to us. It is generally believed the early Shows were held at The Horse Shoe Inn. Fortunately a press report of 1889 stated the show was in its 6th year, so we can date its establishment with reasonable confidence to 1884. The Shadwell family related that the first show arose from friendly rivalry between the landlord Charles Simmons and his son-in-law Henry Shadwell, but the story did not appear in print until nearly a century later, in 1978.”