In 1775
Edmund Rack, a
draper, moved from his native
Norfolk to the city of
Bath. He was struck on his arrival by the poor standard of agricultural practice in the West Country, and in a series of letters to the ''
Farmer's Magazine and the Bath Chronicle he argued that it was in the interest of all involved to make a concerted effort to improve productivity. Thus on 28 August 1777 the Bath Chronicle'' printed a notice addressed to "The Nobility and Gentry in the counties of Somerset, Gloucester, Wiltshire and Dorset in general, and the Cities of Bath and Bristol in particular". This notice, paid for by Rack, proposed the formation of a "Society in this City, for the encouragement of Agriculture, Planting, Manufactures, Commerce, and the Fine Arts...". A number of
philanthropists responded, and at a meeting on 8 September inaugurated the
Bath and West of England Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, nominating Rack as the society's secretary. The same year, the
Aims, Rules and Orders of the Society were published, which set out the activities of the society for the years to come. These involved the improvement of areas such as
animal husbandry, farm implements and country crafts through education, experimentation and prize-giving. In 1780 a site at
Weston, Bath was taken over for use by the society as an experimental farm. Although this particular venture ended around a decade later, for the next 196 years the society's headquarters were located in properties within the city of Bath, until in 1974 its administration moved to a new permanent home in
Shepton Mallet. The year 1780 saw the first major publication of the society when Volume I of the
Letters and Papers appeared. These disseminated advice and scientific opinion on agriculture and other subjects of interest. They were printed at irregular intervals, finishing with Volume XV in 1829. Later the society resumed publishing with a full journal. In 1859 it was decided to move the annual meetings of the society out of the city of Bath, and to convene each year in a different town in the society's area. These meetings were supplemented by annual
agricultural shows which proved enormously popular, and continue to the present day. In 1869 the society was then renamed as the 'Bath and West of England Society and Southern Counties Association for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce' to reflect its influence in areas outside the vicinity of the city. There were further name changes in the 1890s, finishing with the 'Bath and West and Southern Counties Society'. A final change of name created the present 'Royal Bath and West of England Society', and in 1994 the society was registered as a full charity under British law. The society continues to organise events around the west of England, including a
flower show and the
Royal Bath and West Show, which in 2005 attracted 150,000 visitors. The current president of the society is
HRH The Countess of Wessex. ==Showground ==