The Exhibition Pub & Restaurant was first licensed to sell alcohol in the early 1850’s and we are named after the Great Exhibition which was opened on this day, May 1st in 1851.
Read all about The Great Exhibition below
The following text has been taken from www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/history-of-the-great-exhibition-2012
The Great Exhibition of 1851 was one of the great success stories of the nineteenth century. The idea of holding an international world fair was first suggested by the Society of Arts (now the Royal Society of Arts) in 1845. Their president, Prince Albert, was very enthusiastic but eventually he decided that it should not be organised by the Society. Consequently in 1850 he established a Royal Commission to organise the event, with himself as President.
The exhibition was opened on 1st May 1851 by Queen Victoria in Joseph Paxton’s purpose built “Crystal Palace” in Hyde Park, London. It was the first International World Fair and it grabbed the imagination of the whole country and beyond. During the one hundred and forty one days that the Exhibition was open it was visited by over six million people from all walks of life. There were nearly 14,000 exhibitors from all over the world and more than 100,000 exhibits were shown ranging from raw materials to machines, sculptures, hardware, musical instruments, cloth, pottery, glass etc.
The Great Exhibition saw the development of patent law, the tourist industry and the modern museum as well as encouraging trade and manufacturing. It was so successful financially that the profits were used to purchase a large site in South Kensington, now home to three national museums, Imperial College and the Royal Albert Hall as well as other institutions. The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 still exists to manage its estate and to distribute the profits on its investments in order to “increase the means of industrial education and extend the influence of science and art upon productive industry.”
These 6 million visitors represented nearly a fifth of the British population at that time and is still considered today to be the founding vision of a truly “great exhibition”
