Editing Islington (section)

===Royal Agricultural Hall===
The [[Royal Agricultural Hall]] was built in 1862 on the [[Liverpool Road]] site of William Dixon's Cattle Layers. The hall was 75&nbsp;ft high and the arched glass roof spanned 125&nbsp;ft. It was built for the annual [[Smithfield Show]] in December of that year but was popular for other purposes, including recitals and the [[Royal Tournament]]. It was the primary exhibition site for London until the 20th century and the largest building of its kind, holding up to 50,000 people.<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=168&st=Islington A Vision of Britain – Islington]. Retrieved 26 April 2007</ref> It was requisitioned for use by the [[Mount Pleasant sorting office]] during World War II and never re-opened. The main hall has now been incorporated into the Business Design Centre.<ref name=social>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=471 'Islington: Social and cultural activities', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 45–51]. Retrieved 8 March 2007</ref>