The middle of the 19th Century found the prosperous and leisured Victorians with a passion for exhibitions and 'instructive entertainment'. The development of the railways brought the whole country within reach of the Great Exhibition of 1851, housed in what was to become the Crystal Palace, and during the years that followed, many exhibitions of widely varying character were held.

The first organised dog show was held in the Town Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne on the 28th and 29th June 1859. The Show was organised by Messrs. Shorthouse and Page at the suggestion of Mr R Brailsford and there were sixty entries of Pointers and Setters. Only one class was held for each breed at these early shows and the dogs were unidentified except for their kennel names. Reference to the old catalogues reveals Mr Murrel's 'Spot', competing against Mr Brown's 'Venus' for a prize of 22 shillings. By 1870 it was decided that a controlling body was necessary to legislate in canine matters and a Mr S E Shirley, MP, from Warwickshire, called together the National Dog Club Committee and a discussion ensued which resulted in twelve gentlemen meeting at No 2 Albert Mansions, Victoria Street, London, on 4th April 1873, and this meeting marked the founding of the Kennel Club.

One of the earliest undertakings of the newly formed Kennel Club was the compilation of a Stud Book. The Editor, Mr Frank C S Pearce, was the son of Revd. Thomas Pearce, of the well-known 'Idstone' kennel and contributor to 'The Field' publication.

The first volume of the Stud Book contained the records of shows from 1859-73. The Kennel Club Calendar was also compiled in the same year and lists two shows each year for the next ten years.

It was also obvious that some system of distinctive naming would have to be introduced to overcome the confusion arising out of `quantities of Spots, Bobs, Bangs, Jets, Nettles, Vics, most of them insufficiently described and none of them being well-known dogs'.

In 1880 the Committee introduced a system of `universal registration' which was strongly opposed at first, but the advantage of reserving the use of a name for a dog was quickly seen and accepted. Registration in 1880 was nothing more than the registration of a name to avoid duplication in the Stud Book, the pedigree was of little importance and only came as an aid to identification at a later stage.

The Committee introduced many new rules and regulations and after a few years a sound system of government was developed which was adopted by many overseas Kennel Clubs. At the end of the century the character of dog showing had so improved that about half of the exhibitors were women, and members of the Royal Family were showing dogs regularly. His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales was a staunch supporter of the movement to prevent the cropping of dogs' ears, and from 9th April 1898, such dogs have been ineligible for competition under Kennel Club Rules.

In 1900 nearly thirty Championship Shows were held and the smaller informal shows were becoming more and more popular. The policy of the Committee was to keep rules and restrictions to a minimum and shows were 'recognised', 'licensed', or 'sanctioned' provided that the executive of the show agreed to adopt the Kennel Club show regulations. The guarantors of a show signed an undertaking (and still do) to hold and conduct the show under and in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Kennel Club. In 2004, 3,926 licenses were issued for the various canine activities of which 1,048 were for Companion Dog Shows.

The number of dogs registered at the Kennel Club has increased tremendously over the years, indicating an ever-growing interest in pure-bred dogs - their ownership, their exhibition and competition. At the same time there has been a tremendous growth in pet ownership of pure-bred dogs and in recent years the average number of dogs registered with the Kennel Club has been about 280,000 annually. The registration system has been altered during the past few years and it has been shown that the requirement is for a simple system easily understood by all. In 1981 a computer was installed to process registrations and the system has been developed to handle other Kennel Club services. The database now contains over 6 million dog names.

Although the prime objectives of the Kennel Club were originally related to the interests of the pure-bred dog and their participation in shows and trials, the Club has in recent times become concerned by `anti-dog' legislation and actively represents the interests of responsible dog owners whether the dog is Kennel Club registered or not. The Canine Code was published in 1988 and the Good Citizen Dog Scheme, aimed at education towards responsible dog ownership, was set up in 1992.

The Young Kennel Club, catering for those between the ages of 6 and 24 was established in 1985. The Kennel Club Charitable Trust, founded in 1985 gives numerous donations to projects such as canine rescue and dogs for the disabled, and supports research into canine diseases.

From the original twelve gentlemen who founded the Kennel Club, the number of those involved in the government of the dog world in this country has increased tremendously, and the Kennel Club is now concerned with aspects of general canine matters which could not have been foreseen in 1873 when the conduct of dog shows and trials was the sole consideration. The object of the Club, to promote in every way the general improvement of dogs, has been achieved in such a way that would astound the founders of the Kennel Club if they could see the standing of the dog today, not only in Britain but all over the world.

In conclusion, the Kennel Club's strategic objective is:

"To raise the relevance of the Kennel Club in the eyes of the public at large, dog owners and those who take part in canine activities so as to be better able to promote in every way the general improvement of dogs."

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