Mr. Fred Gresham, judge

Mr. Fred Gresham was one of the early judges at cat shows held in the United Kingdom. He was also a committee member of the National Cat Club from 1896-1899.

See photos of Mr. Gresham judging on The History Project.

The Formation of Cat Clubs

Long before any permanent Cat Registry or Governing Body existed, there were Clubs. Before Clubs, there were just Cat Show organizing committees, with private sponsors, who donated their time and money and/or prizes, or awards. A leading example of this, is the Crystal Palace Show of 1875, among the Patrons of which were Mr. Charles Darwin and Lady Dorothy Nevill.

The idea of forming a National Club was first informally discussed at in impromptu assemblage of ladies and gentlemen on the second day of a four day Cat Show, at the Alexandra Palace, on June 15th, 1887. This was followed by a formal General Meeting at the Crystal Palace on 18th October, 1887, when the National Cat Club (N.C.C.) was duly instituted, with Mr. Harrison Weir as its first President, and Miss Gresham as its first Secretary. In the words of a later Chairman, Cyril Yeates, "the Cat Fancy, as we know it today, may be said to date from that year." Upon the resignation of Mr. Weir and Miss Gresham in 1890, they were duly succeeded by Mr. Louis Wain and Mr. J.W. Townsend.

The Beresford Cat Club was one of the earliest cat clubs formed in North America. While the club was based in Chicago, it had members from all over the United States. Beresford was affiliated with the American Cat Associaton (ACA). The club published four volumes of the first studbooks for pedigreed cats in the United States.

The Clubs of today are the backbone of the modern Cat Fancy. It is the Clubs that organize the majority of annual or bi-annual shows, it is the clubs which cultivate membership by individual fanciers and which create an opportunity for socializing between their breeder members, and it is the Clubs which seek to educate all cat fanciers on the finer points of the individual breeds.

Legends of the Cat Fancy - Early Cat Judges

EARLY CAT JUDGES

Did you know, that many of our early cat judges came from positions of respect in the DOG world? the POULTRY world? and the small animal fancy, as judges of Rabbits and Cavies? 

One such judge was Mr. Fred Gresham, who was a well-known breeder of some of the finest Saint Bernard’s in the country, and who was also well grounded in the breeding of fancy Pigeons. His fine Saint Bernard ‘The Abbess’ featured in Cassell’s The Book of the Dog. 

 

When Harrison Weir invited him into the world of cats, it was a three-fold win for the newly formed cat fancy, as with him came his two daughters. Miss Mary Gresham was to become the first Secretary of the National Cat Club (later Mrs Bridgwater), and Miss Dora (Dorothy) Gresham, later Mrs Balding, was the owner of the famous Chinchilla cattery and its hallmark stud, Champion Silver Lambkin.

In this photo, we see him judging a row of Beagles at a Kennel Club Show in 1903. You will also find a short bio and further images from his life, on a page dedicated to him at The History Project at

http://www.cat-o-pedia.org/people-FredGresham.html