A Grand Archery Meeting, under the management of Mr Merridew, was proposed to be held in the grounds of Aston Park, Birmingham, on July 27 and 28th 1859, as mentioned by Mr H A Ford in “Archery: its Theory and Practice, but at the Leamington Meeting of the same year it was decided that this proposed Meeting should be transferred to the grounds of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, and thus commenced the annual Crystal Palace Archery Meeting.
In 1892 the Championship of the South was initiated and appropriate trophies were donated, The Bridges Jug and The Bridges Diamond Brooch which are still being awarded.
The Meeting continued without a break until 1902 when it was suggested that the conditions offered by the Crystal Palace Company were becoming difficult for the conduct of the Meeting and a decision was made to move to Beddington Park in Surrey; thus was born the Southern Counties Meeting. The Championship of the South and its associated Awards were continued and awarded and continuity was maintained.
There are a number of films from British Pathe which can be found at https://www.britishpathe.com/search/query/southern+counties+archery