The British Poultry Standard is the oldest poultry fancy breed standard in the world. First published by the original Poultry Club of Great Britain, a club which existed for only three years, in 1865, the standard was the first of its kind. The compilation of the standard was then taken over by the 2nd and current Poultry Club of Great Britain. At the current time the number of editions of the standard that have been published is unknown, as each successive publisher that has been used by the Poultry Club of Great Britain has started again a 1st Edition.
The standard is the official standard for use by judges at poultry shows within the United Kingdom.