Bath College of Domestic Science was a small college in Bath,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. The teaching of domestic subjects in Bath started in 1892 at 19 Green Park with the founding of the

Bath Technical School The City of Bath Technical School in Bath, Somerset, England had various roles from the late 19th century until 1970. It obtained its official name when technical schools were formally introduced in Bath between the years 1892 and 1896, and at f ...

s. The Technical Instruction Act of 1889 had given local authorities power to levy a rate to provide such education. In this building instruction also started in subjects including cabinet making, carpentry, joinery, masonry, mathematics and French. The prospectus for domestic subjects offered "Household and High-Class Cookery, Laundry Work, Dressmaking, Stitchery and Ornamental Needlework". In 1960 a local newspaper published a history of the college which stated: Bath Guildhall piv

A photograph of the first group of students and another of Miss Lawrie were published in a commemorative brochure by

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire. The insti ...

. In April 1896 the temporary homes of the various Technical Schools were united in the new north extension of the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

. Miss Lawrie was succeeded as Headmistress by Miss A M Heygate in 1907, and in 1915 by Miss W M King who remained until 1945. In 1910 the main part of the domestic science teaching was moved to numbers 2 and 3, Long Acre, Bath. By the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

there were forty resident students. In 1920 the name Training College for Teachers of Domestic Subjects was adopted. In its early days the College's students had a uniform of a bright red blouse, black full-length skirt and white apron, and they were nicknamed "the scarlet runners". Bath Technical School Brougham Hayes

In 1934 the Domestic Science College moved to a building in Brougham Hayes which had been built as the Somerset Industrial School for Boys in 1832. In the emergency of wartime in 1939 this building was taken over by the Admiralty and the College moved to The Elms, a large house in the

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

area of the city, returning to Brougham Hayes in 1944. In 1942 German bombing destroyed the original premises at Green Park but also flattened a large private house called St Winifreds at Sion Hill which was to become its future home. A hostel for students opened in the 1950s in

Somerset Place Somerset Place is a former plantation near Creswell in Washington County, North Carolina, along the northern shore of Lake Phelps, and now a State Historic Site that belongs to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. ...

. The first overseas student arrived from Nigeria in 1946 and in the following years many Commonwealth countries were represented in the student body. A course in Institutional Management began in 1946. Post-war student residences included Claverton Manor until 1956, after which work began on converting the building into the

American Museum in Britain The American Museum and Gardens (formerly American Museum in Britain) is a museum of American art and culture based at Claverton, near Bath, England. Its world-renowned collections of American furniture, quilts and folk art are displayed in a ...

. Planning for a new building at Sion Hill began after the war and the new Domestic Science College The formal opening of the new premises by

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

took place on March 23, 1960 and a history appeared in a special supplement in the local newspaper to mark both this and the renovation of Bath Abbey. The "Chronicle" feature notes that some of the stones from the ruined premises of St Winifred's were incorporated in the new structure. A change of name to Bath College of Education (Home Economics) took place in 1964/65. The final Principal of the independent College was Miss Eileen Phillips. Validation of courses was by the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. In 1975 the College was merged with Newton Park College to create Bath College of Higher Education, later Bath Spa University College and

. Bachelor's degrees in Home Economics and in Secondary teaching were subsequently awarded by the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

and later by the

Council for National Academic Awards The Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was the national degree-awarding authority in the United Kingdom from 1965 until its dissolution on 20 April 1993. Background The establishment followed the recommendation of the UK government Com ...

. In 1985/86 the food-based courses were moved to new premises at

Newton Park Newton Park is an 18th-century Grade I listed country house in the parish of Newton St Loe, Somerset, England, situated west of Bath. History Newton Park was built in 1762–5 by Joseph Langton (grandson of Joseph Langton (c.1637–1719) ...

allowing the Sion Hill building to be used for the courses of the Bath School of Art and Design returning to Bath from

Corsham Court Corsham Court is an English country house in a park designed by Capability Brown. It is in the town of Corsham, 3 miles (5 km) west of Chippenham, Wiltshire, and is notable for its fine art collection, based on the nucleus of paintin ...

. Further degree course developments included BSc Honours courses in Human Ecology, Food Management, Human Nutrition and in Food, Nutrition and Consumer Protection, with the University finally receiving the authority to award its own degrees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bath College Of Domestic Science College Of Domestic Science Educational institutions established in 1892 1892 establishments in England

See also

References