Burslem School of Art was an art school in the centre of the town of

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent. T ...

in the Potteries district of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Students from the school played an important role in the local pottery industry. Pottery was made on the site of the school from the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The venue was refurbished and re-opened for the arts in 1999.

History

The art school originated in 1853. In the nineteenth century each of the towns making up the (future) city of

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

founded its own art school, the

school moving into the

Wedgwood Institute The Wedgwood Institute is a large red-brick building that stands in Queen Street, in the town of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It is sometimes called the Wedgwood Memorial Institute, but it is not to be confused with the former ...

when it was completed in the 1860s. In 1906 the foundation stone was laid of a purpose-built art school, and the institution moved across Queen Street to this accommodation designed by A.R. Wood, a local architect. The new building with its distinctive large windows helped Burlem School of Art become pre-eminent in the district. Its heyday was recalled in ''Pottery Ladies'', a series of TV documentaries made in 1985.Pottery Ladies. Miss Cooper, Miss Cliff, Miss Rhead and all the forgotten girls...
Synopsis of film about Susie Cooper. The Arts Council Film Collection (''Pottery Ladies'' was made for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

with the support of the Arts Council of Great Britain) At the time of the foundation of

North Staffordshire Polytechnic , mottoeng = Dare to know , type = Public , endowment = £70 million (2015) , administrative_staff = 1,375 , chancellor = Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford , vice_chancellor = Professor Martin Jones , ...

in 1971, Burslem School of Art was one of three sites used by the

Stoke-on-Trent College of Art The Stoke-on-Trent Regional College of Art was one of three colleges that were merged in 1971 to form North Staffordshire Polytechnic (later renamed as Staffordshire Polytechnic and now Staffordshire University). The College of Art achieved Regio ...

. However, the Polytechnic's department of Fine Art was subsequently moved from Burslem to College Road, Stoke, thus leaving the historic Burslem building somewhat underused. The School of Art was listed Grade II in 1993, ''Listed buildings in SOT''
thepotteries.org but despite this protection it was left empty and boarded up for a time.

Refurbishment and re-opening

In 1999 the Edwardian building was subject to a £1.2-million refurbishment, and re-opened as an arts centre. It currently runs without a public subsidy, employing three people. It contains three galleries that have shown over 200 exhibitions, as well as containing offices for cultural organisations, and workshop and studio space. In 2008 Burslem public library moved into the building. although at 2015 the School only houses its own substantial book lending collection, housed in its public computer room. A local photography collective now curates the large upper gallery. Regular art ceramics training courses returned to the building in 2012 and continue to run.

People associated with the school

Staff

Gordon Forsyth, who had designed for

Pilkington's Lancastrian Pottery & Tiles Pilkington's Lancastrian Pottery & Tiles was a manufacturer of tiles, vases and bowls, based in Clifton near Pendlebury, Lancashire, England. The company was established in 1892 at Clifton Junction, alongside Fletcher's Canal. The company empl ...

, was principal of the Stoke-on-Trent Art Schools in the period 1920–44 and taught at Burslem School of Art.''Gordon Forsyth, SOT Museums''

Reginald George Haggar Reginald George Haggar (1905–1988) R.I., A.R.C.A., F.R.S.A. was a British ceramic designer. He was born in Ipswich and studied at Ipswich School of Art and the Royal College of Art. In 1929, he became assistant designer at Mintons pottery in S ...

, who was

Minton's Minton's Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It is a registered trademark of Housing and Services, Inc. a New York City nonprofit provider ...

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

in the 1930s, was the Master-in-Charge of the Burslem School of Art from 1941 to 1945. Other notable staff members included Arthur Berry who featured in at least two television programmes in the Monitor series with Huw Weldon.

Notable alumni

* Arthur Berry artist and playwright, Berry also taught at his alma mater *

Doris Boulton-Maude Doris Boulton later Doris Boulton-Maude, (1892–1961) was a British artist, notable as a wood engraver, etcher and for her colour woodcut prınts. Bıography Boulton-Maude studied at the Burslem School of Art in Stoke on Trent before attendi ...

, paınter and prıntmaker *

William Bowyer (artist) William Bowyer RA (25 May 1926 – 1 March 2015) was a British portrait and landscape painter, who worked in a traditional manner. Life and work William Bowyer was born in Leek, Staffordshire. He studied at Burslem School of Art and the Royal ...

Clarice Cliff Clarice Cliff (20 January 1899 – 23 October 1972) was an English ceramic artist and designer. Active from 1922 to 1963, Cliff became the head of the factory creative department. Early life Cliff's ancestors moved from the Eccleshall area ...

, ceramic designer * Susie Cooper, ceramic designer *

Richard Arthur Ledward Richard Arthur Ledward (1857 – 28 October 1890), born in the Staffordshire Potteries in England, was a sculptor and teacher of pottery modelling. Life Ledward was born in Burslem, Staffordshire, in 1857; he was a son of Richard Perry Ledward, o ...

, sculptor * Muriel Pemberton, who "invented art-school training in fashion in Britain" * Frances Richards, painter, embroiderer and illustrator * John Shelton, painter and ceramic artist *

Jessie van Hallen Jessie Elaine Hallen (née Brooke; 1902–1983), known as Jessie Van Hallen, was a British ceramicist who worked for George Wade between 1930 and 1940. Born in Wolstanton, Stoke-on-Trent, she attended Burslem School of Art. She is known for her ...

, ceramic designer * Jessie Tait, ceramic designer *

Charles Tomlinson Alfred Charles Tomlinson, CBE (8 January 1927 – 22 August 2015) was an English poet, translator, academic, and illustrator. He was born in Penkhull, and grew up in Basford, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Life After attending Longton High Sc ...

, poet and artist *

Sidney Tushingham Sidney Tushingham (1884–1968) was a painter and etcher who specialised in rustic scenes of villages and small-town life. He was born in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, where he started his artistic career as a china painter. He attended B ...

, etcher

Notes

External links

Burslem School of Art Website
{{Coord, 53.0448, -2.1972, type:edu_region:GB-STS, display=title Art schools in England Buildings and structures in Stoke-on-Trent Education in Staffordshire Education in Stoke-on-Trent Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire Terracotta