John Henry Brookes
OBE (31 January 1891 – 29 September 1975) was an English craftsman, artist and educator associated with the predecessor institutions of
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was named ...
, which is named in his honour.
Biography
Brookes was born in
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...
, England. His father was head of the Boot and Shoe Department of
Leicester College of Technology.
Brookes trained in
silversmithing at the
Chipping Campden Guild of Handicrafts. He was an accomplished artist but became both an inspirational teacher and accomplished administrator. In 1922, he was appointed as a part-time teacher of sculpture in the Oxford City School of Arts and Craft.
In 1934, the technical and art schools were merged as the Schools of Technology Art and Commerce. John Henry Brookes was the first principal. There were ten full-time staff and 1,284 students. By 1946, the schools were in 19 sites around the city and John Henry Brookes had of necessity become an accomplished cyclist.
With the spread of the schools around the town there was a great desire to move them all onto one site.
The Morrells brewing family offered 33 acres at the top of
Headington Hill and plans were drawn up, but the City Council turned them down. There was a great public protest and a citizens meeting was held in a packed Town Hall. Eventually the plans were approved. The foundation stone was laid by
Lord Nuffield.
Brookes encouraged printing as a discipline in the college and also had many of his own drawings published. For many years his pen and ink drawings were a regular feature of the ''
Oxford Times''.
He was very much involved in the Oxford community and was on many committees especially those concerned with young people. He was a
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
for many years and when he retired from the college he became one of the directors of the
Oxford Playhouse
Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F.G.M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum.
History
The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Ox ...
.
Built on his solid foundations, the Schools of Technology Art and Commerce evolved into Oxford College of Technology,
Oxford Polytechnic and, finally, into
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was named ...
.
Further reading
* ''John Henry Brookes: Craftsman, Educator, Administrator'', edited by A. Stuart Addison. Oxford Polytechnic Press (November 1979)
* ''John Henry Brookes: the man who inspired a university'', by Bryan Brown. Oxford Brookes University (2015).
References
External links
*
"John Henry Brookes (1891–1976)" ''Headington history: People''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookes, John
Oxford Brookes University
1891 births
1975 deaths
Artists from Northampton