Keswick School of Industrial Art (KSIA) was founded in 1884 by Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley and his wife Edith as an evening class in woodwork and repoussé metalwork at the Crosthwaite Parish Rooms, in

Keswick, Cumbria Keswick ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Allerdale Borough in Cumbria, England. Historically, until 1974, it was part of Cumberland. It lies within the Lake District National Park, Keswick is just north of Derwentwater and is f ...

.Bott, p. 117 The enterprise, designed to alleviate unemployment, prospered, and within ten years more than a hundred men were attending classes. A new building was erected for the school at a nearby site. The school closed in 1984 and the building became a restaurant.

History

Rawnsley was the vicar of

Crosthwaite Crosthwaite is a small village located in the Parish of Crosthwaite and Lyth, South Lakeland, Cumbria, England. It is in the Lake District National Park The Lake District National Park is a national park in North West England that include ...

, at the edge of Keswick, from 1883 to 1917. He was one of the three co-founders of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and was a prominent figure in philanthropic enterprises in the area, helping to establish a grammar school, a hospital and a farm school. Inspired by the precepts of

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

, Rawnsley and his wife set up free evening classes in the parish rooms, beginning in November 1884, to teach metalwork and wood carving under the supervision of a London professional woodcarver and a local jeweller. In the winter months there was considerable unemployment in the town; the Rawnsleys provided training in skills that could alleviate the problem. The school prospered and swiftly developed a reputation for high quality copper and silver decorative metalwork. By 1888 nearly seventy men were attending the classes. By 1890 the school was exhibiting nationally and winning prizes;"The School of Industrial Arts at Keswick". ''The Manchester Guardian'', 5 April 1894, p. 8 Its numbers now more than a hundred, it had outgrown its cramped home in the parish rooms, and Rawnsley raised funds for a purpose-built school nearby. Among his supporters were

Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Ka ...

Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism ...

, and

G. F. Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817, in London – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. He said "I paint ideas, not things." Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical work ...

. The new building, to which the school moved in 1894, was designed by the Lancaster architects

Paley and Austin Sharpe, Paley and Austin are the surnames of architects who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, between 1835 and 1946, working either alone or in partnership. The full names of the principals in their practice, which went under vario ...

at a cost of £1,300.Rawnsley, p. 124 The workrooms were on the ground floor, with the showroom and a library on the upper floor. Beneath the balcony of the façade is the slogan:

The loving eye and patient hand Shall work with joy and bless the land

The school was mainly financed from sales of its products. Its funds became inadequate in the 1980s, from a combination of inadequate marketing and cheaper imported goods. The school closed in 1984.Bott, p. 119

Keswick Museum and Art Gallery Keswick Museum is a local museum based in Keswick in the English Lake District, which exhibits aspects of the landscape, history and culture of the area. History The collection was established as the Keswick Museum of Local and Natural History, ...

displays a range of the school's works. The building, with its façade intact, became a restaurant.

Directors

Reference:

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

KSIA.co.uk
Art schools in England Arts and Crafts movement Education in Cumbria Keswick, Cumbria Paley, Austin and Paley buildings Educational institutions established in 1884 Educational institutions disestablished in 1984 1884 establishments in England 1984 disestablishments in England

History

Directors

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links