| Biography | Lambeth School of Art (as it was first known) was founded in 1854 by the Reverend Robert Gregory as a night school in rooms occupied during the day by a National School in his parish of St Mary the Less. Reverend Gregory secured support from Henry Cole who supplied him with teachers. The school flourished and became a leader in the provision of instruction in applied art and design to working artisans, many of whom were employed by local manufacturing firms. The rapid expansion of the school led to the need for new premises and in 1860, the Prince of Wales laid the foundation stones for a building designed by J.L Pearson in Millers Lane (now known as St Oswald's Place).
Soon after John Sparkes started teaching at Lambeth in 1857, he began to cultivate a connection between the school and Henry Doulton's neighbouring pottery works. From about 1869, Sparkes and his staff developed a curriculum that trained students for the pottery trade, and to carry out design work for Doulton's. This collaboration provided employment for students at Lambeth School of Art and improved Royal Doulton's standards of production.
In 1879 John Sparkes played an instrumental role in securing the involvement of the newly founded City and Guilds of London Institute, which received financial backing from the twelve Livery Companies, in Lambeth School of Art. The future of the school had been in danger due to a lack of funds and the new backing provided an injection of £600 per year. Under the new arrangement, the life, design and modelling classes together with the staff (Mark Rogers and William Silver Frith) and students moved to a new building in nearby Kennington Park Road, becoming known as the South London Technical School of Art (and occasionally South London Technical Art School). The school continued the close association with Doulton's. In 1937 it changed its name to the City and Guilds of London Art School. |