Central School of Art and Design

History

The Central School of Arts and Crafts was established in 1896 by the London County Council. It grew directly from the Arts and Crafts movement of William Morris and John Ruskin. The first principal – from 1896 to 1900 as co-principal with George Frampton – was the architect William Richard Lethaby, from 1896 until 1912; a blue plaque in his memory was erected in 1957. He was succeeded in 1912 by Fred Burridge.

The school was at first housed in Morley Hall, rented from the Regent Street Polytechnic. In 1908 it moved to purpose-built premises in Southampton Row, in the London Borough of Camden. In the same year the Royal Female School of Art, established in 1842, was merged into the school.

The Central School of Arts and Crafts was renamed the Central School of Art and Design on 1 May 1966. It became part of the London Institute in 1986, and in 1989 merged with Saint Martin's School of Art to form Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design.

Alumni

The alumni of the Central School of Art and Design include:

• Terence Conran, designer and writer, founder of Habitat
• Lucian Freud, painter
• Eric Gill, artist and typographer
• Kathleen Hale, artist and creator of Orlando the Marmalade Cat
• Ley Kenyon, war artist and book illustrator
• David Hicks, interior decorator and designer
• Mike Leigh, film director, theatre director, writer
• Bill Moggridge, designer of the first laptop computer
• Victor Pasmore, abstract artist
• Vivian Stanshall, musician, of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
• Joe Strummer, musician, of The Clash
• Esme Young

References

References

1. "Meet The Great British Sewing Bee's Esme Young".
2. Young, Esme. (2022). "Behind the seams : my life in creativity, friendship and adventure".
3. [http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search2?coll_id=6247&inst_id=56 GB 2753 Central School of Art and Design]. AIM25: Archives in London and the M25 area. Accessed July 2013.
4. Malcolm Le Grice (2011). [http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/history-lessons/ History Lessons]. ''Frieze'' Issue 142, October 2011. Accessed July 2013.
5. [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1378790 Central St Martin's College of Art and Design]. Historic England. Accessed August 2020.
6. [s.n.] (August 2012). [https://web.archive.org/web/20131110185130/http://www.arts.ac.uk/media/governance/documents/Brief-History_revised-Aug2012.pdf University of the Arts London (formerly The London Institute) A Brief History]. University of the Arts London. Archived 10 November 2013.
7. [http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095558717 Overview: Central School of Arts and Crafts]. Oxford Reference. Accessed July 2013.
8. [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/blue-plaques/search/lethaby-william-richard-1857-1931-89 Lethaby, William Richard (1857–1931): Plaque erected in 1957 by London County Council at Central School of Arts and Crafts, Southampton Row, Holborn, London WC1B 4AP, London Borough of Camden]. English Heritage. Accessed July 2013.