The Central School of Art and Design was a public

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

of fine and

applied arts The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univers ...

in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...

as the Central School of Arts and Crafts. Central became part of the London Institute in 1986, and in 1989 merged with

Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of ...

to form

Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...

History

The Central School of Arts and Crafts was established in 1896 by the

. It grew directly from the Arts and Crafts movement of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...

and

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 ...

. 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 A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...

in his memory was erected in 1957. He was succeeded in 1912 by Fred Burridge. Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design - Blue Plaque

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 The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and S ...

. In the same year the

Royal Female School of Art The Royal Female School of Art was a professional institution for the training of women in art and design. It was founded in 1842, as part of the Government School of Design, predecessor of the Royal College of Art. The Female School of Design wa ...

, 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

to form

Alumni

The alumni of the Central School of Art and Design include: * Terence Conran, designer and writer, founder of

Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...

, painter *

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the '' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cr ...

, artist and

typographer Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), a ...

* Kathleen Hale, artist and creator of Orlando the Marmalade Cat * David Hicks, interior decorator and designer *

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Des ...

, film director, theatre director, writer * Bill Moggridge, designer of the first laptop computer *

Victor Pasmore Edwin John Victor Pasmore, CH, CBE (3 December 190823 January 1998) was a British artist. He pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Pasmore was born in Chelsham, Surrey, on 3 December 1908. He ...

, abstract artist *

Vivian Stanshall Vivian Stanshall (born Victor Anthony Stanshall; 21 March 1943 – 5 March 1995) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his exploration of the British upper ...

, musician, of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band *

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, f ...

, musician, of

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

References

{{Authority control Art schools in London Arts organizations established in the 1890s Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden University of the Arts London London County Council