The Science and Art Department was a
British government body which functioned from 1853 to 1899, promoting education in art, science, technology, and design in
Britain and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
.
Background
The Science and Art Department was created as a subdivision of the
Board of Trade in 1853, expanding the existing
Department of Practical Art. Its first superintendent was
Henry Cole, and it supported not just science but also "practical arts" – i.e.
technology
Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
and
design
A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...
. The department benefited substantially from the
Great Exhibition of 1851, part of the profits of which were distributed by the
Commissioners of the Great Exhibition for educational purposes. That donation funded a large site in
South Kensington accommodating the Science and Art Department, the
South Kensington Museum, and other bodies. In 1856 the Science and Art Department was absorbed by a new
Education Department, but retained considerable autonomy in promoting artistic and scientific higher education, especially for teacher training.
The Science and Art Department took over the ''Government School of Design'', founded in 1837, which became the ''National Art Training School'' in 1853, and finally in 1896
the Royal College of Art, under which name it still flourishes. It developed what became known as the
South Kensington system in art education. The headmaster until 1875 was
Richard Burchett. On the science side it ran classes in South Kensington in the 1870s, which led directly to the formation of the
Normal School of Science, a constituent college of
Imperial College London. From 1859 the Science and Art Department had offered examinations for prospective science teachers, and promoted evening classes in science across Britain. From 1872 the Science and Art Department began offering scientific higher education directly through evening classes at the South Kensington site. In 1880 these classes acquired formal recognition as the Normal School of Science.
During the 1880s a number of
royal commissions considered the question of technical education, and their recommendations led to an increasing role in scientific training for other branches of government. The increased attention paid to education led to the formation of the
Board of Education in 1899, into which the Science and Art Department was fully integrated.
See also
*
West London School of Art
References
{{reflist
External links
History of Technical Education, UK National Archives
Defunct departments of the Government of the United Kingdom
Education in the United Kingdom
Ministries established in 1853
1853 establishments in the United Kingdom
1899 disestablishments