Burslem School of Design
Foundation date: 1853
Dissolution date: June 1858
Active: 1853 - 1858
Function: Art school
History or description: A proposal for the foundation of the school was first discussed in meeting minutes dated 2 December 1851. According to the 'First Report of the Department of Science and Art' (1854, p.128) W.J. Muckley was appointed master on 1 May 1853 and the School opened on 11 July 1853.
Modelling classes began in 1856. The Third Annual Meeting report (1856) stated that: 'The necessity for such a class had been long felt, and its its addition to the course of instruction provided, is likely to prove of the greatest advantage. One of the principal causes of its, apparently, sudden superiority, has been the course of judicious training which the students have had, in outline drawing, by which both the eye and hand have been thoroughly disciplined, and thereby prepared to operate with greater consistency and ease upon the plastic material' [summary].
This record includes information submitted by Christopher Marsden.
Exhibitions, Courses, Meetings and other Events
Organized Modelling Classes (Burslem School of Design), 1856
1856
Associated People
Chaired by T. Pinder
1854 - 1856
Honorary secretary was Jos Mayer
1854 - 1856
Members of committee included G. Alcock
1854 - 1856
Treasurer.
Members of committee included J.J. Alcock
1854 - 1856
Treasurer.
Members of committee included S. Alcock
1854 - 1856
Members of committee included B. Cork
1854 - 1856
Members of committee included Joseph Edge
1854 - 1856
Members of committee included J. Edwards
1854 - 1856
Members of committee included Samuel Goddard
1854 - 1856
Members of committee included C. Herbert
1854 - 1856
Members of committee included H. Hopkins
1854 - 1856
Members of committee included J. Hope
1854 - 1855
Members of committee included William Jabez Muckley
1854 - 1856
Secretary.
Members of committee included J. Maddock
1854 - 1855
Members of committee included J. Pidduck
1854
Members of committee included Jos. Walker
1854 - 1856
Members of committee included J. Vernon
1854 - 1856
Members of committee included W.T. Barker
1855 - 1856
Members of committee included T. Hulme
1856
Members of committee included J. Macintyre
1856
Members of committee included Thomas Hughes
1873 - 1878
Presidents included Smith Child
1854 (Presumed) - 1856 (Presumed)
Principals included William Jabez Muckley
1 May 1853 - June 1858
See Haggar (1953), pp. 10-11; Haggar gives 1853 as the date of the beginning of his position of principal. Warrillow (1960), p. 283; Warrillow gives 1851. However the 'First Report of the Department of Science and Art' (1854, p.128) confirms 1853 as the correct date of Muckley's appointment. (Information from Christopher Marsden).
Students included Edward Richard Taylor
1853 (Circa)
See Haggar (1953), p. 50. See also an article entitled 'Death of Mr. E. R. Taylor' (no source given), 20 January, 1912, in 'Birmingham Biography', vol. 8, pp. 34-35, which notes that Taylor was a student of the school and was also 'engaged at Hanley on the decorative side of the earthenware industry'.
Students included Arthur Ewart Barnett
1926 (Presumed)
See Haggar (1953), p. 38.
Vice-presidents included W. Davenport
1854 - 1856
Vice-presidents included R. H. Haywood
1854 - 1856
Vice-presidents included E. Wood
1854 - 1856
Vice-presidents included H. H. Williamson
1854 - 1855
Vice-presidents included N. P. Wood
1854 - 1855
Vice-presidents included J. E. Heathcote
1856
Sources
A Century of Art Education in the Potteries. With notes on the Artists, 1953 Local Studies
1953 (Circa)
pp. 9-11.
A Sociological History of the City of Stoke-on-Trent, 1960
1960
p. 285.
Meeting Minutes, 2 December 1851 Burslem School of Design Committee Minuets
p. 1.
The Burslem School of Design, Third Annual Meeting, 1856 Burslem School of Design
p. 2.
Citing this record
'Burslem School of Design', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/organization.php?id=msib4_1218794343, accessed 27 Sep 2023]
