Bath School of Art and Design

Bath School of Art and Design is an art college in Bath, England. It forms part of the Bath Spa University whose main campus is located a few miles from the City at Newton Park, near Corston, Somerset.

The school was founded as Bath School of Art in 1852 following The Great Exhibition of 1851. The Bath Directory for 1856 shows its location at Weymouth House (roughly the rear of the present Marks and Spencers store) and its Master as Anthony Carey Stannus, an Irish painter noted for marine scenes and who later helped establish a society which evolved into the Royal Ulster Academy. By the 1858 edition he had been succeeded by John J. Drummond, who by 1860 had set up his own Mr Drummond's School of Art at 3 Bladud Buildings, and later (1862) at 5 Princes Buildings almost opposite.

The original School moved to Hetling House, Westgate Buildings, an ancient building which George Newenham Wright in his Historic Guide to Bath (1864) says had been garrisoned for the Royalists in the Civil War, adding that "the School of Design now occupies the principal and older part". The Master for a few years was John Hill, who later continued as a private tutor and artist at his home in Combe Down until about 1884. The School's syllabus was "in connection with Marlborough House", which meant the Government School of Design and Practical Art.

By 1866 the School was at 33 Paragon, opposite The Star Inn, and the Master was Robert Campbell Puckett, PhD, whose 1871 work "Sciography, or radial projection of shadows" was published by Chapman & Hall of London. The tuition fee was one guinea per quarter according to the school's prospectus published as a one-page advertisement in the annual Directories. Courses were "in connection with the Science and Art Department, South Kensington". A branch was opened at The Corridor for evening classes. Later Head Masters were William Harbutt (1874), the inventor of Plasticine, John Charles Swallow (1878), and Charles M. Hodges (1880). By 1884 William Harbutt was teaching at The Paragon Art Studio, 15 Bladud Buildings.