Crystal Palace School of Art

Originally known as the Crystal Palace School of Art, Science, and Literature and also as Crystal Palace Company's School of Art, it was opened in 1854. It was intended to be part of the centrepiece building for the Great Exhibition which took place in 1851. The classes were divided into women's and men's, with the majority aimed at the ladies, although there were similarities. The main subjects included woodcarving, watercolour and oil painting and in addition, cookery and dressmaking for the female students.

Notable alumni and staff included Christopher Dresser, Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, René Jules Lalique and Esther Pissarro. The main Crystal Palace buildings were destroyed by fire in 1936, during which much of John Logie Baird's original television equipment was destroyed.