Huddersfield School of Art

The College of Art has a history that can be traced back to the early 19th century, reflecting the town's burgeoning industrial development. It originally grew out of The Young Men's Mental Improvement Society of 1841 and in that year was established as a Mechanics Institute. It joined forces with the Female Educational Institute to form a Technical School and Mechanics' Institute (1884), then a Technical College (1896), College of Technology (1968) and Polytechnic (1970) before becoming a University in 1992.

It was one of the first institutions dedicated to the arts in the region, conceived when the textile industry was thriving in West Yorkshire. The College's foundation was partly driven by the need to provide formal training for designers and artisans to enhance the quality and creativity in textile production, a key economic driver at the time. In its early years, the institution offered courses in various disciplines, including painting, drawing, and later, graphic design and textiles. Alumni and staff have included Donald Carrington, Denis Bowen, Peter Brook, Ernest Dinkel and Noel Spencer.