Keighley School of Art

This now little-known art school began life in 1825 as the Keighley Mechanics Institute. For more than eighty years, the School (later renamed Keighley School of Art & Crafts) was regarded as one of the most forward-thinking and successful in the West Riding of Yorkshire. This was due in no small measure to talented people like Walter Smith,(1836-1886) the first Head of the School. Also influential was another Principal Tom Butterfield who held the post until his successor Alfred Rodway, the School Principal 1927-1939 took over the reigns.

Alumni and staff include Jack Clarkson, Dorothy Wade, and Augustus Spencer, as well as artists including Joe Pighills, Frances Watson Sunderland, Annie Hugill, Frank Roper, Allan Laycock, George Demaine, and Alex Smith.