Oxford School of Art

The School began life in 1865 and occupied a single room in the Taylor Institution in the Oxford city centre. In 1870 it was incorporated with the School of Science and classes in art and sciences were held in the evenings in Oxford University Museum. In 1871 the School was given more space when it moved into the basement of the Taylor Institution which made way for what was to become the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art. By 1928 the School had all but ceased to function as an art school and was then known as Oxford City Technical School. John Henry Brookes, (1891-1975) becomes Vice-Principal of the Technical School and Head of the School of Art. The sole purpose of his adult life was his commitment to provide education to men and women from all and every background.

Within a year Brookes had introduced an architectural training course under the auspices of the art school. Visiting lecturers included Kenneth Clark, Noel Carrington and Clough Williams-Ellis. In 1934 the Technical School and School of Art merged and John Henry Brookes was elected the first Principal. On his retirement in 1956, the School was renamed Oxford College of Technology. In 1970 it was again renamed Oxford Polytechnic and it attained University status in 1992 becoming Oxford Brookes University.