Plymouth College of Art

The original School of Art was opened in January 1856. Over a period of time the School has had various locations, none of them more than a hundred yards or so from the present position. But in 1892, the Jubilee Memorial Science, Art and Technical School was opened on Tavistock Road. The grand Victorian edifice was to become a victim of post-war redevelopment some 70 or so years later. However, it had long since ceased to house the Plymouth College of Arts and Crafts, which by then had relocated to the former Palace Court School premises. In 1969, following the creation of Plymouth Polytechnic and the hiving off of the Architecture Department, approval was given to construct a new College of Art and Design on what had been Park Street, where the original Plymouth Drawing School had started over 100 years earlier.

Designed by the then City Architect H J W Stirling, the new five-storey building was officially opened on 29 March 1974 at a cost of approximately £300,000. Less than thirty years later the building was extended and refurbished, and the cost this time, a reflection of the rate of inflation, was over £5,000,000. With an avowed aim to be the first port of call locally for anyone interested in Art and Design, the College was well set for the future. Continued investment in facilities, staff and the Plymouth College of Art over the years has resulted in the construction of a new contemporary art, craft and design wing at a cost of nearly £8 million which was opened in 2014. Staff and alumni include Cecil Collins, Leslie Worth, Jack Pender and Denis Mitchell.