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The Stourbridge School of Art and Its Relations with the Glass Industry of the Stourbridge District, 1850-1905

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The Stourbridge School of Art and Its Relations with the Glass Industry of the Stourbridge District, 1850-1905 A PROVINCIAL SCHOOL OF ART AND LOCAL INDUSTRY: THE STOURBRIDGE SCHOOL OF ART AND ITS RELATIONS WITH THE GLASS INDUSTRY OF THE STOURBRIDGE DISTRICT, 1850-1905 by JAMES SCOTT MEASELL A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham April 2016 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT Founded in 1851, the Stourbridge School of Art offered instruction in drawing, art and design to students engaged in industries, especially glass. Using social history methodology and primary sources such as Government reports, local newspapers and school records, this thesis explores the school’s development from 1850 to 1905 and explicates its relationships with the local glass industry. Within the context of political, economic, social and cultural forces, the school contributed to the town’s civic culture and was supported by gentry, clergy and industrialists. The governing Council held public meetings and art exhibitions and dealt with management issues. Working class men attended evening classes. Women from wealthy families attended morning classes. This thesis argues that a fundamental disconnect existed between the school’s purpose (art instruction to train designers) and its instruction (basic drawing and fine art). The school enrolled men employed in glass decorating but few from glass manufacturing. Classes reflected the South Kensington curriculum, and the art masters were unaware of the design needs of industry. Glass manufacturing firms provided modest financial support but did not encourage employees to attend, creating frustration for the Council. In contrast, similar schools in Brierley Hill and Wordsley were well-supported by the glass industry. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I must thank my academic supervisor, Dr Malcolm Dick. From our first email correspondence in the early fall of 2012 to the completion of this thesis, Dr Dick provided expert guidance regarding sources and helpful suggestions regarding methodology and interpretation that furthered the goals of this study. My interest in the history of the Stourbridge School of Art began in the late 1980s when I first studied the life and times of Harry Northwood, a Stourbridge School student who emigrated to America in 1881 and became a famous glassmaker. Northwood’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Northwood Robb, and other Northwood family members shared documents and memories. David Richardson, president of Antique Publications, helped bring my books on Harry Northwood’s glassmaking career to reality, and Holly McCluskey, curator of glass at Oglebay Institute’s Mansion Museum in Wheeling, West Virginia, was always interested in Northwood glass. As a ‘distance learning’ student, I was amazed at the ease of online access to primary and secondary sources through the University of Birmingham library and via Google Books, Google Scholar, or ProQuest. I am grateful for the cooperation of staff members at the repositories of materials that were consulted in my research: the Dudley Archives and Local History Centre; The Hive in Worcester; the National Archives at Kew; the National Art Library; the Sandwell Community History and Archives Service; and, most especially, the Stourbridge Public Library, where I enjoyed many sessions with microfilm reels of the nineteenth-century newspapers. A special thanks is due ophthalmologist Brenda Jones, MD, for the cataract surgery that enabled my eyesight to cope with aged newspapers on microfilm. Librarians at Marietta College and at the Rakow Library/Corning Museum of Glass helped with interlibrary loans. I must acknowledge the splendid research and writing of journalist/historian H. J. ‘Jack’ Haden (1916-2005), and I wish I had known him. Friends in England offered assistance with various aspects of this research project: Brian Clarke, Jane Cooksey, Roger Dodsworth, Charles Hajdamach, Stan Hill, Kari Moodie, John Northwood III, and John V. Sanders. At ‘The Willows’ in Oldswinford, Stourbridge, Wendy and Tom Rickard provided comfortable lodging, a good breakfast, and friendly conversation during my research trips. My earliest efforts in historical research were encouraged and supported in the 1960s by professors at Muskingum College and the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, so I owe a debt of thanks to them: King W. Broadrick, Otto A. L. Dieter, James L. Golden, Richard P. Murphy, Marie Hochmuth Nichols, Karl R. Wallace, and Joseph W. Wenzel. During my university teaching and research career at Wayne State University during 1970-1997, George V. Bohman and George W. Ziegelmueller were colleagues and friends, and they always supported my research projects. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................1 Review of Literature ......................................................................................3 Government Schools of Art ...............................................................3 Provincial Schools of Art and Technical Education ........................11 The Glass Industry of the Stourbridge District ................................18 Methodology and Sources ............................................................................22 Plan of this Study .........................................................................................30 TWO NINETEENTH-CENTURY STOURBRIDGE: A CONTEXTUAL OVERVIEW .................................................................34 Industrialisation and Urbanisation ...............................................................40 Civic Culture ................................................................................................50 Conclusions ..................................................................................................62 THREE GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS OF ART (1835-1852) AND THE FOUNDING OF THE STOURBRIDGE SCHOOL ...........................63 Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Forces ..........................................64 Government and the Provincial Schools, 1835-1852 ...................................72 The Department of Practical Art ..................................................................87 Founding and Early Operation of the Stourbridge School ...........................89 Conclusions ................................................................................................105 FOUR THE STOURBRIDGE SCHOOL OF ART: HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT, 1851-1881........................................107 Building and Mortgage Debt ......................................................................109 Curriculum and Class Schedule .................................................................116 Art Masters, Assistants and Pupil Teachers ...............................................120 Stourbridge School Students ......................................................................129 Relations with the Department of Science and Art ....................................141 Maintaining Public Support: Meetings and Art Exhibitions ......................146 Conclusions ................................................................................................164 TABLE OF CONTENTS, CONTINUED CHAPTER FIVE THE STOURBRIDGE SCHOOL OF ART: HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT, 1882-1905 .......................................168 Mortgage Debt and Building Renovations .................................................171 Art Masters .................................................................................................175 Curriculum and Class Schedules ................................................................181 Stourbridge School Students ......................................................................185 Relations with the Department of Science and Art and Political Bodies ...189 Maintaining Public Support: Meetings and Art Exhibitions ......................192 Proposals for a Museum become a Scholarship .........................................205 Branches at Brierley Hill and Wordsley ....................................................208 Technical Education and Relocation ..........................................................214 Stourbridge Art and Industrial Loan Exhibition April-May 1905..............223 Conclusions ................................................................................................227 SIX THE STOURBRIDGE SCHOOL OF ART: RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE GLASS INDUSTRY...............................231 The Glass Industry and a Fledgling Institution, 1850-1862 .......................237 Support from the Glass Industry, 1863-1905 .............................................241 Art Masters, Pupil Teachers and the Glass Industry ..................................246 Stourbridge Students from the Glass Industry 1852-1905 .........................250 The Glass Industry and the School of Art: Assessing Relationships .........274 Competitive Classes
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