Bideford Art School

[2] Built of red brick with a slate roof and parapeted gable ends, the building is on an L-shaped plan with the former classrooms to the north and east and the main entrance on the south side opening onto a small courtyard with the original office/Master's house.

The drive for ‘municipal socialising’ during the latter decades of the reign of Queen Victoria saw the opening of numerous museums, art galleries and technical colleges for the improvement of the public.

Possibly because of its location as a place where artists met and worked, the technical college at Bideford evolved into a specialist art school where students were able to access excellent teaching in small groups before moving on for further training at larger art schools elsewhere.

Rosemary Sutcliff, later to gain fame as the author of The Eagle of the Ninth, trained in art here before going on to become a member of the Royal Society of Miniaturists.

Leslie Worth, who became President of the Royal Watercolour Society, trained here, as did George Belcher and Bertram Prance, both of whom became cartoonists for Punch.