It was founded in 1884 by Eglantyne Louisa Jebb, mother of Save the Children founders, Dorothy and Eglantyne Jebb[1] and Louisa Wilkins who helped start the Women's Land Army.
The organisation sought to revive traditional rural crafts which were threatened by the mechanisation of production and by increasing urbanization.
In conformity with the thinking of John Ruskin and with Arts and Crafts philosophy, supporters believed that flourishing traditional crafts helped sustain rural communities and provided workers with far more personal satisfaction than was possible for factory workers.
[5] In 1890 the Association moved their offices to the Hall as tenants of the building and continued their work of funding schools and organising marketing opportunities for craftspeople.
In 1904 the Art Workers Quarterly said the association, '…is a society for teaching the working classes handicrafts such as wood carving, inlaying, metal repousse, basket weaving, leather work, book binding, and for encouraging these and others such as lace, embroidery spinning, weaving, pottery etc., by means of an annual exhibition'.