Celebrating 175 years of the Art School

We can trace our roots right back to 1843, when the Sheffield School of Design was founded to provide skilled designers to support Britain’s industry.

In the early days we were a somewhat smaller institution – lessons were given in a rented room above the Bath pub (which is still there today), with an average attendance of 32 people.

See the Sheffield Institute of Arts historical timeline here.

After our buildings were all but destroyed by bombing during the Second World War, we moved to the former Bluecoat School, on Psalter Lane, where we would remain for over 60 years. Find out what it was like at the sadly missed Psalter Lane art college in this 1969 film by the pioneering art educator Barry Callaghan.