History of Plymouth College of Art

At Plymouth College of Art, we are proud of our origins. The original Plymouth School of Art was opened on 21 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 (Cobourg Street, the erstwhile Park Street and Ebrington Street), before finally, in 1892, the Jubilee Memorial Science, Art and Technical School was opened in Tavistock Road.

This building was to become a victim of post-war redevelopment some 70 or so years later (many Plymouthians, even those who weren't students there, cherish fond memories of the grand Victorian structure). 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. This was a temporary measure though, and 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 more than 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, largely a reflection of the rate of inflation, was over £5,000,000. With an avowed aim to be the first port of call for anyone locally interested in Art and Design, the college is well set for the future..