Queen Square, where the Institute was located, was built during the early eighteenth century. Queen Square became famous in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for including the home and workshops of William Morris (26 Queen Square), which in turn attracted other artists, designers and related institutes, including the Art Workers Guild (6 Queen Square).
Of specific interest to the future Stanhope Institute was the establishment of the School of Art for Ladies, at 42-43 Queen Square (also known as the Royal Female School of Art, and possibly as the Queen School of Art). From 1910 the School became the London County Council Day Trade School for Girls and in the 1930’s the Technical College for Women, which lasted into the late 1950’s. The buildings were then used for a short period as a secondary school before becoming the Stanhope Institute. The institute was closed in 1981 following a re-organisation of adult education in Camden, London.
Various courses were taught there including embroidery. Some of the embroidery students, for example, were involved in the production of the Silver Jubilee Cope under the supervision of Beryl Dean.
Source: THE STANHOPE INSTITUTE (1970). The Bloomsbury Branch of the Stanhope Institute, London: Stanhope Institute.
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 28 June 2016).
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