Art College

I noticed a chain of remembrances of Coventry College of Art : Foundation at Hill Crest in Radford Road and up to 1967 the main art college shared the Cope Street campus with the Lanchester Poly. I was a student at CCA 1965-69 on Foundation and Diploma in Art & Design. In 2008 I was commissioned by the Tate Gallery Archive to write a memoir of my experience as an art student in the mid-late 1960s. I delivered the first draft in 2010 and an edited version last year. Being an archive document I am able to add to it from time to time and would be grateful if any Forum members have experiences of the art college they would like to share and which might be added to the Tate document. I would also be pleased if any members have contact with any former art students from NDD (pre-1964) to the late 1970s. Please contact me via the Forum or on keithfwest@btinternet.com Keith (West)

Hello & welcome to our history site, Keith. My best friend Mick, who was buried in April was a student of the art college in 1961. I hope that someone will come up with good info for you. Best wishes.

The post war Coventry College of Art, refered to locally as the "Art School" was at "Hillcrest", a very large Victorian house that was next to Barrs Hill Girls School on the Radford Road. How do I know? I was born there and my dad, Fred Morley, was the caretaker there, and, until she went to Gulson Road Hospital to train as a nurse, my mum did all catering for the students. It was demolished so that the new fire station could be built on the site. Mr Hoskins was the principal there. He was also principal when we moved to the new Art School in Cope Street. The garden attached to the school was enormous and terraced as it went down a slight hill. I can remember huge lupins and and lots and lots of flowers. The "new" College of Art was in Cope Street with its underground car park, and we lived in a flat on top of the building. In the photos of it being built the flat can be seen sitting on top of the building. The last time I was in Coventry the iron stairs up to where the flat was were still there and the number 15 was still on the wall that faces the Cathedral. We were allocated that number as my mum, Edna, was now the local midwife and needed a "proper" postal address. Mrs Parkinson ran the sweet shop on the corner opposite the school; The Livery Stables was the pub around the corner on the junction of New Street and Cox Street and Mr Fletcher ran the newsagents in Cox Street. The graveyard at the back of the original building was still intact and a bit creepy for a young boy, Eventually the council moved all the gravestones to the wall that surrounded the cemetery. I understand that they eventually ended up in London Road Cemetery. A noteable memory is that I sat on the wall and watched Her Majesty The Queen lay the foundation stone to Sir Basil Spence's new cathedral. As far as I can recall Harry Ramsdale taught at the Cope Street site, and a Mr Packer was in charge of the printing school which was on the ground floor. Sculpture was done on the second floor although I can't recall the chap's name who taught it. After lessons were over,and at weekends, I would wander around the college, marvelling at the students work in art, scupture, and screen printing. A lot of talent went through that place. The flat overlooked the houses in New Street which had no bathrooms, but toilets were at the bottom of the yards. Frequently you would see people rushing down the yard with a newspaper or something similar under their arm to the toilet. Opposite us, where the swimming baths are now, was the bombed out ruins of the Triumph motorcycle factory. The local boys played cowboys and indians on that site for years. As the Art School became the Lanchester, my dad quit and went to work at Jaguar and we moved to Heath Road, via a short stay in King Richard Street. I'm sorry to have gone on a bit but I spent my formative years in both places and and have sweet memories of both.

Hello Steve & welcome to our Coventry History Forum Thank you for your in depth introduction. Brlil!

Yes! Thanks and hello Steve. Very interesting. Today you would never know Cope Street was anything other than a modern 'dead end' which it is now. There's absolutely nothing original there now. Interested to hear any other musings about the old Triumph works.

Hello, everyone, another Coventry kid here, as you can see by my name I'm also a keen motorcyclist. As an apprentice painter and decorator I used to attend day release college at the Coventry College of Art in Ford St, it was opposite Swan Lane Garage. I was one of those who was moved to Wheatley St School and then finally to Baginton Fields School where I finished my apprenticeship.

Hello - may I introduce myself. My name is Leslie Smithers and I'm an ex student of Coventry College of Art & Design. I began my studies at the Hill Crest Annex on Coventry's Radford Road during the1965/66 academic year. As for my career after college? Maybe it's best to visit my website: Les Smithers Photography.com where you may peruse my work and check out my biography. However, my reason in joining your Forum is about reminiscing over the most wonderful year I spent on a 'Pre Dip' course at Hill Crest. The wonderful and talented lecturers (I do hope my memory serves me well) were: - Mr Lewis / Tony Hepburn - sculpture, Mr Glynn(?) Jones - 3D Design, Harry Ramsdale / Russell Greenslade - Fabric design + Silk Screen Printing. Keith Winnett - Life Drawing / Painting and John Mitchell - Etching. Last but not least was Mr Derek Turner - the Principle of Hill Crest and in my humble opinion - a truly talented and remarkable man. To be perfectly honest - I didn't realise at the time what a truly creative opportunity I was given. But isn't that normally the case - they say that youth is waisted on the young! But hey - my Hill Crest year is deeply etched in my memory and I'll always be eternally grateful for the guidance given to me in choosing a career. .....Thank you Hill Crest! In closing it would be wonderful to hear from any ex-students of Hill Crest - my contact details are on my website. Leslie Smithers

Hello. A brief introduction. My name is Ruth Lee and I am an ex student of Coventry School of Art pre dip 1967 to 68. We commenced the year at Hill Crest (next to Barrs Hill School) moving to Cope Street I think in the January of 68. An amazing year which unlocked a creative appoach which was sadly lacking in school A level art and gave me the confidence to undertake a long and varied career in art and design. My degree/DipAd was at Liverpool College of Art/Liverpool Polytechnic 1968 to 1971 I found this forum by chance whilst trying to remember the names of the tutors with my sister while I was on a visit back to the UK from Portugal last week where I now live. Harry Ramsdale and Russell ?Greenslade taught textiles print and constructed textiles, John Mitchell printmaking, Tony Hepburn sculpture, Glynn or Gwnn(?) Jones painting, Keith Winnett life drawing. I also have a feeling that George Hostler might have been a tutor but I am not sure whether I have crossed wires on this one. Was the principal Derek Turner or David Bethel? And the name of the liberal studies/art history lecturer escapes me. Somewhere I still have a copy of the prospectus for the year 1967/68 When did Coventry School of Art become the Faculty of Art and Design, Lanchester Polytechnic please? The Rose and Crown and Golden Cross were popular student annexes of the Art College, but the one pub I cannot remember the name of was where college do's were held??? I think Saturday morning art classes were also held at Hill Crest which I did the year before pre dip. Please see my community Facebook page Ruth Lee Textile Artist. I am also in the middle of creating a wordpress blog ribbonsand thread.com My contact details are to be found here. It would be good to make contact with pre dip year 1967-1968

My name is Paul Flint and I attended the Coventry College of Art in Cope Street for 3 years from 1960 to 1963. I studied for what was then called a Commercial Design Diploma. It prepared us to work as "visualisers" in the advertising world. In other words the creators of ads and ad campaigns. I actually worked in publishing after Massey Ferguson approached the college in search of an Art Editor to work on their Farming magazine "Modern Farmer" and their internal company newspaper "Triple Triangle". I then moved to the "Coventry Evening Telegraph" before working as an international Art Director, Publisher, Editor and Journalist on over 100 titles. We started part of our Art College training in the Old Dispensary which was at the top of Cope Street - opposite the Cathedral and we were privileged to be there during the building of the New Cathedral. The day the spire was helicoptered in was quite special. I also had the wonderful experience of taking part in a college Passion Play performed in front of the Great west Screen. The Principal was Mr Hoskins and his deputy was David Bethel. I can honestly say that they were some of the happiest days of my life.

Very interesting Flinty - are you sure it was Cope Street and not New Street? There are quite a lot of images of the dispensary on that corner but I've sadly got no photographs of the end of Cope Street. Not a great example but does this ring a bell?

I have to say that I owe a lot to the Coventry Telegraph as it's brought me into contact with a great many photos I'd never have seen, especially the pre war papers (I know that you're not that old but it's a fine tradition).

Thank you Helen and you are right. My error as I didn't mean it was in Cope Street. What I should have said was that it was around the corner at the top end of Cope Street. I was 75 last Tuesday.

Absolutely charmed by these students on Cope Street.

A new collection up on Coventry Digital: Cast in the Same Mould 1 the history of the Art College. A peek inside the Art College here: Apparently these all came from an Art College box at Coventry Archives!

That's my work this afternoon interrupted Ben!