LAIRD SCHOOL OF ART

1871 - ?

The Laird School of Art an art school in Park Road North, Birkenhead opened on 27 September 1871 but the college's roots go back to 1855 when Birkenhead Arts School was launched, and the Laird School was often referred to as Birkenhead School of Art. It was the first public school of art outside London and was given to the town by shipping magnate John Laird (1805-1874). In 1979 it merged with Birkenhead College of Technology, and the Laird closed. The foundation stone for the Birkenhead College of Technology was laid by the Queen Mother, in May 1950 and the college was opened to students a few years later, and stood on Borough Road until the site was closed and pulled down early in the new millennium. The Wirral Metropolitan College was formed in 1982 when all the further education colleges in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral were amalgamated. Suffolk artists were tutors at the Laird School of Art include Edward Hales Griffith and those who studied at Birkenhead College include Edgar Downs.

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Works by This Artist