IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 1574 LCP Archive
Held at: University of the Arts London: London College of Communication
Title: LONDON COLLEGE OF PRINTING ARCHIVE
Date(s): 1893-1996
Level of description: Collection (fonds)
Extent: 11 linear metres
Name of creator(s): Bolt Court Technical School
London County Council School of Photoengraving and Lithography
St Bride's Foundation School
North Western Polytechnic
College for the Distributive Trades
London School of Printing and Kindred Trades, 1922-1949
London School of Printing and Graphic Arts, 1949-1962
London College of Printing, 1962-1990
London College of Printing and Distributive Trades, 1990-2001
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
The roots of the London College of Printing (LCP) lie in the City of London Parochial Charities Act of 1883, which aimed to provide better management of these charitable funds, and inter alia, benefit the inhabitants of these parishes by improvement of education and employment prospects. The need for improved technical education of workforce was clearly felt against a background of changing technologies and foreign competition, and particularly so in the field of printing. The Act established the St Bride Foundation Institute Printing School, which opened in Nov 1894. In the same year the Guild and Technical School opened in Clerkenwell Road to improve the craft skills of apprentice and journeymen engravers and lithographers, and then moved the following year to Boult Court, where it became known as the Bolt Court Technical School. The School was subsequently renamed the London County Council School of Photoengraving and Lithography.
In 1921, the Westminster Day Continuation School (the forerunner of the College for the Distributive Trades) opened. In 1922 St Bride's School moved to larger premises at 61 Stamford Street and now under LCC control was renamed the London School of Printing and Kindred Trades (LSPKT). In 1949 the Bolt Court School of Photoengraving and Lithography merged with the LSPKT to form the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts (LSPGA). The LSPGA was renamed the London College of Printing in 1960. New premises at the Elephant and Castle were opened in 1964, and the North Western Polytechnic Department of Printing merged with LCP in 1969. On 1 Jan 1986, the LCP joined Camberwell School of Arts and crafts, the Central School of Art and Design, Chelsea School of Art, the College for the Distributive Trades (CDT), the London College of Fashion and St Martin's School of Art to form the London Institute.
The LCP and CDT subsequently merged in 1990, and the LCP was renamed the London College of Printing and Distributive Trades.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Records of the London College of Printing, 1893-1996, comprising:
Papers relating to the Bolt Court Technical School and London County Council School of Photoengraving and Lithography, 1893-1985.
Papers relating to St Bride's Foundation School, 1894-1921.
Papers relating to North Western Polytechnic, 1930-1969.
Papers relating to the College for the Distributive Trades (CDT), 1933-1988. Papers relating to the London School of Printing and London College of Printing, 1922-1996.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English.
System of arrangement:
By sections as follows: London School of Printing and London College of Printing; Boult Court School; North Western Polytechnic; St Bride's School.
Conditions governing access:
Access to the collection is by appointment only.
Conditions governing reproduction:
At the discretion of the Media Librarian and subject to the provisions of the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act.
Physical characteristics:
Finding aids:
Refer to separate descriptions for Boult Court, St Bride's, North Western Polytechnic, CDT and LSP/LCP. A detailed catalogue is available in hard copy at the London College of Printing. Approximately half of the LSP/LCP material is uncatalogued.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
Accruals:
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Acquired by the London College of Printing during the course of business and as a result of mergers.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
Existence and location of copies:
Related material:
London Metropolitan Archives holds records of London County Council relating to the Bolt Court Technical School and London County Council School of Photoengraving and Lithography; the Public Record Office holds papers relating to Boult Court, St Bride's and the LSP (see individual descriptions for details).
Publication note:
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Note:
Archivist's note: Compiled by Robert Baxter as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project. Sources: London Institute A centenary celebration of printing education in London (1995).
Date(s) of descriptions: May 2001