| Individual or organisational biography | On 10 Aug 1878 a Royal Commission was established to investigate parochial charities. It reported on 12 Mar 1880 and resulted in a new emphasis on enhancing the technical workforce, in the face of new technologies and foreign competition, as well as a greater understanding of how parochial charities could be better administed to help the poor. The resultant legislation was the City of London Parochial Charities Act, 1883. This provided that the five largest parishes should continue to administer their own charitable endowments, but that the charities of the remaining 107 parishes [about 1,400 separate charitable gifts and bequests stretching back over 400 years] should be administered by a new corporate body the Trustees of the London Parochial Charities [now named City Parochial Foundation]. This in turn led to a number of educational foundations in deprived areas of London, where people needed to retain relevant practical skills to remain in, or gain employment. This change led to the formation of Bolt Court.
In 1885 the National Society of Lithographic Artists, Designers and Writers, Copperplate and Wood Engravers, known as SLADE, was founded to help support, advocate and promote the work of its members. With wages lowering, lack of apprenticeships and journeymen being replaced by their cheaper assistants, members decided to create a trade union. From its beginning the Society saw the need to form a school to exchange knowledge, improve skillsets especially as the development of photo-processes were in its early days and a lot of the work was carried out on the continent rather than in Britain. The Society was concerned about how engraving and lithography was taught, as great disparity existed in quality.
On 21 November 1892 the Society unanimously decided to find a studio provided with equipment and necessary materials for the study and practice of designing, painting and lithography. The Society subsequently held an exhibition in 1893 of lithographic work at Agricultural Hall, London, with people such as Walter Crane and William Morris assisting the exhibition. One of the exhibition's prizes was was a signed copy of a Kelmsctott book presented by Morris. Crane helped with the organisation of the exhibition. The exhibition aimed to fundraise money for the school, with the hopes of raising £300. Employers were said to have resistance against the exhibition which only encouraged the Society to form a school.
11 January 1893 the National Society of Lithographic Artists, Designers and Writers, Copperplate and Wood Engravers, special meeting considered the formation of a Guild and Technical School. The meeting approved the formation of a school.
20 January 1893 the Committee appointed to oversee the formation of a school met and decided to prepare a circular with their aims for the school.
2 October 1893 the Guild and Technical School began teaching printing classes at the Society’s premises at 35 Clerkenwell Road with the aims of enhancing the skills of engravers and lithographers.
The school was for any member of the Society as well as Journeymen and Apprentices, including those who were not Society members. All students had to do to be accepted was agree to the School’s terms. The School was funded by a one penny a week donation by Society members. Students only had to contribute towards the materials they would need. They did not have to pay any fees. The teachers during the early days were unpaid volunteers.
The school received a grant from the Technical Education Board of the London County Council after being inspected, and the Society was advised to find larger premises for the school. London County Council purchased 6 Bolt Court from the Land Parochial Charities and the Society's school moved there. The Guild and Technical School at 6 Bolt School had its opening night on 4 November 1895. Within a year its name changed to Bolt Court Technical School.
In 1897, Bolt Court began to offer day classes, ontop of its existing evening classes.
From 1908, the Junior Day Technical School was oepned to provide training via a scholarship scheme for boys aged 13-14 who were attending London County Council schools, who were expected to eventually join the trade.
A Central Governing Body was established for the Trustees of the School, nominated by local London government bodies and educational establishments. It was this body which placed the School under the direct guardianship of London County Council around 1900, prior to this the School was under the control of the Trustees. After Bolt Court fell under the control of the London County Council, it was renamed the London County Council School of Photo-Engraving and Lithography (Bolt Court), however students and staff still referred to the school as Bolt Court. In early 1911 the school underwent renovations, with changes made to its layout, and classrooms. In 1912 it re-opened to staff and students.
Students would attend classes at 6 Bolt Court, with sports lessons at their sports ground in Raynes Park including tennis, running, cricket and more. Some students also attended classes at St Brides as part of their classes at Bolt Court School. As the two schools were located closely together and complementary nature of their work and studies, staff and students would work together suchas on a joint prospectus for St Bride's. At the school, students were taught about principles and practices of printing, colour reproduction, and the printing industry, with experienced teachers some of whom performed original research. Due to this the school was well-known and respected. The school may have been boys only for some time, it is uncertain when girls were allowed to attend.
In Autumn 1939, soon after Britain's entering the Second World War the school was evacuated to Bicester, Oxfordshire and classes were held at the County School in Bicester, with students housed by volunteers in Bicester. While evacuated the risk of enemy bombing remained and equipment such as camera lenses were placed in safes in case of an air raid. In Bicester students were taught how to dig fields, perform stirrup-pump practice and more. The facilities in Bicester, however, were insufficient compared to those at 6 Bolt Court with some students choosing to leave early before completing their studies because of the lack of equipment. Due to this, the school decided that after students completed two years in Bicester, they were sent back to London at Easter; to complete their third year of training so they would have greater access to equipment. It is unclear what year students and staff fully returned to London and to 6 Bolt Court.
During World War Two, 6 Bolt Court was used to create munitions for a Putney shadow factory. Bolt Court teacher H.M. Cartwright was a Production Manager and helped create components for aircrafts at Bolt Court during the conflict.
The four principals of Bolt Court were:
Charles W Gamble, Principal from 1897-1902,
A J Newton, Principal from 1902-1912,
A J Bull, Principal from 1912-1946,
Herbert Mills Cartwright, Principal from 1946-1953 with Carwright remaining Principal for 4 years after Bolt Court amalgamation with St Brides.
The Education Act of 1944 reformed schools in Britain. It decided that smaller technical schools should be amalgamated to form larger schools, with Bolt Court being one of the named smaller schools to be merged and led to Bolt Court being abolished. The premises at 6 Bolt Court were insufficient to meet the needs of bigger classes, as more apprentices would be attending under the day-release scheme and new advances in post-war world. For some staff and students current and former, this merge was unpopular. Since 1912 the London County Council had advocated to consolidate the various schools in London that were providing technical education. The 1912 report by J.C. Smail had highlighted the limited and cramped conditions at St Brides and called for consolidation of the schools.
In 1949 the London County Council School of Photo-Engraving and Lithography (Bolt Court) and the London School of Printing and Kindred Trades (St Brides) merged to form the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts. Under this merger they were no longer under London County Council control. In 1953, the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts moved to the Old Daily Mirror building, Back Hill, Clerkenwell.
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