Art Masters
&
Mistresses

Mr J H Farran: May 1898 to January 1905

Mr Farran was the teacher of the Art Class previously operating at Roomfield School. He was appointed on £90 p.a. with house rent and rates free, and supplemented his pay by also working as the Caretaker.

He persuaded the Council to allow him to attend a course at the Geneva School of Industrial Art in the summer of 1904, and in November they were pressing for his report on this. On the 5th of January 1905 the Committee agreed to his request to “be allowed to terminate his engagement with the committee forthwith”.

Miss Helen M Cunliffe: January 1905 to December 1912

Miss Cunliffe was an Assistant Teacher who stood in for Mr Farran during his Geneva trip, was appointed as acting Master when he left, and was permanently appointed as Art Master in May 1905. Her pay was £80 p.a. plus two rooms in the caretaker’s house!

In 1907 Miss Cunliffe was appointed to a committee dealing with an Art exhibition in Todmorden, taking place in 1908 as part of a series of exhibitions in the West Riding, related to the International Congress of Industrial Art.

In June 2012 her salary was increased to £100 p.a., but she resigned in November 1912, owing to a bereavement.

Miss Florence Balshaw: December 1912 to December 1917

In December two female candidates were interviewed for the position of Art Master, and Miss Balshaw was appointed. The salary was £90, rising to £100, with rooms free.

In 1914 it was agreed that Miss Balshaw would also teach Principles of Art as applied to the Design of Patterns for Weaving, to students of Cotton Weaving at the Technical School.

On the 7th of December 1917, the Committee read a resignation letter from Miss Balshaw. The Mayor and Ald. Wadsworth were appointed to interview her, to see if they could induce her to withdraw the letter. They failed, and three candidates for the post were interviewed on the 26th of December.

Miss Mary Anne Holmes: January 1918 to December 1939

Miss Holmes was appointed Art Master at a salary of £110 p.a., which increased by £10 in July 1918, but in that August, it was confirmed that all staff would be appointed on the terms in the West Riding County Council scale of salaries.

In September 2018 she was referred to as the Art Mistress; it had taken 13 years from the first female appointment to make that change!

More about Miss Holmes on her own page (find out more)

Art School Staff

Notes:

1. a) In the early years only the year of appointment is available, employment is probably continuous but it is not clear for how long.
2. b) Most of the assistant appointments are part time, often for specific subjects.
3. c) The detailed early years information about assistants comes from the Council minutes, held by Todmorden Library. Until 1902 the minutes had the School of Art under the Technical Instruction Committee. In 1902 the Borough Council became an Education Authority and the School of Art then came under the Education Committee. That Committee had wide responsibilities and extensive reports, and the previous level detail about the School of Art did not continue.
4. d) From 1922 onwards the information comes from the annual Further Education prospectus. Copies of this for most years from 1922 are held by Todmorden Library on behalf of Todmorden Antiquarian Society.