William and Mary Scott with Clifford and Rosemary Ellis, Hallatrow, Somerset, June 1947 (photo courtesy Mrs Rosemary Ellis)

being taught by the exceptional art teachers which Corsham would produce. Ellis did his best to get young painters and sculptors who were actively practising their art, having exhibitions and building a reputation, to teach at Corsham. It was these artists who were to give Corsham such a high reputation in the art community. In turn, it was the quality of’ the teachers who trained at Corsham which gave the place a high reputation among the education community.

The Academy had a Board of Governors, nine appointed by Bath City Council, one each appointed by the University of Bristol and the Bristol City Council, four nominated by the County Education Authority; others were co-opted by the Board of Governors, Sir Kenneth Clark, John Piper and Steuart Wilson (of the BBC), among them.

By having a teacher training as well as the NDD course financial support from various sources was maximized. (Ellis had a name for getting money for the Academy from diverse quarters.) William Scott was Senior Painting Master and Isabelle Symons Senior Lecturer in Education. Kenneth Armitage taught sculpture and Mary Scott modelling in which students made heads in terracotta. From 1946-48 Kenneth Garlick taught art history; he later worked at the Barber Institute, Birmingham University and became Keeper of Western Art at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.