South Yorkshire Times April 21, 1939.

A standard of skill amazing to the casual visitor was revealed this week in an exhibition of work in connection with the Wombwell evening Institute. The exhibition was staged in the new technical school in the grounds of the senior school, men’s work on the ground floor and woman’s work on the second.

The exibition also gave the visitors opportunity of inspecting the new building erected by the West Riding County Council at a cost of about £6,000. It has already been brought into use, but will bnot be formally opened until september. The exhibition was opened on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and attracted many visitors, all of whom have expressed astonishment at the standard of craftsmanship displayed.

The centre has some 600 pupils drawn from Wombwell and surrounding townships, including Darfield, Wath, Great Houghton, Elsecar and Hoyland. Some 400 pupils had work on view – 250 women and 150 men. The exhibition was organised under the direction of the headmaster mill. The visitors being women, the upstairs hall attracted most attention. The soft furnishing section examples displayed included wool rugs, bedspreads, eiderdowns, cushions curtains and lampshades. These were decorated with Candlewick work, needle weaving and quilting (English and Italian). There was a very fine spam cushion. Supper cloaks in the new dickel embroidery had obviously been very popular.

An interesting exhibit in the tailoring section was a small boy’s suit. This was a result of the combined efforts of each student in the class, a section of the work being undertaken by the different students in turn. There was a good selection of garments in the section.

Beautiful work

some strikingly beautiful work was exhibited in the section devoted to arts and crafts. A water jump, tumblers and small glass bowls showed how effective was painted glass work. Navies were examples of solaqua work, which is the most recent form of painted fabrics. Trains, maps and fire screens were made in this way.

Downstairs the males found much to attract their attention. The practical I fell on some remarkably precise models of staircase systems all drawn to scale and ready to install in an imaginary house about one quarter the size of the normal. There was some capital leather work achieved by Leonard Turner(15), and some excellent examples of Bookbinding by George T.Cutler, another young student. A long section of a bench was devoted to metalwork, the most notable example perhaps being a beaten copper vase about 9 inches high. There was a skillfully worked dinner gong. Ready for use on some interesting examples of Wrought iron work. Art was seen in complement to woodworking the building up of some delightful veneers. Students of the Art section had already made their Christmas cards for 1939.

The admiration of all who visited the exhibition was a very fine oil painting by an advanced student, Mr Patrick C Burke, of Kelvin Grove, Wombwell. His best work was a study of himself and fiance at a piano in an old world setting. The picture was built up from a photograph, the artist creating the scene and address. He also showed some very cleverly executed pencil sketches and watercolors. Before coming to Wombwell, Mr Burke won many prizes that Chesterfield School of Art. A plan drawn in line by Mr H. Butroid, now at Barnsley School of Art, and drawings by Mr W Ibbotson, also attracted much attention.

The exhibition could only be considered as barely representative, many of the students have taken their work home. But it showed in a very convincing way the value of the tuition given at the center.