Collection GB 0366 BTA - TANNER, Robin (1904-1988)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0366 BTA

Title

TANNER, Robin (1904-1988)

Date(s)

  • 1920s-1988 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

12 boxes; 1 large packet

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Robin Tanner (1904-1988) became a teacher in 1924, having studied at Goldsmith's College, London, and taught in schools in Greenwich, and then in Corsham and Chippenham, Wiltshire. In 1935 he became on of His Majesty's Inspectors of Schools in primary education and subsequently worked in Leeds, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. In Oxfordshire he worked with Edith Moorhouse, the County's Primary Adviser and his views on primary education were also influenced by the work of Christian Schiller. He retired in 1964 but continued to participate in numerous short courses and conferences, giving lectures and arranging displays to illustrate his themes, including at Dartington Hall in Devon, Cowley Manor in Gloucestershire and Woolley Hall in Yorkshire. Tanner believed that the study of natural things and the exploration of arts and crafts, music and poetry were essential for the development of teachers and children. He was himself a distinguished artist and etcher and helped to found and support the Crafts Study Centre at the Holborne Menstrie Museum in Bath. He married Heather Spackman in 1931.

Archival history

This collection was originally part of the National Primary Education Archive at Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln.
GB 0366 BTA 1920s-1988 collection 12 boxes; 1 large packet Tanner , Robin , 1904-1988 , artist and educationist

Robin Tanner (1904-1988) became a teacher in 1924, having studied at Goldsmith's College, London, and taught in schools in Greenwich, and then in Corsham and Chippenham, Wiltshire. In 1935 he became on of His Majesty's Inspectors of Schools in primary education and subsequently worked in Leeds, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. In Oxfordshire he worked with Edith Moorhouse, the County's Primary Adviser and his views on primary education were also influenced by the work of Christian Schiller. He retired in 1964 but continued to participate in numerous short courses and conferences, giving lectures and arranging displays to illustrate his themes, including at Dartington Hall in Devon, Cowley Manor in Gloucestershire and Woolley Hall in Yorkshire. Tanner believed that the study of natural things and the exploration of arts and crafts, music and poetry were essential for the development of teachers and children. He was himself a distinguished artist and etcher and helped to found and support the Crafts Study Centre at the Holborne Menstrie Museum in Bath. He married Heather Spackman in 1931.

This collection was originally part of the National Primary Education Archive at Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln.

These papers relate primarily to Robin Tanner's work in education and not to his activities as an artist and etcher. They include lectures, addresses and conference papers together with photographs of accompanying displays, 1950s-1980s; a small group of papers relating to individual schools, 1930s-1980s; some publications; a little correspondence, mainly from the 1960s-1980s; slides of works by young people taught by Tanner in the 1930s; and personalia, including poetry and prose anthologies, some neckties and a cassette recording of a talk by Heather Tanner and Dietrich Hanff on 'Life in the Tanner Household'.

Open.

A reader wishing to publish any quotation of information, including pictorial, derived from any archive material must apply in writing for prior permission from the Librarian or other appropriate person(s) as indicated by the Archivist. A limited number of photocopies may be supplied at the discretion of the Archivist.
English

Wiltshire Museum and Library Service, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, holds a collection of drawings and paintings by children taught by Tanner. The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and Bristol Art Gallery have complete collections of Tanner's etchings. Further archive material may be found at Bristol University Library.

Double Harness (autobiography) (Impact Books, 1987); From Old Chapel Farm (selected letters) ed Tim Fenn, (Impact Books, 1991).

 Created 11/24/1999, modified  12/7/2000 Art education Children's art Cowley Manor, Gloucestershire Cultural education Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon Educational levels Educational personnel training Environment Handicrafts education Hanff , Dietrich , 1920-1992 , German educationist Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools Literary forms and genres Literature Poetry Primary education Schiller , Louis Christian , 1895-1976 , educationist Tanner , Heather , fl 1931-1988 , wife of Robin Tanner Tanner , Robin , 1904-1988 , artist and educationist Teacher education Visual arts Woolley Hall, Wakefield, Yorkshire

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

These papers relate primarily to Robin Tanner's work in education and not to his activities as an artist and etcher. They include lectures, addresses and conference papers together with photographs of accompanying displays, 1950s-1980s; a small group of papers relating to individual schools, 1930s-1980s; some publications; a little correspondence, mainly from the 1960s-1980s; slides of works by young people taught by Tanner in the 1930s; and personalia, including poetry and prose anthologies, some neckties and a cassette recording of a talk by Heather Tanner and Dietrich Hanff on 'Life in the Tanner Household'.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open.

Conditions governing reproduction

A reader wishing to publish any quotation of information, including pictorial, derived from any archive material must apply in writing for prior permission from the Librarian or other appropriate person(s) as indicated by the Archivist. A limited number of photocopies may be supplied at the discretion of the Archivist.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Wiltshire Museum and Library Service, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, holds a collection of drawings and paintings by children taught by Tanner. The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and Bristol Art Gallery have complete collections of Tanner's etchings. Further archive material may be found at Bristol University Library.

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Institute of Education

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area