The school was founded on 2 August 1858 with the help and advice of Dr Lyon Playfair and Captain Francis Fowke of the Science and Art Department of South Kensington. Despite some early troubles when it moved from different buildings and had some fnaincial challenges, it moved to a more permanent homein 1882-3 and it gained a national and international reputation, Following on from the requirement in 1889 for county councils to provide technical education, the school changed its name to the Wgan Mining and Technical School.