Ladbrooke, James Stark, John Thirtle and John Sell Cotman. Norwich, the first English city outside London where such a school arose, had more local-born artists than anywhere outside the capital. Its theatrical, artistic, philosophical and musical cultures were cross-fertilised in a way that was unique for a provincial city. The Norwich Society of Artists, which many members of the Norwich School belonged to, arose from the need for a group of Norfolk artists to teach each other and their pupils. Founded in 1803, it was key in establishing the artists' associations with each other. Its stated aims were "to conduct an Enquiry into the Rise, Progress and Present State of Painting, Archaeology and Sculpture with a view to point out the Best Methods of Study to attain to Greater Perfection in these Arts". It held regular exhibitions at Sir Benjamin Wrenches Court and elsewhere, and had an organised structure, showing works annually until 1825 and again from 1828 until its dissolution in 1833. The leading spirits and the finest artists of the Norwich School of painters were Crome and Cotman. Interest in paintings by its artists declined during the 1830s, but the school's reputation rose after the Royal Academy's 1878 Winter Exhibition. However, by the end of the century, their works were seen by many as having belonged to a bygone age. Early life James Sillett was born in Norwich and baptised in the city on 16 May 1764 at the church of St Martin at Oak. The surname Sillett, which originated in Suffolk, is either a diminutive form of the Middle English personal name Sil, or alternatively a personal name derived from the Old English sǣliġ ('blessed') + hed ('person'). James was the son of James Sillett, who was born in 1733 in a village near the small Suffolk town of Eye, and his wife Mary Dobson, who was possibly from the south Norfolk village of Pulham St Mary. James and Mary Sillett were married on 16 January 1759 at St Augustine's Church, Norwich. Their other children included James (born 1760), John (born 1766) and Robert (born 1769). Nothing about James' education or early childhood is known by the biographers of the Norwich School of painters, except that he attended Norwich Grammar School. After completing his education, Sillett worked in the city as an apprentice to a heraldic painter, and so his artistic career began in a similar way