Dartington Hall

The medieval buildings are grouped around a huge courtyard; the largest built for a private residence before the 16th Century, and the Great Hall itself is the finest of its date in England.

In addition to its own live arts and learning programmes, the Trust uses Dartington Hall to host other groups and as a venue for retreats.

[5] On the death of the 3rd Duke in 1475 without issue, supposedly drowned at sea on the orders of King Edward IV, Dartington again escheated to the crown.

In 1559 it was acquired by Sir Arthur Champernowne, Vice-Admiral of the West under Elizabeth I, whose descendants in a direct male line lived in the Hall for 366 years until 1925.

They commissioned architect William Weir to renovate the medieval buildings and notably restore the Great Hall's hammerbeam roof.

[6] The influence of Rabindranath Tagore on Leonard Elmhirst, and the interests and money of his wife Dorothy, led them to undertake an experiment in rural reconstruction at Dartington Hall.

The innovations included "the social and spiritual "questing" that underwrote support for peace movements, Eastern mysticism and ultimately social science; the progressive educational values that led to the founding of Dartington School; the artistic commitments that made the place an innovator in pottery and textiles and – by 1938 – a refuge for sixty or so avant-garde Continental dancers, sculptors and playwrights; and the agricultural ventures which, if never profitable, became a seedbed for research.

[9][10] Aller Park, the original Dartington Hall School, was built 1929–31 and designed by Ides Van Der Gracht of the New York firm of Delano and Aldrish.

In September 2022, undergraduate students returned to Dartington estate with the launch of the BSc Regenerative Food and Farming,[11] the first degree in England to focus specifically on sustainable approaches to agriculture.

The Hall and medieval courtyard functions in part as a conference centre and wedding venue and provides bed and breakfast accommodation for people attending courses and for casual visitors.

It is both a festival and a music school with an "ethos of bringing together top-quality performers and composers to work with students and amateur musicians in concerts and classes in a relaxed, informal atmosphere.

"[12] Participants, both amateur musicians and advanced students, spend the daytime studying a variety of different musical courses, and the evenings attending (or performing in) concerts.

Composition teachers have included Luciano Berio, Luigi Nono, Bruno Maderna, Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies, Brian Ferneyhough, Witold Lutosławski and Elliott Carter.

There is an ancient yew tree (Taxus baccata) reputed to be nearly 2000 years old and legend has it that Knights Templar are buried in the graveyard there, although there is no evidence to substantiate this.

[14] Other noted alumni include Eva Ibbotson, songwriter Kit Hain, Ivan Moffat, Jasper Fforde, Sheila Ernst, Lionel Grigson, Miriam Gross,[15] Martin Bernal, Matthew Huxley, Max Fordham, Oliver Postgate,[16] Richard Leacock, Jasia Reichardt, Nicolas Rea and the sculptor Sokari Douglas Camp.

In his memoir After Long Silence, Straight stated he had been recruited as a Communist agent by Cambridge spy Anthony Blunt, but had become disillusioned with the Party after the war.