The Dartington Estate goes back to Anglo Saxon times but although most of the history of the estate has been lost the modern history really begins around 1380 when the half-brother of King Richard II, John Holland, built both the Great Hall (now the main part of the estate) and the Postern, seen here after a few additions. In 1799 Robert H. Froude became rector of Dartington and it was he was responsible for numerous alterations to the building, including building the entire West Wing and improving the gardens. Every rector of Dartington parish lived here from 1380 until 1925 (the year the Elmhurst’s bought the estate).
Sadly, in 1400 John Holand was executed and stripped of his wealth by his brother-in-law Henry IV and although his wife tried to maintain the estate it fell into decline and was bought in 1559 by Sir Arthur Champernowne, Queen Elizabeth I’s vice-admiral of the west. The estate, which included the Postern, remained in the family for over 400 years until the great agricultural depression of 19th century when it was left in ruins until the aforementioned sale to the Elmhursts in 1925.
During the Elmhurst’s tenure the Postern was used as a junior school, a conference centre, as a base for a programme for unemployed school leavers and early on as a home for Dorothy and Leonard Elmhurst while the hall was being completed.
In 1988 the Dartington Hall trustees approved the launch of Schumacher College, which was conceived as a ground-breaking educational initiative designed to become an international residential centre for study in the fields of ecology, spirituality and transformation. Named after E. F. Schumacher, the author of “Small is Beautiful”, the college’s purpose was to “provide a place where the implications of the profound changes in world views which were, and continue to, surface, in so many fields of human endeavour, can be explained”.
Sadly, current financial restraints have forced the closure (hopefully temporarily) of Schumacher College but the building continues to be an integral part of the history of Dartington.
Image copyright Totnes Image Bank