46-569: Schumacher College was based on the Dartington Hall estate near Totnes , Devon , England, and offered ecology-centred degree programmes, short courses and horticultural programmes. In addition to British and European students, it was attended by international students from countries such as Brazil, Japan and the US. It suspended all academic programming with immediate effect in September 2024. The College
92-585: A range of medieval lodgings. The medieval buildings were restored from 1926 to 1938. The site is the headquarters of the Dartington Trust , which currently runs a number of charitable educational programmes, including Schumacher College , Dartington Arts School, Research in Practice and the Dartington Music Summer School & Festival . In addition to its own live arts and learning programmes,
138-559: Is committed to reversing the notion of education focussing on academic theory and so all students are invited to engage hands-on with food growing in the gardens and preparation of meals in the kitchen. In 2019 the College was named as a finalist in the Green Gown Awards which celebrate sustainability in education. The vegetarian College was recognised in the Food and Drink category as over half
184-669: The Beaford Centre was set up as an arts centre by the Dartington Trust in the 1960s to bring employment and culture to a rurally depressed area, and continues to thrive. With similar social objectives, the Trust established the Dartington Crystal factory at Great Torrington in June 1967 under the name of Dartington Glass. Dartington Music Summer School & Festival is a department of
230-618: The West Marches towards Scotland . His military service was interrupted by a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1394. In 1397 Holland had marched with King Richard to arrest the latter's uncle Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester , and Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel , and later seized and held Arundel Castle at the king's request. As a reward, on 29 September 1397 he was created Duke of Exeter . In 1399 he accompanied King Richard on his expedition to Ireland. Following their return
276-505: The mediaeval hall between 1388 and his death in 1400 and the sculpted arms of Richard II survive on ribbed vault of the Porch. The 1st Duke was beheaded by King Henry IV who had deposed Richard II, however Dartington continued as the seat of his son John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter (1395–1447) and grandson Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter (1430–1475) successively. On the death of the 3rd Duke in 1475 without issue, supposedly drowned at sea on
322-577: The Black Prince) by his wife Blanche of Lancaster , by whom he had children including: He was executed on 16 January 1400, following the failure of the Epiphany Rising conspiracy against King Henry IV. His body was buried at the collegiate church in Pleshey . His tomb remained until the late 16th century, when, along with many other tombs in the church, it was broken up for use as building material. Only
368-604: The College developed its masters programmes to encompass a blended learning model to allow students to remain primarily in-country and study at the College in intensive two-week blocks. Dartington Hall Dartington Hall in Dartington , near Totnes , Devon , England, is an historic house and country estate of 1,200 acres (4.9 km ) dating from medieval times. The group of late 14th century buildings are Grade I listed ; described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as "one of
414-962: The Dartington Trust. 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." 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. In addition to instrumental and vocal masterclasses, there are courses at various levels on subjects such as composition, opera, chamber music, conducting and improvisation. Courses include choirs, orchestras, individual masterclasses, and non classical music such as Jazz, Salsa and Gamelan. Composition teachers have included Luciano Berio , Luigi Nono , Bruno Maderna , Harrison Birtwistle , Peter Maxwell Davies , Brian Ferneyhough , Witold Lutosławski and Elliott Carter . The gardens were created by Dorothy Elmhirst with
460-619: The May 2011 edition of Standpoint magazine. Inspired by a long association with Rabindranath Tagore 's Shantiniketan , where Tagore was trying to introduce progressive education and rural reconstruction into a tribal community, the Elmhirsts set out in the 1920s on a similar goal for the depressed agricultural economy in rural England. In May 2010, Sotheby's sold a group of 12 paintings by Rabindranath Tagore , which had been given by Tagore to Leonard Elmhirst. In Autumn 2011, The Trust proposed
506-755: The Old Postern which is home to Schumacher College , and other buildings around the Hall which host the Arts at Dartington, the Dartington Music Summer School & Festival, and Research in Practice. The Cider Press Centre, a shopping centre at Shinners Bridge, is also run by the Trust. In September 2022, undergraduate students returned to Dartington estate with the launch of the BSc Regenerative Food and Farming,
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#1732852226908552-500: The Party after the war. W. B. Curry was headmaster of the school from 1931 to 1957, and wrote two books about it, The School , published by The Bodley Head in 1934, and Education for Sanity , published by Heinemann in 1947. The author Dennis Wheatley novelised the activities of some people based at the school in his 1947 book The Haunting of Toby Jugg . This was a supernatural thriller which sensationalised some real-life events before
598-566: The Staffords, and had his property restored. Later in 1386 he married Elizabeth of Lancaster , a daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (younger brother of the Black Prince), by his wife Blanche of Lancaster . He and Elizabeth then went on Gaunt's expedition to Spain, where Holland was appointed constable of the English army. After his return to England, on 2 June 1388 Holland was created Earl of Huntingdon , by Act of Parliament . In 1389 he
644-527: The Trust uses Dartington Hall to host other groups and as a venue for retreats . The estate was held by the Martin family between the early 12th and mid-14th centuries, but on the death of William Martin in 1326, the feudal barony of Dartington escheated to the crown and in 1384 was granted by King Richard II to his half brother John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter (c.1352–1400), created in 1388 Earl of Huntingdon and in 1397 Duke of Exeter . The 1st Duke built
690-959: The Trustees to support the activities of the Trust. Dartington College of Arts was a specialist arts institution based at the hall from 1961 to 2010, with an international reputation for excellence, focusing mainly on the performance arts . In 2008, it became part of University College Falmouth and subsequently relocated to Falmouth, Cornwall . In 2021, the Trust re-opened the Dartington Arts School with five new Masters programmes, including Arts and Place, Arts and Ecology and Poetics of Imagination. 50°27′06″N 3°41′38″W / 50.4518°N 3.6938°W / 50.4518; -3.6938 John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, 1st Earl of Huntingdon ( c. 1352 – 16 January 1400), KG , of Dartington Hall in Devon,
736-465: 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." In 1928, Leonard Elmirst began collaborating with Alice Blinn , who worked for Delineator Home Institute to create a home economics training centre and modernise domestic activities of
782-469: The design. In 1935, the Dartington Hall Trust , a registered charity , was set up in order to run the estate. High Cross House was built in 1932 as a home for the headmaster of Dartington Hall school. It was designed by Swiss-American architect William Lescaze and is now regarded as an important modernist building . It is Grade II* listed. Aller Park, the original Dartington Hall School,
828-681: The eldest son and heir apparent of her first cousin King Edward III , by whom she had a son, King Richard II , who was thus a half-brother of John Holland. Early in King Richard's reign, Holland was made a Knight of the Garter (1381). He was also part of the escort that accompanied the queen-to-be, Anne of Bohemia , on her trip to England. Holland had a violent temper, which got him in trouble several times. The most famous incident occurred during Richard II's 1385 expedition to Scotland . An archer in
874-422: The estate for purchase. The energy and investments of the Elmhirsts and a number of significant innovations in rural regeneration became organised departments working on the estate. 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;
920-557: 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. The Barn Cinema and the White Hart Bar and Restaurant are used by estate dwellers, residents from the surrounding countryside, and visitors alike. In North Devon,
966-652: The food that is eaten by staff and students is grown in the College gardens by volunteers and students on the horticulture programmes. The College is part of Dartington Trust and is based on the 1,200 acre- Dartington Hall estate, northwest of the town of Totnes , Devon. In partnership with the University of Plymouth , Schumacher College offers an MA Engaged Ecology, MA Movement, Mind and Ecology, Transformative Education, MSc Regenerative Food and Farming, MA Ecological Design Thinking and MA Regenerative Economics. The College runs residential and online short courses throughout
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#17328522269081012-509: The founders, Michael Straight , also attended the school. Straight later attended Cambridge and became a speechwriter to Franklin D Roosevelt , and after the war, publisher of the New Republic , a magazine which the Whitney family owned. 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
1058-437: The graveyard there, although there is no evidence to substantiate this. Dartington Hall School , founded in 1926, offered a progressive coeducational boarding life. When it started there was a minimum of formal classroom activity and the children learned by involvement in estate activities. It was to have "no corporal punishment, indeed no punishment at all; no prefects; no uniforms; no Officers' Training Corps; no segregation of
1104-412: The involvement of major landscape designers Beatrix Farrand and Percy Cane and feature a tiltyard (thought actually to be the remains of an Elizabethan water garden) and major sculptures, including examples by Henry Moore , Willi Soukop and Peter Randall-Page. 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
1150-427: The king sent him to try to negotiate with his own first cousin and Holland's brother-in-law Henry Bolingbroke , son of John of Gaunt. After Bolingbroke deposed Richard in 1399 and took the throne as King Henry IV (1399–1413), he called to account those who had been involved in the arrest and downfall of his uncle Thomas of Woodstock, and confiscated all rewards and titles received by them from King Richard. Thus Holland
1196-520: The medieval Hall an arts centre and dance school with a large hall was built 1930–32, with several additions in 1938 and 1966. To the North of the Hall, Higher Close Students Centre was built in 1963 adjacent to the present main car park. Huxhams Cross and Broom Park were built 1932 as estate workers houses. At Shinners Bridge is the central Office of the estate (1935) and the Sawmill (1931–32). The Cider Press Centre
1242-457: The medieval buildings and notably restore the Great Hall 's hammerbeam roof . 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. It is said that Tagore had become familiar with Dartington during his travels in England and influenced Elmhirst in his selection of
1288-463: The most spectacular surviving domestic buildings of late Medieval England", along with Haddon Hall and Wingfield Manor . 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. The west range of the courtyard is regarded nationally as one of the most notable examples of
1334-617: 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. The hall was mostly derelict by the time it was bought in 1925 by the British-American millionaire couple Leonard Elmhirst (orig. from Yorkshire) and his wife Dorothy (née Whitney) from New York. They commissioned architect William Weir to renovate
1380-399: The principles that Dartington once had. It has been suggested that the school 'Knotshead' in the novel A Private Place by Amanda Craig was based upon Dartington Hall school, as the events in the book are similar to those that occurred within the final years of Dartington Hall. Literary editor Miriam Gross wrote an account of her time at the school in her memoir, and also published in
1426-407: The sale of additional artworks by Ben Nicholson , Christopher Wood , Alfred Wallis and others, again at Sotheby's. The sale generated some criticism from local people, who voiced concerns about deaccessioning of the Trust's art assets. The Trust argued that the founders went to considerable lengths to make clear that art works and other assets could and should be used and sold at the discretion of
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1472-451: The school attracted considerable negative publicity – not least owing to his calling the police to the school to combat alcohol and drug abuse taking place, the death by drowning of a student, and his wife's modelling for pornographic photographs – the school suffered a dramatic drop in recruitment. The school was forced to close in 1987. After the school's closure, a number of staff and students set up Sands School which still carries some of
1518-450: The school for two years and his brother Clement Freud was also a pupil there. Other noted alumni include Eva Ibbotson , songwriter Kit Hain , Ivan Moffat , Jasper Fforde , Sheila Ernst , Lionel Grigson , Miriam Gross , Martin Bernal , Matthew Huxley , Max Fordham , Oliver Postgate , Richard Leacock , Jasia Reichardt , Nicolas Rea and the sculptor Sokari Douglas Camp . Son of
1564-463: The service of Ralph Stafford , eldest son of Hugh Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford , killed one of Holland's esquires. Stafford went to find Holland to apologize, but Holland killed him as soon as he identified himself. King Richard thereupon ordered the forfeiture of Holland's lands. The mother of both Holland and Richard II, Joan of Kent, died shortly afterwards, it was said of grief at the quarrel between her sons. Early in 1386 Holland reconciled with
1610-489: The sexes; no compulsory games, compulsory religion or compulsory anything else, no more Latin, no more Greek; no competition; no jingoism ." With time more academic rigour was imposed, but it remained progressive and had mixed success educating the children, sometimes the more wayward ones, of the fee-paying parents. A noted alumnus was Lord Young , a founder of Which? and the Open University . Lucian Freud attended
1656-424: The village. Blinn recommended initiatives including education, apprenticeship programmes, a laboratory, a modern kitchen, cafeteria, laundry, and lavatories, based on what was available in a modern American home. Unable to persuade Blinn to move to England, Elmhirst abandoned the plan. Blinn's recommended kitchen equipment was installed but arranged in a typical English fashion because the headmaster's wife did not like
1702-406: The war, setting them at a fictional school called "Weylands". Years later, it was revealed that these events had attracted the attention of MI5 in a declassified report called "The Case Against Dartington Hall". At its peak, the school had some 300 pupils. However, with the advent of state-based progressive education, the death of its founders, and the appointment of a new headmaster in whose time
1748-473: The year and a 6-month horticulture residency. They are designed to combine personal transformation and collective action through bridging the gap between theory and practice, knowledge and experience. In 2022, the College launched undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in regenerative farming to become the first higher education provider in England to offer agricultural training exclusively focussed on ecologically-minded approaches to food production. In 2019
1794-421: Was a half-brother of King Richard II (1377–1399), to whom he remained strongly loyal. He is primarily remembered for being suspected of assisting in the downfall of King Richard's uncle Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (1355–1397) (youngest son of King Edward III) and then for conspiring against King Richard's first cousin and eventual deposer, Henry Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV (1399–1413). He
1840-555: Was appointed Lord Great Chamberlain for life, Admiral of the Fleet in the Western Seas, and constable of Tintagel Castle in Cornwall. During this time he also received large grants of land from King Richard. Over the next few years he held a number of additional offices: Constable of Conway Castle (1394); Governor of Carlisle Castle (1395); Warden (1398), later Constable-General, of
1886-496: Was built 1929–31 and designed by Ides Van Der Gracht of the New York firm of Delano and Aldrish. Intended as a junior school, it was built in a lavish Americanised Tudor style. Soon afterwards came Foxhole, the senior school built 1931–32, and boarding houses Blacklers (1933), Chimmels (1934) and Orchards (1935) in a straightforward modern idiom. A modern extension was added to Orchards, and a drama hall built nearby – both of 1964. East of
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1932-470: Was built 1976 for the growing tourist trade. In addition to historic buildings the estate has a number of legacy 20th century buildings from the Elmhirst's social enterprises, including the defunct Dartington Hall School, which closed in 1987, and High Cross House which is now a base for Dartington Trust's teaching staff and academics. Other buildings are being used by various departments at the Trust, including
1978-479: Was caught, near Pleshey Castle in Essex , and executed on 16 January 1400. Among those who witnessed the execution was Arundel's son, Thomas Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel . Holland's lands and titles were forfeited, but eventually they were restored to his second son John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter . In 1386 he married Elizabeth of Lancaster , a daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (younger brother of
2024-528: Was co-founded in 1990 by Satish Kumar , John Lane, Stephan Harding and others. They were inspired by E. F. Schumacher , the economist, environmentalist and author of Small Is Beautiful . which argued that the growth of capitalism came at a very high human and planetary cost. The first course ran in 1991 with visiting teacher James Lovelock , best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis . All courses are centred around holism , ecology and sustainability. The college
2070-415: Was stripped of his dukedom, becoming again merely Earl of Huntingdon. Early in 1400 Holland entered into a conspiracy, known as the Epiphany Rising , with his nephew Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent , and with Thomas le Despencer, 1st Earl of Gloucester , and others. Their aim was to assassinate King Henry and his sons, and to return Richard, then in prison, to the throne. The plot failed and Holland fled, but
2116-472: Was the third son of Thomas Holland by his wife Joan of Kent , "The Fair Maid of Kent". Joan was daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent , a son of King Edward I (1272–1307), and Thomas would be made Earl of Kent , in what is considered a new creation, as husband of Joan, in whom the former Earldom was vested as eventual heiress of Edmund of Woodstock. Joan later married Edward the Black Prince ,
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