Reframing The 'Fairy Land': The Ideas Of The Dartington 'Experiment'

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Part of the DEI's 2025-26 series of evening lectures, responding to the theme of "A New Leaf"

Join us for a drinks reception from 6pm. The lecture will start at 6.30pm and afterwards there'll be time for questions.

This paper will explore the history and reinterpretation of the Dartington 'experiment,' a project of rural, social, and cultural renewal established by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst in 1925, and consider the ways its rich story might be reinterpreted for a new audience in its centenary year and beyond.

As a programme of regeneration set up by a wealthy American in rural Devon, the estate's programme was as controversial as it was forward-thinking, but its major successes included establishing Staverton Construction Ltd, a company that employed local builders, and providing a home for refugees from across war-torn Europe, including the Jooss Ballet and the theatre director Michael Chekhov. In 1929, the Dartington Hall Trust was set up in an attempt to co-ordinate and refine the experiment's original charitable aims, an organisation that has sought and strived to work for the good of the local community and the arts, and has sometimes fallen short. In 2025, the opening of the Elmhirst Heritage Centre, a new indoor visitor destination, is marking a new chapter for Dartington. Informed by archival images and showcasing the core art collection acquired by Dorothy Elmhirst herself alongside a series of temporary exhibitions, it is a project that represents the original spirit of the Elmhirsts' endeavour, bringing to life the stories of the individuals that shaped Dartington, and exploring how they were shaped by it in turn. The paper will discuss the evolution of this museum development as an important point in Dartington's history, and explore its hopes for the future.