Commerce: Woodworking Department

DATE: 1937-1957

LEVEL: SubFonds

The commercial records of Dartington Hall Ltd Woodworking Department relating to its formation, management, commercial activities and closure.

Subjects include: the management practices of R C Miller (1946-1949) and Harry Tope (1949-1952); the employment and termination of the services of James J Gillespie as a management methods consultant to the Woodworking Department; the design, manufacture and sale of products; the establishment and activities of the Furniture Development Council; meetings of the Works Council; and the sale of the rights and designs of the garden furniture to S J Lethbridge (Plymouth) Limited.

Material includes: correspondence; reports; minutes; memoranda; press cuttings; printed leaflets; articles; sales statistics; trading profit and loss accounts; and an Agreement.

The Woodworking Department was established in 1946 in an attempt to organise the carpentry and turnery shops independently of the Sawmills Department under the management of R C Miller. Between 1946-1949 the Woodwork Department mainly produced utility and garden furniture. In 1949, Harry Tope was made manager and R C Miller became company salesman finding outlets for cider, furniture and woodware. In 1950 after obtaining a licence, the Lamda Chair was included to the utility production. The small scale of the Woodworking Department meant that it was unable to compete with larger companies. In 1952, the Department was closed and a number of the manufactured lines and staff went back to the Sawmills Department. The rights and designs of the garden furniture were sold in 1953 to S J Lethbridge (Plymouth) Limited.

Information for Researchers

All papers belonging to The Dartington Hall Trust Archive (with the exclusion of Dartington Hall School pupils individual records) are held at the Devon Record Office. All enquiries relating to research should be made to Devon Records Office, Great Moor House, Bittern Road, Sowton, Exeter, Devon EX2 7NL
+44 (0)1392 384253
+44 (0)1392 384256
devrec@devon.gov.uk
www.devon.gov.uk/record_office

The following requests should be made direct to the Archives & Records at The Dartington Hall Trust as shown below:
Copies of images as seen on The Dartington Hall Trust online catalogue with appropriate reference number (Ref No.)
Permission to publish or quote from any document held in the Dartington Hall Trust Archive
Former pupils of Dartington Hall School wishing to view their records
Archives & Records
The Dartington Hall Trust
Dartington Hall
Totnes TQ9 6EL
01803 847200
yvonne.widger@dartington.org

This information is copyright The Dartington Hall Trust