LKE DCC: Devon County Council

DATE: 1926-1973

LEVEL: Series

Archive accumulated by Leonard Elmhirst in correspondence with Devon County Council (DCC) departments. Issues concern local government, including local education and elections. Elmhirst was elected as a County Councillor for the Harberton Electoral Division in 1937, and continued to serve as a councillor until 1952 when he was advised to stand down for medical reasons. Included is a notebook with an account of Leonard Elmhirst's campaign for election as a county councillor in 1946, fought against Frank Crook, manager of the Barton Farm on the Dartington Hall estate.

Most records relate to the town of Totnes and the surrounding region.

There is extensive correspondence with W Elmslie Philip, DCC Chief Education Officer. As well as the Dartington Primary School, the papers cover the Totnes senior schools, and include the move to comprehensive education, with the creation of King Edward VI School. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Elmhirst was chairman of the governors of the three Totnes secondary schools. There is much reference to the land at Redworth, new buildings, and the playing fields in Totnes. Material also refers to the introduction of agriculture as a subject in the syllabus of rural senior schools.

Box 4 contains records of Leonard Elmhirst's involvement with the administration of the Totnes remand home, Crichel Hostel. However much of this material comes under data protection and the papers are closed for 75 years dating from 1952. Elmhirst's dislike of corporal punishment is apparent.

Box 5 contains records of the Music Advisory Committee. In addition to Leonard Elmhirst, Dartington Arts Department administrator Peter Cox and music department head Imogen Holst also served on the Committee (Holst left Dartington Hall in 1951). From 1949 to 1965 the County Music Organiser was Doreen Senior. The Music Advisory Committee was dissolved in 1968. Its work was sufficiently well developed and accepted as a normal part of the education provision made by the local authority with music now established as an important subject in the curriculum of Devon schools.

Leonard Elmhirst took an active interest in the county of Devon.

Elmhirst was a member of the Board of Managers of the Dartington Church School throughout his time at Dartington Hall and was Chairman for many years, only resigning in that role and as representative on the Parish Council, in 1973. In 1961 he funded the installation of a telephone at the school.

He was County Council Governor of the Totnes secondary and grammar schools (1949 and earlier), and a member of the Major Scholarships Interviewing Board and Adult Education Consultative Committee. He continued to be involved with the Totnes King Edward VI School, after its creation as a comprehensive in September 1966 from the amalgamation of King Edward VI Grammar School for boys, Totnes High School for Girls and the Redworth Secondary Modern School. The school later became known as King Edward VI College.

From 1940 to 1945 The Dartington Hall Trustees gave grants to the County Committee for Music and Drama. In 1948 music and drama were separated and Leonard Elmhirst was elected Chairman of the newly formed Devon County Music Committee, which the Trustees continued to fund for an initial period. The objects of the Committee were "the stimulation, assistance and co-ordination of musical activity for amateur groups...with adults and young people who have left school...advice and help in the school work in music...to maintain liaison with those engaged in professional musical activities." In July 1952 he was elected chairman of the (renamed) Music Advisory Committee.

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