From woodland walks and riverside trails to cafés, restaurants and shops, there is plenty to explore. We also host a year-round programme of art and craft activities, theatre, music and dance events as well as a wide selection of films at our celebrated independent Barn Cinema.
As a centre for learning for almost a century we have attracted a variety of leading artists and thinkers including potter Bernard Leach, composer Igor Stravinsky, cellist Jacqueline du Pre, musician Ravi Shankar, playwright Bernard Shaw and environmental activist Vandana Shiva.
The estate is home to the Dartington Hall Trust – an educational charity that supports learning in ecology, the arts, social enterprise and within the wider community. Our commercial activities support our charitable purpose.
Schumacher College, Dartington Arts School, Dartington School for Social Entrepreneurs and Research in Practice are based here. In addition, the estate is a hub for a number of like-minded enterprises and charities.
Following a period of change at the Trust, our interim managing director, Alan Boldon, has released a statement on the recent developements, and the range of activity taking place across the estate as a new decade begins. Read it here >
What we do
Our arts and cultural events attract audiences from around the world and encourage social change, learning and experimentation.
Tap to explore
Our estate, home to innovations in agriculture and architecture, is a place to build communities and the ecosystem that sustains them.
Tap to explore
Our legacy of progressive education continues to inform our learning programme: from craft courses and post-graduate studies for adults to schools’ programmes for children.
Tap to explore
We are home to 150+ businesses, practitioners, artists and organisations.
Respecting the rights of individuals is at the core of the original Dartington Experiment.
Tap to explore
We generate energy on the estate, produce our own food, use our own water – and much more.
Tap to explore
Our history: Meet the Elmhirsts
The Dartington Experiment began in 1925, when Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst bought a crumbling estate and began to explore how a place could change the world – attracting some of the greatest artists, educators and political philosophers of the 20th century in the process. Important British institutions – including the NHS and the Arts Council – emerged, and ground-breaking experiments in land use, farming and education took place.
The Elmhirsts understood that the world and its people are complex. There are many sides to every story and to every human being. We need environments that encourage our whole being to flourish, in connection with nature and each other.
Our people and governance
Careers
Work with us
News & blogs
Stories and features
Annual Reports
And financial statements
Our team
Leadership & Trustees