News archive
Here, you’ll find all our historic news and blogs. For the freshest content, make sure you check out our latest news page.
Land sale secures future of Dartington Hall estate
We are delighted to be able to announce that the future of Dartington Hall Trust has been secured today with the sale of Broom Park and Sawmills West.
Dartington Music Summer School & Festival 2020 cancelled
It is with great sadness that we have taken the difficult decision to cancel the Summer School & Festival 2020 due to the uncertainly caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
Come and help us record history
Soundart Radio, a community arts partner of the Dartington Trust, is inviting people to get in touch with them to record history in the making.
Some jobs just can’t be hurried
Not many of us take nearly a decade to finish a job – but our conservation warden is positively proud of the fact.
Merce Cunningham at Dartington | From the archive
Will Kemp explores Dartington’s fascinating connection with one of the most influential American choreographers of the 20th century.
Diary: Notes from the Walled Kitchen Garden
Regular, rolling updates from the brilliant volunteer team at our beautiful Kitchen Garden! Follow the progress of this beautiful organic garden as zero-food miles produce is grown for our café, The Green Table and our restaurant, The White Hart.
Programmer’s Pick: Parasite worms way into public’s affections
Did you know Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is being beaten only by The King’s Speech for post-win ticket sales? The Barn Cinema’s Ali Donkin writes on how one film could shake up an entire industry.
Our interim managing director writes on latest developments at Dartington Hall
Alan Boldon reflects on recent changes at the Trust, and the range of activity taking place across the estate as a new decade begins.
Work begins on repairs to Old Postern roof
Work to repair the Old Postern, a Grade II* listed 15 Century building and home of Schumacher College, has now begun.
Programmer’s Pick: Jojo Rabbit
The Barn Cinema's Ali Donkin reflects on her Programmer's Pick for January, Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit. You can watch Jojo Rabbit at the Barn Cinema from Friday 10 to Thursday 16 January. Book tickets here.Springing out of a half remembered recommendation from his...
Barn Cinema’s top 5 films of 2019
Ali Donkin, programmer at the Barn Cinema, runs through her top five films of the year…
Summer School is Devon Tourism Awards finalist
Dartington Music Summer School & Festival has been nominated for the Devon Tourism Awards 2019/20 in the category of International Visitor Experience of the Year.
Celebrating the launch of the first AWE programme
This week we are celebrating the launch of the first Accelerating Women’s Enterprise (AWE) Making a Difference programme in Plymouth.
Women supporting women
In what ways can we help each other to succeed, as women? The key is to motivate ourselves to make those new connections with other women we admire, says Daisy Healy of Dartington’s Accelerating Women’s Enterprise (AWE) programme.
Old Postern added to English Heritage’s At Risk Register
Schumacher College’s medieval parsonage, once home to the half-brother of Richard II and also to the celebrated botanist William Keble Martin, is among the latest buildings to be added to annual Heritage at Risk Register.
Canine capers – now also in the White Hart!
We’re pleased to announce that dogs are now welcome in the White Hart bar and restaurant. Good news for two regular faces around the estate, writes proud owner, gardener Michael Record.
How do we catch up with a climate that’s changing faster than we are?
As environmentalism goes mainstream and increasing numbers of organisations declare a climate emergency, Andrea Kuhn meets those who’ve been trying out the deep social, economic and cultural changes needed to get us out of this mess.
Ash die back at Dartington
We have been anticipating the arrival of ash die back at Dartington for some years. It’s now unequivocally here – and we are urgently seeking your support to enable us to remove diseased tress from across the estate.
Rapturous raptors: encouraging birds of prey at Dartington
What are raptors, and why are we trying to attract them to Dartington? Estate warden Mike Newby explains why birds of prey are vital to the farmers, gardeners and land managers who work here at Dartington.
Dance Umbrella’s Emma Gladstone to join Dartington Trust board
The Dartington Trust has appointed the artistic director and chief executive of Dance Umbrella, Emma Gladstone, to its board.
16mm film and Dartington: Then and now
As a new film produced entirely on old-fashioned 16mm film roll comes to our Barn Cinema, Will Kemp tells the astonishing story of how film production shaped Dartington Hall throughout the decades.
How to overcome fear as an aspiring entrepreneur
Why do so many projects, enterprises and businesses fail to get beyond the initial idea phase? Daisy Healy explains why fear is the entrepeneur’s greatest enemy – and how to overcome it.
Chief Executive Rhodri Samuel to leave Dartington Hall
The Dartington Hall Trust is sad to announce that, after four years in post, Chief Executive Rhodri Samuel will be leaving the Trust.
AWE: Helping local women to make a difference through social enterprise
With only 17% of start-ups in the UK being founded by women, something needs to change – so The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) Dartington are offering free training and expert mentoring to support women all over Devon to set up enterprises and community projects.
Guest blog: How the story of one Totnes family came to the silver screen
The Warburtons are a family who live at peace with the land and vow to never take more from it than they give. Here, director Kim Laureen tells us more about meeting them and understanding their story.
Would you get intimate with the world’s tiniest cleaners?
As a brilliant new production comes to Dartington, we catch up with artistic director Chris Pirie to find out exactly what an Intronaut is, and how Elvis Presley’s fatberg almost became the star of the show.
Valley Field Plan brings a bit of Jurassic Park to the gardens
Throughout 2019, the gardens team have been putting the first major part of garden designer Dan Pearson’s masterplan into action in Valley Field.
Social Purpose: What is it and how can you find yours?
What’s your social purpose? In other words, what can you do with your life that really matters? Daisy Healy takes a look at how to tackle such a weighty question – and how the Accelerated Women’s Enterprise (AWE) Making a Difference programme can help make your social purpose a reality.
River Dart Charter Survey: What you said
Almost 500 of you participated in a survey aiming to help shape the future of the River Dart in Dartington. Here, Harriet Bell looks at some of the key findings.
England’s forestry specialists head to Dartington to plan for climate change
A multitude of tree lovers – from scientists to philosophers, foresters to artists, policy experts to designers – are convening at Dartington in response to the Climate Change Committee’s call to increase tree planting for zero carbon emissions by 2050.