Collection: Commerce
Level: Series
Title: Dartington Hall Ltd
RefNo: C/DHL
Extent: 11 boxes, 10 volumes
Dates: 1929-1980

History: Records of a private limited liability company chartered in July 1929 with a share capital of £65,000, and alloted as to 1 share to F A S Gwatkin and 64,999 shares to Leonard Elmhirst. In 1931 the shares were turned over to the Dartington Hall Trust. The company was originally formed to try out the experiment of operating in a rural area a profitable trading company, controlling both farms and factories and offering favourable conditions of employment to employees. [See: the memorandum on the re-organisation of Dartington Hall Limited, February 1939 C/DHL/1/C]. The company's first officers included Leonard Elmhirst as chairman and Dr William K Slater as managing director. Eric S Porter succeeded Douglas E R Watson as secretary and accountant in 1930. Other directors included management consultant Frederick Lawrence and M C Spencer.

Each department was set up on an experimental basis with the hope, and later the expectation, that the departments would generate a profit which would be reinvested to promote rural regeneration. In practice very few of the departments were capable of making more than a small annual profit. In consequence, the company was re-capitalised in 1936. Staverton Builders, the old Works department, was split off as a separate company. The remaining departments were forced to make money or cease operations. In February 1939, the company was again reorganised, the resignation of all employees was received (and the workers were then rehired under employment conditions more favourable to the company). But the severe losses of 1936 to 1939 were stemmed only by the booming market conditions of WW II.

In 1943 W K Slater was seconded to the national Agricultural Improvement Committee. He resigned in 1945 and Peter Sutcliffe was hired as general manager.

For further information see Dartington Hall 1925-56: A Report on The Company, by Victor Bonham-Carter.

Records are divided into 3 principal subseries:

1. Records from 1927 to 1945;
2. Later Company Records (from 1946 onwards);
3. Dartington Hall Ltd Minute Books and Accounts.

With the exception of minute books, the records of Dartington Hall Ltd currently end in 1965, and many of the records of Peter Sutcliffe, general manager after 1946, are said to have been destroyed. However, the company continued to serve as the management and holding company for Dartington Hall commercial enterprises until 1980. At that time the Dartington Hall Trust, a registered charity, was incorporated as a private charitable company limited by guarantee, The Dartington Hall Trust Ltd, which assumed control of the assets of Dartington Hall Ltd. Dartington commercial activities were managed by seperate commercial companies under the control of the incorporated Trust. In 1982 the Trust was legally allowed to drop the word 'Limited' from its name.

As the central administration for Dartington commercial activities, Dartington Hall Ltd managed departments including Textiles, Orchards and the Cider Press, the farms, the crafts studio and craft shop, Poultry, and Forestry; all managed from the Central Office building. Non-profit departments reporting to Dartington Hall Ltd included the Dartington Laboratory and the Agricultural Economics Department.

Records include early documents on organisation; management reports; correspondence of senior personnel especially that of Sir William K Slater; advertising and marketing records; sales reports; financial information, and minutes.

Access: Archives held by The Dartington Hall Trust are subject to Trust policies which generally follow normal document closure periods for public records. Records that are not governed by the Data Protection Act of 1998 and that are more than 30 years old are open for research. In addition, it is Trust policy that records of people still living are closed.