WELFARE AND SOCIAL ADMINISTRATION

Payday, before the restoration of the Great Hall in 1932.Welfare and social administration records at Dartington Hall document living conditions and life on the estate for the many workers, educators, and administrators involved in its operations. Housing options grew with the construction of new homes and cottages designed by Louis de Soissons, Oswald Milne, and William Lescaze among others. There was competition for subsidised housing on the estate and an estate house selection committee was established. An Estate Committee was set up in 1942 to address all aspects of life on the estate. Farm wages tended to be somewhat higher than the average rate for Devon labour, to the annoyance of surrounding landholders. Conversely, teaching salaries at Dartington Hall School were lower than at other boarding schools.

Many sport, social, and special interest clubs sprang up during the boom years from 1930 to 1950. During World War II, Dartington village fielded a platoon for the Home Guard, while others served as Air Raid Precautions wardens. The scientific approach to physical labour on the estate was represented by the work of Rudolf Laban who lived at Dartington between 1938 and 1940. Laban co-operated with Frederick Lawrence, a management consultant and director of Dartington Hall Ltd, to develop the Laban Lawrence system of industrial movement, which was intended to minimise stress and increase productivity. Welfare records include Laban Lawrence reports for workers in about 1941.

Other Welfare records include committee papers, information on wages and salaries, labour turnover records, personnel office files, social and sporting club records, housing, civil defence, Estate Committee and Foundation Day files.

Access Restrictions: 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.