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Description of  The Elmhirsts of Dartington (Routledge Library Editions: Utopias)

Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst were the founders of Dartington - she the daughter of an American millionaire who was once Secretary to the US Navy he the son of a Yorkshire parson and secretary to Rabindranath Tagore in Bengal before he married Dorothy. They were the twentieth centurys most substantial private patrons of architecture in England as well as of the arts and education. Dartington School was one of the most famous experimental schools in the world. Bertrand Russell sent his children there, as did Aldous Huxley and the Freuds. Dartington College of Arts and its associated Summer School of Music were equally famous in the world of the arts. Bernard Leach taught pottery, Mark Tobey painting, and Imogen Holst music. The Amadeus Quartet was formed there. Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears were frequent performers. Read more