Social Programme

Social Programme
BESS Members Dinner (Wednesday 13th June 2012) The Main Hall, Dartington Hall Estate.


With a natural spring and a high position overlooking a wide bend and fording point in the river Dart, the site upon which Dartington Hall Estate stands has been occupied for well over a thousand years.  The buildings and structures situated on the estate range in age from Deer Park Wall and Earth Works at North Wood which date from the Bronze and Iron Ages; to the Main Hall which was built in 1388; and those properties which were built by the Elmhirsts in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

Dartington Hall gardens lie within a curve of the river Dart at the head of its tidal range. Exploited strategically and economically since prehistoric times this gentle hilltop on the rich soils of the Devonshire South Hams has been a home for countless generations, all of whom have contributed to today’s landscape.  In 1925 when Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst first started their great experiment in rural regeneration, they too wished to create a garden at Dartington, a garden that would value the works of previous generations. The garden they created would adorn the landscape rather than compete for attention. It would, above all, be an intimate personal garden which they were keen to share with others. Designers who have made important contributions include H Avray Tipping, Beatrix Farrand and Percy Cane.

BESS Society and Conference Dinner (Thursday 14th June 2012) The Riviera International Conference Centre.