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Tales of a Ricardian Traveler – Debunking a Myth at Dartington Hall

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white lily's avatarRICARDIAN LOONS

Lady on Horseback Lady on Horseback, mid-15th c., British Museum

Dartington Hall, near Totnes in Devon and just southeast of Dartmoor National Park, represents a uniquely British form of historical contradiction. It is both medieval, having parts of a Grade I-listed late 14th century manor house, and modern, being the current home of the Schumacher College and formerly the site of a progressive coeducational boarding school which broke all the molds of English education and even attracted the attention of MI5. Today, it operates a hotel, restaurant and conference center, and has Grade II* listed gardens.

Our visit was prompted by the prospect of staying briefly in the house built between 1388-1400 by John Holland, first earl of Huntingdon and duke of Exeter. The Holland dukes of Exeter were themselves highly controversial figures and their history is closely intertwined with that of the Houses of York and Lancaster. We didn’t…

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  1. viscountessw Avatar
    viscountessw

    An excellent article about my favourite place. What cannot be seen in the photograph of the roof boss is that the rose is encircled by ears of wheat, almost as if supporting it. The wheat ear was John Holland I’s personal badge, and he did indeed support his royal half-brother.

    I have Anthony Emery’s ‘Dartington Hall’, an in-depth study of the hall, in which he states and references: “The rose on which the hart lies was associated with the royal family long before the 15th century and has no particular reference to the House of Lancaster. H. Stanford, London, Royal Beasts (1956), 32.”

    If there was no paint on the roof boss before the hall was restored, who is to say it was ever red? It may have been white, or gold.

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    1. white lily Avatar
      white lily

      Thanks for the reply, and I’m glad you mentioned the Holland “wheat ears” surrounding the Dartington Hall roof boss. I couldn’t quite photograph them, as they tend to “hide” behind the boss. My photo shows tiny, tiny glimpses of gold, which are the “tips” of those wheat ears. It is a very interesting combination of devices, and yes, without any further information on the original color of the cinquefoil rose, we are left to speculate. And thanks for highlighting Emery’s text as it appears to be the most comprehensive one about Dartington Hall, although interestingly enough, he takes a rather dim view of John Holland I.

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  2. sighthound6 Avatar
    sighthound6

    I am reminded of ‘the Prince of Wales’ feathers’. The truth is all of Edward III’s sons used those feathers in various contexts. Edmund of Langley did to my certain knowledge. The use of symbols is a lot more complex than many people recognise. Another example is the Sun in Splendour, usually associated with Edward IV and said to be a reference to the three suns seen at Mortimer’s Cross. However it was used by Richard II! It may well be Edward used it as a sign that he was Richard’s rightful heir.

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  3. white lily Avatar
    white lily

    Thanks for the reply. Yes, I agree with you about symbols being more complicated than meets the proverbial eye, and especially about the “Sun in Splendour” device being a possible reference to Edward IV’s claim as the heir to Richard II.

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  4. Why bury a chest of books….? | murreyandblue

    […] Here is a puzzle, circa 1400. Why would a usurped king’s half-brother bury a chest of books in the ground at the church in his Devon estate? The usurped king was Richard II, the half-brother John Holand, Earl of Huntingdon (had been Duke of Exeter), the Devon estate Dartington. […]

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  5. The Champernownes of Devon | murreyandblue

    […] Champernowne (1524-78) moved the family from Polsoe, near Exeter, to Dartington near Totnes, where the Hall (middle left) was built in 1560 and his descendants lived there – the previous building had […]

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  6. Was 29th March a day of retribution for a certain 14th-century lord….? – murreyandblue

    […] applicable. John was out of England from January 1394 to early 1395. If he visited his wife at Dartington, Devon, where she was for the birth, he didn’t wait for the baby’s arrival because […]

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  7. Whose wheatear badge was found in the Thames….? – murreyandblue

    […] favourite residence was to be Dartington Hall, near Totnes in Devon. He built it from a small, insignificant manor house that had been there […]

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