A Dartington Life
In the 100 years since Dartington was started in its modern form by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst, few people have had a better view of the estate’s ups and downs than Mary Bartlett. Apart from two years when she lived in the nearby hamlet of Week, the celebrated horticulturalist and book binder has since 1963 has had her home just a few minutes walk from Dartington’s Great Hall. As the estate celebrates the centenary of its post-Elmhirst existence, here she reflects on the events that have shaped her Dartington life. The questions are from Peter Marsh.
Where did your love of horticulture come from ?
I was born in Bovey Tracey in 1946. My father was a railway signalman. He was also a talented artist. In those days – with food shortages after the Second World War – it was essential to grow your own food. My father and his family were excellent growers. As a result, from an early age I developed a passion for plants.
How do you remember your school days?
I was fortunate in going to a new school at Ashburton, where the teachers were brilliant. I enjoyed writing essays. The longest one I did was titled “Narcotic drugs”. My father illustrated it for me. That was in 1962, long before drugs became part of popular teenage culture. I wrote it because I was interested in chemicals and in plants. I did all my own research. I wrote to various institutions for information and , looking back, I’m amazed at the detail I collected. And – no – I didn’t try the drugs for myself. But years later, I came across my old headmaster on a walk. He said to my daughter, Lucy, your mother got me into a lot of trouble with that research. I took that as a compliment.
What brought you to Dartington?
The local gardening club must have visited Dartington which is why I knew about it as a child. At my school, one of the governors had a Dartington connection. She suggested that (after I left school) I tried the horticultural training scheme that had started at Dartington just after the war. I joined the training course in 1963. It wasn’t easy being the only girl in the class but I managed.
Didn’t this lead to something of a TV career?
Soon after I started the course the head gardener Mr Johnson sadly died. His replacement was Terry Underhill. After contributing so much to the gardens, Terry asked me, after he’d left Dartington, if I would help him in his new role as a gardening presenter for Television South West. Between 1981 and 1991, Terry and I made more than 500 half-hour “Gardens for All” programmes, filming on a Monday for screening the following Friday. We also made programmes at the major agricultural shows in the South West. During these broadcasts we’d often be offered presents. I remember a lady asking me if I’d like her prize rabbit as a pet for my children.
What were your impressions of the Elmhirsts?
The Elmhirsts’ restoration of Dartington’s land and buildings was a wonderful contribution to this part of Devon. Dorothy in particular took a lot of care over the gardens. She was very proud of them. One of my jobs involved helping her in this work. When the gardens adviser Percy Kane visited Dartington, I would walk around with Dorothy and carry her equipment and notes. I’d carry sticks around to mark where plants were to be placed, and generally to be at the ready for anything
no – I didn’t try the drugs for myself
And Leonard ?
Leonard was very helpful and considerate. He loved telling people about Dartington. One Sunday, he told us he was walking in the gardens when a passer-by asked him what he knew about the estate. Never letting slip that he owned it, Leonard gave the visitor an impromptu guided tour. On their return to the door of the private house, the visitor gave him half a crown, which nowadays is 12p, as a tip for his trouble.
You became an authority in a particular sort of plant – gentians. How this this come about ?
Because my father worked on the railways he got concessions for rail travel abroad. This is how I saw gentians, which are very evocative plants, while visiting the Dolomites with my family as a child. Some years later when I was started my horticulture studies I had to write a thesis. For my subject I chose gentians. To improve my knowledge I wrote to all the world’s major botanical gardens. Through this I began to work with a man called Dr James Pringle, who lived in Canada. We kept in touch until he died recently. The collaboration taught me how the gentians’ Latin names are critical for identification. I had a lot of help also from Rosemary Smith, a botanical artist at Edinburgh.
Explain your interest in bookbinding.
My Aunt Mary worked all her life in the paper shop in Bovey Tracy. She was always buying me books, which gave me a love of reading. After my work as a Dartington student on gentians, I talked to Emily Thomas, the Elmhirsts’ housekeeper, about organising my research archive. She suggested I get the papers bound into a book. Luckily for me there was a bookbindery at Dartington, one of Leonard’s great passions, and then run by Eric McNally. I joined his classes in 1974 and gradually developed my skills. When Mr McNally died in 1986, I said I’d keep it going. Almost 40 years later I’m still in charge of the workshop. I’m proud of the fact that over the 90 years of the bookbindery’s life I’m one of only three people to have run it.
I’ve become as madly devoted to the unicorn as I am to Dartington
What does the job involve ?
People come with their own books, or books they’ve just bought to learn how to bind them. Sometimes these are very rare books, which require a great deal of effort to restore. I keep an eye on the people when they’re doing this and tell them if they’re making mistakes. We’ve done so many interesting projects, many limited editions with printmakers. Most of these books are very collectable now, and valued around the world. Some of these limited edition books are being sold in a specialist auction in London later in July. You can find copies of some of my books in the rare books section at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
What do your students get out of your bookbinding sessions?
I think people find the workshop a safe, creative place to work on whatever project they want, from restoration to book arts. I’ve been extremely lucky to have had so many creative artists to work with. And I’m pleased to say the new managers at Dartington have been very supportive of what we’re doing. It seems they want to continue this marvellous tradition.
You’ve developed a huge interest in a certain mythical creature.
This goes back to the start of my training at Dartington. Over hundreds of years, Dartington’s achievements have been represented in symbolic shorthand by the white hart, the personal badge of King Richard II. [The 14th century monarch was closely associated with Dartington, due to his granting of the estate to John Holand, his half-brother, who went to build the Great Hall.] After the Elmhirsts acquired the estate they adopted the white hart as an emblem. They used to give white hart badges to people for long service. Becoming interested, I asked my friend Gillie Hoyte-Byrom, now an internationally known enameller, if she could make a white hart for me.
So how did this lead to unicorns ?
Gillie said that instead of white harts I should find something more personal. I had read Robert Graves’s book The White Goddess, whose draft he’d written when living locally. The book contained a reference to an obscure mediaeval poem called The Book of the Lambspring. It describes the hart and the unicorn as inhabitants of the same mystical forest. The forest symbolises the body, the hart the soul and the unicorn the spirit. I found the concept captivating. In 1985 Gillie enamelled my first unicorn, and the jeweller Anne Farag made the silver mount for it. Since then I’ve been involved in many collaborations involving unicorns. These have included books , models and jewellery. In 1992 the playwright Adrian Mitchell an adapted story I’d written called Unicorn Island into a musical drama. I’ve become as madly devoted to the unicorn as I am to Dartington and books.
Dartington’s been through some difficult times recently – what are your thoughts about the future ?
I think the current management is doing its best but there are certain things I’d like to see attended to. I’d welcome more work done on the estate’s infrastructure. The potholes on the roads need to be repaired to make them safer and to look more cared for. Many of the buildings need attention. It would be good if Aller Park and Foxhole could be reused. The gardens provide peace and comfort to people who visit. They need to be provided for. We should remember the gardens were Dorothy’s refuge during the war and for all the time until her death [in 1968, Leonard dying in 1974]. Dartington has always seemed to be special. I continue to think it has healing properties. Explaining this perhaps are the stories that ley lines pass through the Great Hall. I’ve yet to find a book that goes into detail about ley lines and Dartington. I’m in touch with someone who’s interested in writing this. And I’m doing my best to encourage this person to bring the book to fruition.
The text is an adaptation of an interview with Mary Bartlett by Peter Marsh at the Dartington centenary celebration at the Green Table on 4th July. It also includes edited passages from her autobiography, The One O’Clock Train, available from East Gate Bookshop in Totnes.