| Description | Leonard Elmhirst was determined to preserve his personal papers, as well as the official records of The Dartington Hall Trust. Later notes written on many of the papers, suggest that he spent time working through his archive, explaining the background of documentary evidence, and completing the archival image of his life and work.
Leonard's papers record his involvement as a founding trustee at Dartington Hall, and also his work as an agricultural economist interested in rural regeneration in India and Britain. He held posts with a variety of research institutes, and chaired many enquiries into aspects of rural life and industry in Britain.
His close association with Rabindranath Tagore, India, and the Middle East continued into the 1960s. This is reflected in extensive correspondence and other records among his papers. He was also closely involved with the independent Political and Economic Planning group, serving as a chairman and member of the PEP Executive between 1931 and 1972. Leonard also had extensive contacts in America as documented by a substantial subseries of papers.
Leonard Elmhirst's papers have been divided into about 26 record series as follows: Africa; Agricultural Economics; Cornell University; Development Commission; Devon; Devon County Council; Education; Festival of Britain; Forestry; General Correspondence; India; Land; Law and Finance; Maurice Browne Ltd; Middle East Survey Committee; National Parks; Overseas; Political and Economic Planning; Research Grants Board; School; South Western Regional Board for Industry; Tagore; Theatres; United States; and Water.
Correspondents include: Clifford Allen; H N Brailsford; Herbert Corner; Frances and John Cornford; Stafford Cripps; Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson; Prof J J Findlay; Victor Gollancz; Gerald Heard; Aldous and Julian Huxley; Andree Karpeles; John Maynard Keynes; Stephen King-Hall; Alister Hardy; Basil H Liddell Hart; Lewis Lorwin; J J Mallon of Toynbee Hall; A S Neil; Henry W Nevinson, Harold Nicolson, Max Nicholson (and PEP); Sean and Eileen O'Casey; Charles K Ogden; Laurens van der Post; S K Ratcliffe; Seebohm Rowntree; Bertrand and Dora Russell; Vita Sackville-West; George Bernard Shaw; T E Shaw (Lawrence); Stephen Spender; Siegfried Sassoon; C P Scott; Tomaso Gallarati Scotti; Professor R H Tawney; William Temple; Rifat Tirana; Arthur Westall Vivian-Neal MC; Arthur Waley; H G Wells; Ellen Wilkinson; Michael Young; and Beryl de Zoete.
Most of these papers are open for research by appointment. |