Our Story
‘The Mansion’ sits on the site of the home of Henry James, a former Mayor of Totnes in the mid 17th century.
Then in 1795 Giles Welsford acquired the entire site, which included a house, orchard and chapel. After demolishing and rebuilding the chapel, he went on to rebuild the house. It was very grand and became known as ‘The Mansion’.
Having passed through several owners, it was sold to John Kelland in 1876 who set up a private school on the site, known as ‘Hele’s School’. Totnes Endowed Grammar School (which later became King Edward VI Grammar School) purchased the site in 1887 and it remained as a grammar school for years to come.
Further additions were made circa 1902 to the school buildings as can be seen in the inner courtyard. The buildings and site then became the asset of the King Edward VI Site Foundation Charity in 1923.
The Mansion remained as a school and in 1965 it was merged with the girls high school and Redworth Secondary Modern School to form King Edward VI Community School which moved to Ashburton Road in the early 1970s, it was at this time that the Mansion became a Sixth Form Colleage. The Mansion then went on to be used as an adult education centre under Devon County Council.
In 2016 Devon County Council withdrew from being the sole Trustee and further education facilities were ended. The Mansion was ‘gifted’ to the town. Since 2017 Totnes Community builders (TCB, formerly TCDS – Totnes Development Society) have been managing the Mansion site & buildings for the KEVICSF charity.
Cricket Team 1920
Sixth Formers in the Courtyard 1969
Pulse Youth Club 1980s
Mansion frontage 1930s
Portico refurbishment in 2024
Five courts 1970s
School Photo 1931
Woodwork Class 1950s
Redevelopment of the courtyard 2005
Courtyard Markets 2025
Stretch and Sketch Old School Hall 2025
Courtyard 2025
Today
In 2016 Devon County Council withdrew from being the sole Trustee for the KEVICSF charity. Totnes Community Development Society (TCDS) took on management of the Mansion site & buildings. The Mansion closed during COVID which had quite an impact on the site and Learn Devon discontinued it’s further education activities at The Mansion.
In May 2021, the building re-opened and since then work has been slowly building to improve everything across the site including expanding the offering of hireable spaces, building up the volunteer support, increasing staffing capacity and linking in with more local businesses and organisations.
In 2025, TCDS stepped back from management of the site, enabling the charity to operate in an independent capacity.
Today the Mansion is a vibrant community hub, welcoming local people and visitors to work, socialise and create.
We are home to many organisations including Totnes Library, Rainbow Nursery, Totnes Bike Hub, Transition Town Totnes, the Alexander Technique School and Totnes Climate Hub. The site has a selection of sessional hire spaces which offer a wide variety of classes from art, pottery and dance to theatre and exercise. The spaces are also used to hold meetings, events and our on-site co-working space.
In the heart of The Mansion you’ll find Canteen, our very popular café which spills out onto our inner courtyard and is open to all, 9 – 4, Mon – Sat.
Throughout the year we hold events in the front and inner courtyards and the newly refurbished Old School Hall.
The Mansion is a busy place, there is always something happening and it’s here for the community.
