Our Story
History
‘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. In 1896 a society was formed made up of past alumni of the grammar school called ‘The Old Totnesians Society’, scroll down the page to read more about them.
Further additions were made to the site 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 1966 it was merged with the Totnes High School for Girls and Redworth Secondary Modern School to form King Edward VI Community College (KEVICC) which moved to Ashburton Road in 1972, it was at this time that the Mansion became a Sixth Form College. The Mansion later 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. From 2017 Totnes Community builders (TCB, formerly TCDS – Totnes Development Society) were managing the Mansion site & buildings for the KEVICSF charity.
Old Totnesians Society
In 1896 The Old Totnesians Society (OTS) was formed, nine years after the grammar school moved to The Mansion. The society was made up of former alumni from Totnes Grammar School and later (20th Century) included those who attended Totnes High School for Girls and King Edward VI Community College (KEVICC) when the schools merged together, before moving to the current site on Ashburton Road.
The society met regularly over the years and produced a newsletter for all members, which allowed them to all remain in touch and keep up to date with events, etc.
In 2024 The OTS held their AGM in the Old School Hall, during which The Mansion team gave a presentation to the society about everything happening on site from workshops, classes, events and our efforts to maintain the preserve the buildings.
Two members of the society, John and Mike who live locally kept in touch with the staff and trustees. When it was decided in 2025 that the society would close down, they decided to donate their remaining funds to The Mansion, for the provision of educational activities for children. Their generous donation is currently helping to fund several children’s activities, head to our What’s On page to find out more.
To thank the OTS, we held a commemorative ceremony at The Mansion in June 2025, during which all staff and trustees were able to meet the members of the society who were able to travel to Totnes that day, The members sung their school song for us and the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Matt Trant came along to see the handover of the cheque from Hazel Brandt, president of the society, to Frances Northrop, Trustee for KEVICSF at The Mansion.
Cricket Team 1920
Mansion frontage 1930s
School Photo 1931
Woodwork Class 1950s
Sixth Formers in the Courtyard 1969
Five courts 1970s
Pulse Youth Club 1980s
Redevelopment of the courtyard 2005
Portico refurbishment in 2024
Courtyard Markets 2025
Stretch and Sketch Old School Hall 2025
Courtyard 2025
Today
The Mansion closed during COVID which had quite an impact on the site. 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, Neighbourhood Work Club 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.
