Plough Arts Centre

Originally the late 1500s town house of a wealthy merchant, the building became The Plough Inn from 1750 to 1910. The pub was demolished in 1912, having been used as a cow barn in 1911, and replaced with a drill hall in 1913. The Army gave up the lease 1968 which the Town Council sold to TARA in 1974. The Plough Arts Centre opened on 11 April 1975. From 1992 to 2002, The Plough merged with the Beaford Centre (later Beaford Arts), which had been established by the Dartington Hall Trust. This allowed major refurbishment including the modernisation of the theatre/cinema and film projection facilities, a new gallery space, workshop and dance studio, storage facilities, as well as improvements to the bar/cafe/foyer on the ground floor. Despite the threat of closure in 2002, the Plough remains "the largest arts centre in the smallest town".