Totleigh Barton Manor, Sheepwash, Devon, one of the writing centres of the Arvon Foundation.
The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations.[1]
Arvon was founded in 1968 by two young poets, John Fairfax and John Moat.[3] It runs residential writing courses at writing houses in three rural locations: Totleigh Barton, a 16th-century manor house in Devon; The Hurst, a manor house in Shropshire, which formerly belonged to the playwright John Osborne; and the former home of Ted Hughes, Lumb Bank, a 17th-century mill-owner's house hear Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire.[4]
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation established Arvon at Home, an online offering of courses. Due to its success, Arvon at Home is now considered a permanent "fourth house."[5]
The courses and writing retreats, some open to all-comers, others specially organised with schools or partner charities, provide space and time to practise writing with guidance from published authors. The charity also operates a grant scheme for low-income writers.[6]
Each of the writing houses has its own director, [2] while Richard Haseldine is the CFO and Operations Director.
Its national office was formerly at Free Word, a centre for literature, literacy and free expression in Farringdon, London. Free Word closed in May 2021 with its resident organisations, including Arvon, vacating.[8] As of June 2021, Arvon's national office is based out of Clerkenwell Workshops.[9] Its registered office is now its Lumb Bank location.[10]
