No 3 Boarding House Orchards

No. 3 Boarding House, located within the grounds of Dartington Hall, was built between 1935 and 1940. It was designed by W.E. Lescaze of Howe and Lescaze of America, with assistance from R. Hening. The building is constructed of rendered brick with a plain concrete coping to the parapet, concealing a flat roof. There are two small rendered stacks on the roof. The plan is generally rectangular, with a projection to the right of the east front. The entrance, located towards the right (north) end, leads to a rear staircase and a longitudinal passage. This passage provides access to a kindergarten classroom, a playroom, a dining/playroom, a kitchen, a cloakroom, a housefather's flat, and a bicycle repair room. The first floor is positioned over a covered playground at the south end; a longitudinal spine corridor opens onto children's bedsitting rooms, bathrooms, lavatories, and a trunk room. A balcony is accessed from the housemothers' flat at the right-hand end. The building is an example of the International Modern Style.

The east front features a projecting right-hand section with a recessed entrance area. The remainder of the ground storey is advanced, with a balustrade of steel tube and mesh above. The first floor, which is set back behind the ground storey, projects at the left end over a covered area, supported by three slender steel posts. A continuous band of ground storey windows extends around the left-hand end, beneath the first floor projection. The first horizontal band of windows is continuous, with each light separated by a concrete pier. The rear (west) elevation has a symmetrical arrangement of windows and a rectangular stair window towards the left. A low integral wall surrounds part of the covered area on the south end, its concrete coping extended as the cill to the ground floor windows on the east elevation. Original steel window frames are present throughout. A later steel fire escape is situated on the south end. The interior of the building has not been inspected. No. 3 Boarding House is one of three similar boarding houses constructed at Dartington School by Lescaze, alongside No. 1 (Blacklers) and No. 2 (Chimmels).