Graham Vanstone retires after nearly 50 years with Clinton Devon Estates
Accountant Graham Vanstone has seen book-keeping move from heavy manual ledgers - which looked like something from Charles Dickens’ time - to the 21st century computer age.
His near 50-year career with Clinton Devon Estates ended in June 2025 and he says there has rarely been a dull day at work.
Graham, 65, joined the Estates’ offices, then at Syon House, East Budleigh, after leaving secondary school in Sidmouth in 1976 and working for a short time on his parents’ market garden.
He said initially all the accounts had to be recorded manually in large ledgers which Tiny Tim from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol would have recognised, but by the early 1980s rural estates were adopting computers.
For Graham that meant trips to Plymouth for training on the new system – which he admitted was something of a culture shock for a boy from East Devon.
But his career moved up a gear when it was suggested to him by the Estates’ senior management team that he continue his accountancy education to become qualified.
He attended Exeter College for two nights a week to gain his Association of Accounting Technicians qualification.
Developments in technology saw Graham oversee the move to a more sophisticated computer system and take responsibility for the insurance aspects of the Estate.
He said the arrival of Chief Executive John Varley in 2000 brought further changes and modernisation, including the decision to enter Clinton Devon Estates into the Sunday Times business awards.
Graham was heavily involved in gathering the data to enter the awards and helped the Estates to win accolades as one of the UK’s best companies to work.
His management of the insurance aspects of the Estates saw him invited to join the Insurance Council of Exeter and he went on to represent the South West at the Chartered Institute of Insurance.
Graham leaves Clinton Devon Estates as one of its longest serving members of staff.
He said it has been a consistently fascinating job, and he paid tribute to his colleagues, the Clinton family and the tenants of the Estate. He said he had stayed at the Clinton Devon Estates for almost half a century in large part because of the principles which underpin the way it is run – with a long-term view and a sense of responsibility to the community and the environment.
“It’s one of the reasons that I have stayed here,” he said. “I believe in the ethos of the Estates, providing local people with housing and local people with commercial property so they can live and work in the area.”
John Varley, Estates CEO, said: “Graham has combined a strong sense of the traditions of the Estates with a readiness to adapt to changing times. We are grateful for his careful management of the accounts over such a long period and wish him the very best in retirement.”
During his time Graham has seen the Estate undertake the development of new homes on its land, bring forward the Lower Otter Restoration Project, to improve the wildlife habitat and mitigate climate change, and create new purpose-built Estates’ headquarters at the Rolle Estate Office within Bicton Arena.
As a keen cricketer in his younger days and an enthusiastic spectator today, he has been particularly pleased to see the creation of the new ground and clubhouse for Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club – part of the Lower Otter Restoration Project.
The club has now moved to a flood-free pitch, with improved facilities enabling them to grow youth, women’s and disability cricket with a stunning new pavilion. Graham said he and his wife, Jo, were members and enjoying the enhanced facilities, which were opened by the late Lord Clinton in November 2023.
He and Jo, who he praised for her support throughout his career, plan to spend their retirement exploring the parts of East Devon he never got to see while working. “I have seen them named in the accounts – but still haven’t visited all of them,” he joked.
More gardening, ballroom dancing and watching sport are also on the agenda.
