West Dean College

West Dean College is part of the Edward James Foundation, established in 1964, a charitable trust located at Chichester, England which later on opened as West Dean College in 1971.

The College is an internationally recommended institution for applied arts, conservation and restoration. The College imparts training programmes in tapestry weaving and musical instruments at both intermediate and advanced levels. The College is associated with the British Museum, Slade School of Fine Arts, the Albert Museum, Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Courtauld Institute and Institute of Conservation.

West Dean offers MA Degree and Diplomas programmes in Conservation Studies, Making, Creative Writing and Visual Arts that validated by the University of Sussex.

The college also offers more than 700 short courses each year covering various subjects including screenprinting, chair making, Chinese painting, making leather bags, embroidery, silversmithing, creating a kitchen garden, landscape photography, singing, creative writing, and so on.

The unique ruinette at West Dean - on which students can practise conservation and repair techniques - is a purpose-built structure exhibiting many of the problems found on historic buildings.

West Dean College do provides 52 comfortably furnished bedrooms for the students on accommodation purpose in the main house. Many of these rooms feature antique furniture, private bathrooms and/or views over the surrounding the West Dean Gardens.

West Dean College and Gardens are situated in South East England, six miles north of the historic city of Chichester and 12 miles from the south coast.

West Dean College and West Dean Gardens are each accessible by train and bus. Each has free parking with designated spaces for disabled visitors. The Gardens car park also has reserved parking for coaches.