Discovery of historic documents reveals new information on the history of West Dean House and Gardens

Original plans for historic West Dean House and Gardens have been discovered among previously uncatalogued material, revealing new information about the estate's history.
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Conservation studies students made the exciting discoveries while working on various material found in West Dean’s gardens and workshops.

Their work has brought to light new information about the development of West Dean and its gardens over the past 50 years as West Dean College of Arts and Conservation.

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Amelia Johnson, Christina Perkins and Leszek Knyrek, graduate diploma students specialising in books and library materials, started by sorting through and cataloguing old plans and drawings of the house, workshops and gardens from the 1900s to 1990s.

The arboretum at West Dean College in 2009The arboretum at West Dean College in 2009
The arboretum at West Dean College in 2009
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Christina said: "I have enjoyed working on the garden archives project. My favourite part of the project was figuring out the history behind the architectural and garden drawings. Being involved in a little sleuthing and a lot of documentation made these hidden gems available again.”

One of the drawings of the house, workshops and gardens from the 1970s to 1990sOne of the drawings of the house, workshops and gardens from the 1970s to 1990s
One of the drawings of the house, workshops and gardens from the 1970s to 1990s
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The country estate, on the A286, six miles north of Chichester, has approximately 6,350 acres of land, dating back to 1086, with various royal connections through the years.

West Dean College was founded there in 1971 by poet and Surrealist Edward James, who was recognised by BBC Arts as 'the greatest patron of art of the early 20th century’. It is part of the Edward James Foundation charity, which also includes West Dean Gardens, West Dean Estate and West Dean Tapestry Studio.

Among the new documents discovered were the original plans, which show West Dean House and gardens in the 1900s, before the pergola was built by Harold Peto for William and Evelyn James in 1911.Another plan shows how the house was laid out when it was Wispers School, an independent boarding school for girls, in 1969.

This reveals that the rooms in the house were used very differently for teaching and boarding pupils, and ties in with the memories the college has been recently collecting from former pupils.

Sorting through plans including those for Wispers SchoolSorting through plans including those for Wispers School
Sorting through plans including those for Wispers School
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The students working on the project are based in the books workshop but the plans show this was previously a classroom for teaching art.

Architectural plans and hand-coloured elevations show the conversion of the stables and courtyards at the east end of the building for the new college workshops. Another set of plans show the innovative biomass heating system installed in the 1980s.

Details have also been uncovered about an extensive herbarium of ferns donated to the Edward James Foundation in 2001 by a fern specialist who had collected them for more than 30 years.

The work by Amelia, Christina and Leszek over the two-week preventative conservation project has resulted in all this material being assessed, sorted, catalogued, cleaned and digitised.

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All the items have now been transferred to archival storage, where it can be accessed for research and interpretation.

West Dean College of Arts and Conservation has an international reputation for excellence and is a full partner of the University of Sussex.

Students regularly work with material from its collection and archive, as well as objects from museums and private collections, thanks to the college’s extensive links with the heritage sector.

For conservation and fine art study opportunities, visit www.westdean.ac.uk. Applications for conservation studies specialisms, including books, ceramics, clocks, furniture and metalwork, are open for September 2022 and 2023. Register online now for the open day in November.

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