We spoke to Brenda Keneghan, a conservation consultant in modern materials and West Dean’s Identification of Plastic Materials course tutor about the historical development of plastics, the future of plastic artefacts in museums, and the challenges and considerations facing plastic preservation.

Discover the rewarding career of a conservator, where you can combine craftsmanship and science to preserve and restore cultural heritage for future generations.

Over summer, students and tutors from the metalwork and furniture conservation programs undertook the conservation of a Schubert's Veneer Press.

Ceramics and related materials graduate, Elena Novković, updates us on life after graduation and working as a stone conservator for Historic Environment Scotland.

This year, ceramics conservation students worked on the conservation treatment of a tea-service designed by Salvador Dalí. The objects have now been put on display in the Tower Suite at West Dean for visitors to view on our exclusive House Tours.

A blog post by Metals Conservation student, Katherine Hernon-Johnson, recently took part in a project which invloved making a 16th/17th century padlock, artificially corroding the lock and finally practicing conservation by bringing the lock back to it's original state.

This spring term, the metals conservation students were given a whole suit of armour to clean, conserve and rebuild.

Each year, students on the MA Conservation Studies programmes undertake a six-week work placement in industry as part of their studies. Here, students across our Ceramics, Furniture and Books specialisms tell us about their placement experiences.

In this blog post, MA Conservation Studies student Elizabeth investigates what lies beneath the surface of a 16th Century Miaolica Dish from The Russell-Cotes Museum.