As part of a range of initiatives we are launching to improve the experience we provide to the more than 80,000 guests who visit us each year, we are transforming our Gardens entrance and moving it to a new building, the Gardens Gatehouse.
Located next to our existing visitor centre, the new Gardens Gatehouse will be home to our main visitor entrance and information point, Craft Shop, Plant Nursery, Gift Shop and host our new arts and craft taster sessions.
Explore your creative side with our taster sessions in arts and crafts. Led by experienced tutors, these hands-on sessions, are delivered inside our new Gardens Gatehouse and offer the perfect opportunity to discover new crafting skills. They are designed for visitors to sample our short course offering
Date/time: Saturday, 28 March 2026. 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm
Tutor: Mary Crabb
Level: Suitable for all
Price: £45
In this two-hour taster session learn the basics of twining by creating a small spiral-based pod form.
Date/time: Saturday, 11 April 2026. 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm
Tutor: Mary Dalton
Level: Suitable for all
Price: £45
This two-hour taster session introduces participants to the creative possibilities of printmaking using minimal equipment and simple, accessible techniques that can be developed at home.
Date/time: Saturday, 18 April 2026. 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm
Tutor: Christine Forbes
Level: Suitable for all
Price: £45
This two-hour taster session introduces the pleasure of painting as pure craft, experimenting with a variety of brush techniques. You’ll create some imaginative and colourful flower shapes and use these to design your own gift cards.
Date/time: Wednesday, April 22nd 2026. 11am-1pm
Run by Wild City
Level: Suitable for all
Price: £26
Celebrate Earth Day by getting creative with a relaxed, hands-on botanical printmaking workshop led by Wild City. In this fun and informal session, you’ll use natural materials and ink to create your own one-of-a-kind prints.
Date/time: Friday, 24 April 2026. 2pm-4pm
Tutor: Mariella Baldwin
Level: Suitable for all
Price: £45
This two-hour taster session introduces students to simple colour theory.
Newly located in the Gardens Gatehouse, our Craft Shop is a treasure trove of high-quality craft supplies, materials, and creative essentials.
Easily accessible to students, staff and visitors, between the Edwards James Studios and the main House, it offers a convenient shopping opportunity for anyone starting a brand-new project, restocking on favourites, or simply browsing for ideas. The new location provides additional space for improved stock and responds to the public’s interest in accessing quality art supplies in our locality. Plans are underway to repurpose the old Craft Shop as an additional studio space to cater for our ever-growing number of short courses.
Our expanded our retail space includes some exciting new products, including West Dean chutneys and apple juice!
The Gardens Gatehouse is home to our Plant Nursery, where you can browse a selection of plants inspired by West Dean Gardens.
Grown on site in peat-free compost, our plants reflect the creativity, care, and beauty of the gardens. Whether you’re refreshing a border, starting something new, or simply love being surrounded by plants, come and be inspired.
The Gardens Gatehouse project started in 2025 with the transformation of West Dean's original biomass heating site.
In 1981, The Edward James Foundation made a commitment to environmentally sustainable energy, with the installation of one of the first woodchip-fired biomass boilers in the UK. Fueled entirely by sustainably produced materials from the West Dean Estate, the system has been heating the workshops, studios, student accommodation, and other buildings ever since.
In 2016, a new Energy Centre was brought in to supply energy to the properties serviced by the old system, with the new system allowing a further 22 residential properties on the estate to be added, with no increase in the amount of wood required.
This means the former biomass building became vacant, providing the opportunity for it to be transformed into the new facility. Materials have been repurposed to make new shelving and furniture, and in line with our heritage principles, the structure of the building has been left as close to the original as possible.
The building will be lit using LED fittings and the heating will be taken from our district heating system fed from the new biomass. As our electricity is sourced from a renewable energy supplier, the building will be as sustainable as possible without needing to demolish and start again.
| Date | Times |
|---|---|
|
Summer |
Monday-Friday: 8.30am-5pm Saturday-Sunday: 8.30am-5pm |
|
Winter |
Monday-Friday: 8.30am-4pm Saturday-Sunday: 8.30am-4pm |
|
December 24, 25 and 31 |
Closed |
Please note, the Gardens and Gardens Restaurant may have different opening times.
West Dean Gardens is part of a registered charity and its upkeep and care are only possible with the support of generous donors, friends and legacy gifts.
If you share our passion for The Gardens and gardening excellence, find out more about you can help support us for generations to come.
