Gardens Gatehouse

Gardens Gatehouse Opening Tuesday, 10 March 2026

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.

The current visitor centre will remain open in its current location until Sunday, 8 March 2026.

Short Course Tasters

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

Improve your Planting Design through Observation and Sketching

Date/time: Saturday, 21 March 2026. 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm
Tutor: Annie Guilfoyle
Level: Suitable for all
Price: £45
This fun and accessible two-hour taster session introduces the a better approach to planting design through observation and drawing.

Book Now

Introduction to Printmaking: Simple Techniques for Home Practice

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.

Book Now

Watercolour: Painting Flowers

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.

Book now

Craft shop

Located in the Gardens Gatehouse, our craft shop is home to a range of high-quality craft supplies, materials, and creative essentials. Whether you’re starting a brand-new project, restocking your favourites, or simply browsing for ideas, you’ll find everything you need to start your next creative project.

Plant nursery

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.

History of the Site

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.