School of Conservation Alumni

West Dean College's Conservation graduates have gone on to work at many institutions, including: Bodleian Library, Boerhaave Museum, The British Museum, Canadian Conservation Institute, Columbia University Libraries, Gold Museum, Museum of London, Mational Museums Scotland, Plowden and Smith Ltd, Royal Swedish Palaces, Smithsonian Museums, The Clockworks Museum, The National Archives, National Trust, The Royal Collections, Windsor Castle and Royal Museums Grenwich. Others have gone into private practice.

Alumni Profiles

Margot Murray

2015 - 2017

MA Conservation Studies, specialising in Ceramics

Brittany Cox

2010 - 2012

MA Conservation Studies, specialising in Clocks and Related Objects

Sharon Robinson-Calver

1994 - 1996

MA Conservation Studies specialising in Metals Conservation

Noah Smutz

2013 - 2015

MA Conservation Studies specialising in Books and Library Materials

Christine McNair

2003 - 2005

MA Conservation Studies specialising in Books and Library Materials

Helen Robertson

2011 - 2012

MA Conservation Studies

The Sticky Issue of Making Paste (Part II)

By Mito Matsumaru, MA Conservation Studies (Alumna, 2018)

In a previous post I described the initial stages of my research in the properties and preparation of wheat starch paste.

I will now continue with an outline description of the quantitative and qualitative tests my paste samples were subjected to in order to identify which parameters might influence the properties of... Find out more

Alumnus George de Fossard - creator of The Solar Time Clock - shares his career path

The Solar Time Clock is attracting international attention as the first super complex mechanical clock which can be set for longitude and latitude, allowing it to tell the time virtually anywhere in the world. No other mechanical clock has ever been made with such a complication.

The clock is the creation of British clockmaker George de Fossard FBHI, who has spent more than three... Find out more

Alumna Dorothy Cheng completes an internship in New York

Dorothy Cheng, who graduated from West Dean College's Metalwork Conservation MA last year, is on a 10-week internship with the New York City parks department's Citywide Monuments Conservation Program.

As part of their professional training, student conservators at West Dean work on heritage projects from public and private collections. Study trips are spent at heritage organisations... Find out more

Experience as a Conservator in Singapore

By Mariko Watanabe

Since I left the West Dean College in September 2013, I've been working as a book and paper conservator at a local company, Q Art Conservation. Initially this company started as a framing company, Q Framing Group, offering framing services using conservation-quality materials.

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Contract Conservation at the Smithsonian

Author's Note: This post originally appeared on the Smithsonian Libraries' blog and has been re-posted here, featuring revisions geared towards the West Dean blog audience, with the generous consent of the Institution. Since this post was originally written and published, the project has progressed further, which will be discussed toward the end of this entry.

Greetings from America!... Find out more

Sir Kingslydale the Automaton Bear

Dear readers. It's been a very long time since my last post.

Since graduating from West Dean, I am now a self-employed horological conservator in Seattle, Washington and have my own blog called The Automata Cabinet where I catalogue my many ventures in the world of horology.

I'd like to share with you the story of Kingslydale the automaton bear.