All our courses are FREE to Wounded Injured and Sick (WIS) veterans, for other veterans, a 10% discount is available. To apply for any of this training, or to find out more, simply e-mail us at [email protected] or call the workshop on 07475-934524.
Beginners’ Introduction to Bookbinding Sessions – As part of the Phoenix Centre’s Rolling Recovery Programme (RRP) at Tedworth House, Tidworth, we have provided monthly introductory bookbinding lessons available to those who are participating in the programme. These last under two hours and are designed to give WIS veterans a taste of the basic skills and techniques we use, and an introduction to the tools and materials required for bookbinding. Every student goes away with a high-quality notebook that they will have made themselves. These sessions are great fun and very therapeutic, aiding both concentration and confidence.
In addition to the introduction courses at Tedworth House, introduction courses are also available at:
- The Royal Maritime Club – Portsmouth – through Veterans Outreach Support (VOS). Contact Wendy Pearson [email protected]
- Veterans Tribe Scotland (VTS): Contact Gerry McGregor for more details on: [email protected]
- H4H Scotland Students can contact Emma Weir at: [email protected]
Training Courses – We run a progressive series of courses in bookbinding that cater for the absolute beginner and cover all the skills needed to achieve a Level 3 City & Guilds certificate in bookbinding (for a list of the available courses, see our course list below.) Courses are normally held in our own classroom at the Daffodil Barn, and are normally run as full-time 3-day or 5-day course, however, during the Covid-19 pandemic many courses had to be cancelled and on-line tutorials via Zoom were developed and have proved very successful. See the table of courses below. In addition we have developed some one-day workshops to enable people undertake parts of the C&G courses in smaller chunks.
City & Guilds Awards – There is no requirement to apply for City & Guilds awards, but our members are automatically registered, and application for these nationally recognised qualifications is strongly encouraged. Courses and awards are available at Level 1, 2 and 3, and each course covers the syllabus of one City & Guilds “Unit”. By completing a Unit, a WIS member can achieve a single craft Award. For example, the successful completion of the Beginners’ Course (Unit 118) qualifies for a City & Guilds Award.
WIS members who wish to apply for a Certificate in Bookbinding simply need to complete the two Units for each Level and also one of our Craft Design courses. Awards and Qualifications are graded: at Pass, Merit and Distinction.
COURSES AT THE DAFFODIL BARN (WOODBOROUGH), TEDWORTH HOUSE (TIDWORTH), ROYAL MARITIME CLUB (PORTSMOUTH) (VOS) AND ON-LINE ZOOM COURSES – 2026
| February 2026 | ||
| 16-20 Feb (Mon-Fri) | C&G Level 2 – Unit 221 (Alternative snd Historic Binding). Cost: £20 for materials (for further details contact Wendy at [email protected]). This course is the second unit in the Level 2 C&G certificate in Bookbinding. Please note the Level 2 units can be done in any order. You will learn how to make a range of non-adhesive bindings, including a Coptic binding. For those with a little bookbinding experience. | The Barn Woodborough |
| 24 Feb (Tue) (1030-1230) | BBV Introduction to Bookbinding Session at Tedworth House. This short session is for RRP students at Tedworth House only. Students will have the opportunity to learn some basic bookbinding techniques and make a small notebook. | Tedworth House |
| 25 Feb (Fri) (1400-1600) | Intro Course – Veteran Outreach Support (VOS) Portsmouth. Group in-person two-hour session held at Portsmouth. For further details contact Wendy Pearson ([email protected]), facilitator for VOSP. | |
| March 2026 | ||
| 10-12 Mar (Tue-Thu), 18-19 Mar (Wed-Thu) | C&G Level 1 – Unit 118 Single and Multi-section Bindings (ON LINE ZOOM – FOR ANY STUDENT). Cost: £20 for materials (for further details contact Wendy at [email protected]). For complete beginners, this is the first unit in the Level 1 C&G certificate in Bookbinding. | On Line Course |
| 12-17 Mar (Thu-Tue) | Level 3 Module – Springback Binding. A ledger or springback binding developed in the early nineteenth century for record books that need to open flat. Sewn on heavy webbing with cloth-jointed endpapers, laminated flanges, split boards, and a moulded spine to create the springback. Usually covered in reverse calf, goatskin, or vellum. Students should have completed the equivalent of C&G Level 2. | The Barn Woodborough |
| 24 Mar (Tue) (1030-1230) | BBV Introduction to Bookbinding Session at Tedworth House. This short session is for RRP students at Tedworth House only. Students will have the opportunity to learn some basic bookbinding techniques and make a small notebook. | Tedworth House |
| 24-26 Mar (Tue-Thu) | Level 3 Module – Gold Finishing. Learn traditional gold tooling using hand tools and typeholder and decorate a leather label. | The Barn Woodborough |
| April 2026 | ||
| 20-24 Apr (Mon-Fri) | C&G Level 1 – Unit 119 (Photograph Albums & Slipcase). Cost: £20 for materials (for further details contact Wendy at [email protected]). Learn two photograph album structures and a lined cloth slipcase. | The Barn Woodborough |
| 21 Apr (Tue) (1030-1230) | BBV Introduction to Bookbinding Session at Tedworth House. This short session is for RRP students at Tedworth House only. | Tedworth House |
| May 2026 | ||
| 5-6 May & 12-14 May | C&G Level 1 – Unit 119 (Photograph Albums & Slipcase) ON LINE COURSE VIA ZOOM. Cost: £20 for materials (contact Wendy at [email protected]). Taught by Mylyn. | On Line Course |
| 6-8 May (Wed-Fri) | Level 3 Module – Storage and Enclosures I (Lift-off Lid, Phase Box, Portfolio). Taught by Jonathan Powell. | The Barn Woodborough |
| 13-14 May (Wed-Thu) | Level 3 Diploma Module – Paper Repairs. When rebinding old books it will often be necessary to repair sections, tears and gaps. During this two-day course Christian will teach you several methods of paper repair and infill using both western laid papers and Japanese tissues. | The Barn Woodborough |
| 19 May (Tue) (1030-1230) | BBV Introduction to Bookbinding Session at Tedworth House. For RRP students only. | Tedworth House |
| 19-22 May (Tue-Fri) | Level 3 – Fine Binding. Traditional fine leather binding including sewing headbands, lacing boards, full leather covering, and endpapers. Students should have completed Level 2 equivalent. | The Barn Woodborough |
| June 2026 | ||
| 9-10 Jun (Tue-Wed) | Level 3 Module – Cloth Re-back. One of the most useful skills to learn if you are trying to make a living from bookbinding, this two-day course covers methods of repair and how to reback cloth hardback bindings. | The Barn Woodborough |
| 16-18 Jun (Tue-Thu) | Level 3 Module – Storage and Enclosures II (Cloth Drop Back Box & Brass Post Folder). The second of the trio of Storage and Enclosures courses. | The Barn Woodborough |
| 30 Jun (Tue) (1030-1230) | BBV Introduction to Bookbinding Session at Tedworth House. For RRP students only. | Tedworth House |
| July 2026 | ||
| 7-10 Jul (Tue-Fri) | Level 3 Module – Storage and Enclosures III. Quarter leather rounded spine dropback box for fine bindings. This box is the final instalment in the Storage & Enclosures section of the Level 3 curriculum, and builds on the knowledge of S&E 2. The more luxurious quarter leather rounded spine dropback box is suitable for the storage of fine leather bindings and design bindings. | The Barn Woodborough |
| 27-31 Jul (Mon-Fri) | C&G Level 1 – Unit 118 (Beginners Bookbinding). Core skills and multi-section bindings. | The Barn Woodborough |
| 28 Jul (Tue) (1030-1230) | BBV Introduction to Bookbinding Session at Tedworth House. For RRP students only. | Tedworth House |
| August 2026 | ||
| 10-14 Aug (Mon-Fri) | C&G Level 2 – Unit 220. Cost: £20 for materials (for further details contact Wendy at [email protected]). This is the first unit in the C&G Level 2 certificate. Please note the Level 2 Units can be done in any order. On this course you will avance to working with leather and create a multi-section case binding in quarter and half leather styles. A half day lesson on how to keep knives and tools sharp with Richard Renoef is included in this course. Includes a half-day knife and tool sharpening session. |
The Barn Woodborough |
| September 2026 | ||
| 10 Sep (Thu) | C&G Level 3 Module – Edge Decoration. Decorative and protective edge finishes including sprinkling, marbling, paste, gauffering, and gold leaf. | The Barn Woodborough |
| 14-18 Sep (Mon-Fri) | C&G Level 1 – Unit 119 (Photograph Albums & Slipcase) Cost: £20 for materials (for further details contact Wendy at [email protected]) For those with a little bookbinding experience, this course is the second unit necessary for the Level 1 C&G certificate in Bookbinding, where you will learn how to make two different types of photograph album, one with folded guards, and one with stiff boards, and a lined cloth slipcase. | The Barn Woodborough |
| October 2026 | ||
| 30 Sept – 3 Oct (Mon-Fri) | C&G Level 3 Module – Leather Reback. | The Barn Woodborough |