WHERE TO LEARN MORE
KELMSCOTT MANOR, LECHLADE
Owned by the Society of Antiquaries of London, Kelmscott Manor reopened earlier this year after major restoration. The house has furniture, pictures, textiles and objects by William Morris, his family and circle. Visitors can wander the garden and landscape that inspired Morris. sal.org.uk/kelmscott-manor
STANDEN HOUSE & GARDEN, EAST GRINSTEAD, WEST SUSSEX
Once the Sussex retreat of James and Margaret Beale, this house was designed by Philip Webb and built between 1891 and 1894. It is one of the finest examples of Arts and Crafts workmanship, featuring Morris & Co interiors. nationaltrust.org.uk/ standen-house-and-garden
RED HOUSE,
BEXLEYHEATH, LONDON Commissioned and lived in by William Morris, Red House was designed by Philip Webb and built by 1860. Called “the beautifullest place on Earth” by Edward Burne-Jones, it features art by Morris and Webb, stained glass by BurneJones and embroidery by Jane and Elizabeth Burden. nationaltrust.org.uk/ red-house
V&A, LONDON
Influenced by the Gothic Revival and medieval style, Morris and his firm created a restful, blue-green scheme for a new space at the South Kensington Museum in the 1860s, now the V&A, which has a collection of Morris works, bequeathed by his daughter May. Now known as the Green Dining Room, the room can be viewed today. vam.ac.uk
WILLIAM MORRIS GALLERY, WALTHAMSTOW, LONDON
This gallery is in the Georgian mansion Water House, where Morris lived with his widowed mother and his eight brothers and sisters from 1848 to 1856. wmgallery.org.uk
of the Arts & Crafts
Movement, which took its name from the Arts and Crafts Exhibition
Society, founded in
London in 1887. The movement spread in large cities, but many people moved to places such as the Lake
District, Cornwall and the Cotswolds to set up craft communities.
Later in life, Morris realised his products were out of reach for most people. Increasingly concerned about social inequality, he became more active politically and formed the Socialist League. His 1890 novel, the socialist masterpiece News From Nowhere, offers a romantic vision of a world free from capitalism, isolation and industrialisation. Kelmscott Manor’s architecture is woven into the book – an old stone house stands at the end of this tale exploring utopian ideals.
After his death, Jane commissioned a pair of cottages in Kelmscott as a memorial to her late husband. Designed by Webb, Memorial Cottages feature a relief carved into the exterior by George Jack. It depicts idealist Morris sitting in a pastoral paradise. Somehow, down this lane away from our even more fragile and damaged world, in a rural idyll still intact, you can imagine, for a second, that Morris’ dream of a better future could still become a reality.