Victorian Art & Design
William Morris Places to Visit
Red House, Bexleyheath in Kent, acquired by the National Trust, in January 2003, designed for Morris and his bride by Philip Webb. The upstairs living room still has the huge settle with the Minstrels Gallery, from which Morris pelted his friends with apples, and the brick fireplace by Webb and the unfinished wall paintings by Burne-Jones. Stained glass quarries by Morris and Webb with two figures by Burne-Jones still adorn the corridors. Entry by advance booking only, phone the NT on 01494 755 588 to book on one hour guided tours.
Standen, a National Trust house near East Grinstead in West Sussex, telephone 01342 323029, house open Wed-Sun 12.30-4pm, late March to early Nov. The house was designed by Philip Webb. It has its original Morris wallpapers, textiles and furniture, the St.Agnes tapestry from a Burne-Jones stained glass design and several embroideries.
Wightwick Manor, a National Trust house near Wolverhampton, telephone 01902 761108, house open Thurs and Sat 1.30-4.30. The original Morris textiles and wallpapers include two woven textiles fixed on walls: Morris's Dove and Rose and Dearle's Diagonal Trail. The house also has Burne-Jones's painting Love Among the Ruins.
The William Morris Gallery at Walthamstow was one of Morris's childhood homes, telephone 020 8527 3782, open Tues- Sat and first Sun 10-1 and 2-5. It has an excellent selection of Morris designs and furniture, including Morris's Woodpecker Tapestry. The hand painted tiles include The Months and Burne-Jones's fairy tale tiles. It also has work by other Arts and Crafts designers. There are well captioned pictures on their web-site www.lbwf.gov.uk/wmg
Kelmscott Manor, click on the link to the Cotswolds below.
Kelmscott House,26 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, the basement is open, on Thursday and Saturday, 2-5pm. telephone 020 8741 3735. It is the home of the William Morris Society, They have a good display of wallpaper samples, also designs and some embroideries, and Sat lectures. www.morrissociety.org. (U.S.A and U.K.)
The Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, telephone 020 7942 2000. 'The Morris Room' was designed in the 1860s by the firm as 'The Green Dining Room' for the South Kensington Museum, now the V&A. Webb designed the moulded olive branch design on the walls. Burne-Jones designed the windows and the painted figures on the dado, which also has branches of fruit and flowers by Morris. The museum has many other items by Morris. There are more windows by Burne-Jones, windows by Morris with minstrels and by Rossetti with The Legend of St George. Morris also painted this legend on The St George Cabinet. The Textile Study Room has embroidery and woven and printed textile samples by Morris. Other items are on view in the British Galleries which reopened in 2001
Churches with Morris and Burne-Jones stained glass windows
Cathedrals are usually open. Oxford Cathedral has five Burne-Jones windows, but churches often have to be locked, so that it is
necessary to telephone before a visit. The phone numbers for
over thirty churches with fine Morris and Burne-Jones windows, mostly in Oxford
and the Cotswolds can be found in Ann S. Dean's book, Burne-Jones and William
Morris in Oxford and the Surrounding Area. It also identifies which artist designed each of the figures. Click on
'Morris Books' below for details.
Morris Books
Morris and Burne-Jones in the Cotswolds
Morris in Brighton Morris stained glass