Who was William Morris?
William Morris was an artist, poet and and influential
interior designer of the nineteenth century.
Date and Place of Birth:
24th March 1834, Elm House, Walthamstow, London,
England.
Family Background:
Morris was born into a comfortably off middle
class family.
Education:
Marlborough College. Studied for Holy Orders
at Exeter College, Oxford (where he met Burne-Jones).(Renounced
the church and then studied architecture).
Chronology/Biography of William Morris:
1840: Family moves
to Woodford Hall, near Epping Forest.
1847: Death of Morris's
father.
1848: Goes to Marlborough
College.
1851: Visits the
Great Exhibition in London. Studies at home for his examinations.
1852: Morris finishes
his education privately with the Reverend F. B. Guy.
1853: Begins theological
studies at Oxford University.
1855: Is granted
a private income.
1856: Morris becomes
an articled Clerk to G. E. Street.
1857: Helps to paint
the frescoes at the Oxford Union.
1859: After marrying
the model Jane Burden they move into the Red House at Upton in Kent,
which he designed and furnished with help from the architect Philip
Webb.
1861: Morris, Marshall
and Faulkner and Co is founded. Birth of his daughter Jenny.
Broadway Tower, Worcestershire which Morris hired.
(© Anthony Blagg)
1862: Morris's firm
exhibit at the International Exhibition. Birth of his daughter May.
1864: Issues his
first design of wallpaper called "Trellis".
1865: The family
moves to 26 Queen Square, Bloomsbury, London.
1866: Morris given
the jobs of decorating the Green Dining Room in the South Kensington
Museum and the Armoury and Tapestry Rooms at St. Jame's Palace.
1869: Morris begins
working on calligraphy and illuminating manuscripts.
1871: Travels around
Iceland. Takes on the joint
tenancy of Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire with Dante
Gabriel Rossetti. His wife Jane and Rossetti have an affair.
1872: Moves from
Bloomsbury to Horrington House in Chiswick.
1873: Visits Italy
and Iceland. Design of the first chintz pattern called "Tulip
and Willow"
1874: Morris's firm
is reconstituted as Morris and Company. End of the affair between
Rossetti and Jane.
1875: He makes his
first two designs for Wilton Carpets. Buys out his partners to form
the firm Morris and Company.
1876: Serves as
an examiner at the South Kensington School of Art.
1877: Takes up carpet
weaving. Founds the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.
Lectures in public on the decorative arts.
1878: Moves to 26
Upper Mall, Hammersmith, London.
1879: Morris becomes
Treasurer of the National Liberal League.
1881: Establishment
of Merton Abbey Works. Begins weaving tapestries.
1882: Takes on Frank
Brangwyn as an apprentice.
1883: Joins the
Social Democratic Federation.
1884: Morris becomes
the leader of the Socialist League. Lectures on textile fabrics
at the International Health Exhibition
1885: He is arrested
after an assault on a policemen but is later released as a well
known man of letters.
1887: Riots take
place in Trafalgar Square.
1888: Founding of
the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society by Walter Crane.
1889: Morris goes
to Paris to attend the International Conference of Socialists.
1890: He withdraws
form the Socialist League.
1891: The Kelmscott
Press is founded.Refuses the offer of becoming Poet Laureate.
1893: First issue
of the journal "The Studio" is published.
1895: Morris starts
to become ill.
1896: Travels in
Norway.
Written Works:
- 1858: “The Defence
of Guenevere and Other Poems.”
- 1867:
“The Life and Death of Jason.”
- 1868:
“The Earthly Paradise.”
- 1872: “Love
is Enough, A Morality.”
- 1874:
“The Aeneid of Virgil.”
- 1876: “The Story
of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs.”
- 1882: “Hopes
and Fears for Art.” “Ouida.” ” In Maremma.”
- 1885:
“Chants for Socialists.”
- 1886: “The
Pilgrims of Hope.”
- 1887: “The
Odyssey.”
- 1888:
"A Dream of John Ball and a King's Lesson". "Signs
of Change."
- 1889:
“The House of the Wollings.”
- 1890:
“News from Nowhere.”
- 1891: “The
Story of the Glittering Plain.”
- 1894:
“The Wood Beyond the World.” "How I became a Socialist".
- 1895:
“Child Christopher and Goldikind the Fair.”
- 1896:
“The Well at the World's End.”
- (1912):
“Collected Works.”
Marriage:
26th April 1859: To Jane Burden a model.
Date and Place of Death:
3rd October 1896, Hammersmith, London, England.
Age at Death:
62.
Site of Grave:
St. George’s Church, Kelmscott, Oxfordshire.
Places of Interest:
CAMBRIDGESHIRE:
The Stained Glass Museum, Ely
GLOUCESTERSHIRE:
Kelmscott Manor, Kelmscott near
Lechlade
Memorial Cottage, Kelmscott
KENT:
The Red House, Near Bexley Heath. (Owned by the
Naional Trust)
LONDON:
William Morris Gallery,Water House, Lloyd Park,
Walthamstow
Merton Abbey Works, Merton
Red House, Bexley Heath
St. James Palace
Victoria and Albert Museum
6 Queen's Square, Westminster
OXFORDSHIRE:
All Saint's Church, Middleton Cheney
St. Mary's Church, Bloxham
NORFOLK:
Norwich Castle Museum.
WOLVERHAMPTON:
Wightwick Manor (Holds many original Morris decorations
even though he never visited himself).
WORCESTERSHIRE:
Broadway Tower, at the top of Fish Hill, near
Broadway. Has a room devoted to William Morris.
Further Information:
