William Morris – A short History

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Morris & Co opened shops in Manchester in 1883, and in May of 1887 the firm exhibited at The Manchester Royal Jubilee Exhibition, where they exhibited a number of Morris & Co designs, including two tapestry panels: St Cecilia and St Agnes. The Manchester Guardian (28 June) recorded: “William Morris, poet, designer, manufacturer and socialist [is showing] his wares… To walk through the rooms which he has furnished is to be converted on the spot to any theories that such a magician may happen to hold.”

The Firm’s commissions for stained glass took them all over Britain. In September 1886 Morris visited Edinburgh where he went to visit the recently installed Morris & Co window in St Giles Cathedral, `Crossing the River Jordan’, Morris himself observed: “Our window is fine & looks a queer contrast with its glittering jewel-like colour to the daubs about it.”

The first Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society show opened at the New Gallery in Regent Street. The exhibit opened on October 4, 1888 and ran until December 15. Morris & Co exhibited furniture, fabrics, carpets and embroideries.

Morris visited Kelmscott Manor in October of 1888 where he had trees delivered for a new orchard. In December the same year, he visited Stanmore Hall near Harrow on business: `Our client sent his carriage to meet me and I couldn’t help laughing to see the men I met touching their hats, clearly not to me, but to it.’ Morris & Co’s work on Stanmore Hall was to continue from 1888 to 1896. They redecorated several rooms, and used St. James’s Damask silk wallcovering, among other designs. In the mid-1890s the company’s weavers were at work on Burne-Jones designs for a series of six Arthurian tapestries for Stanmore Hall.

Throughout the 1880′s Morris was a passionate speechmaker. He delivered lectures regularly at Clubs, institutions and in the open air on the topics of art and design, architectural restoration and building preservation, and Socialism.