William_Morris_and_Red_House


Brief history of Red House
Red House was built for William Morris and his wife Janey in 1859-60. It was designed by Philip Webb and the house and garden are world famous. The Morris family lived there for just five years, but during that time it became a base for artists and craftsmen, including Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Notes on research into the original building contract can be read here and an article in The Guardian from 2014 concerning the discovery of wall paintings gives further information. Whilst Morris lived there, the 'Firm' - Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Company - was set up. The house has come to represent many of the ideas and principles that Morris sought to live by and is seen as a combination of romanticism and pragmatism. After 1952 it was restored by the Hollamby family and their friends, the Toms and the Macdonalds. With the purchase by the National Trust in 2003 its future is now secure and a new era has been entered which extends public access and offers new opportunities for research

William Morris 1834-1896	Philip Webb 1831-1915

Brief history of Red House