Kelmscott House is Grade II* listed

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

brick mansion at 26 Upper Mall in Hammersmith, overlooking the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. Built in about 1785, it was the London home of English textile designer, artist, writer and socialist

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

from 1878 to 1896. Originally called The Retreat, Morris renamed it after the Oxfordshire village of

Kelmscott Kelmscott is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, about east of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire. Since 2001 it has absorbed Little Faringdon, which had been a separate civil parish. The 2011 Census reco ...

, where he had lived at

Kelmscott Manor Kelmscott Manor is a limestone manor house in the Cotswolds village of Kelmscott, in West Oxfordshire, southern England. It dates from around 1570, with a late 17th-century wing, and is listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for Engla ...

from June 1871. Nearby, Morris began his "adventure in printing" with his private press, the

Kelmscott Press The Kelmscott Press, founded by William Morris and Emery Walker, published fifty-three books in sixty-six volumes between 1891 and 1898. Each book was designed and ornamented by Morris and printed by hand in limited editions of around 300. Many ...

, which he started at 16 Upper Mall in 1891.

Previous owners

The property was once owned by Sir Francis Ronalds' family. In 1816, he built the first electric telegraph in its garden. From 1867, then called The Retreat, it was the family home of poet, minister and novelist

George MacDonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational church, Congregational Minister (Christianity), minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature a ...

who wrote two of his most popular children's books, ''At the Back of the North Wind'' (1871) and ''The Princess and the Goblin'' (1873), there. It was the London home of English textile designer, artist, writer and socialist

from October 1878 until his death in October 1896.

Today

The building is a private house, though the basement and

coach house Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coa ...

entrance serve as headquarters of the

William Morris Society The William Morris Society was founded in 1955 in London, England. The Society's office and museum are located at Kelmscott House, Hammersmith, where Morris lived from 1879 until his death in 1896. The Society aims to make more well-known th ...

, whose premises are open to the public on Thursday and Saturday afternoons. The William Morris Society temporarily re-formed the local branch of the

Socialist League (UK, 1885) The Socialist League was an early revolutionary socialist organisation in the United Kingdom. The organisation began as a dissident offshoot of the Social Democratic Federation of Henry Hyndman at the end of 1884. Never an ideologically harmon ...

to participate in the 2011 London anti-cuts protest. The banner was paraded again on 20 October 2012.

References

External links

The William Morris Society UK

The William Morris Society in the United States

{{coord, 51.4905, -0.2354, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Art museums and galleries in London Arts and Crafts movement Decorative arts museums in England Georgian architecture in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Grade II* listed houses in London History of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham History of the telegraph Houses in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Museums in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham William Morris Carriage houses

Previous owners

Today

References

Further reading

External links