Kelmscott House is
Grade II* listed brick mansion at 26 Upper Mall in
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London ...
, overlooking the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
. 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 w ...
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 rec ...
, where he had lived at Kelmscott Manor from June 1871.
Nearby, Morris began his "adventure in printing" with his private press, the Kelmscott Press, 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.George MacDonald
George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll ...
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 ]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 w ...
from October 1878 until his death in October 1896.
Today
The building is a private house, though the basement and coach house entrance serve as headquarters of the William Morris Society, 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) to participate in the 2011 London anti-cuts protest.
References
Further reading
*
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