The William Morris Gallery is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

devoted to the life and works of

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 ...

, an English Arts and Crafts designer and early socialist. It is located in Walthamstow at Water House, a substantial Grade II* listed Georgian home. The extensive grounds of the building are a public park, known as Lloyd Park.

Collections and exhibits

The William Morris Gallery holds the most comprehensive collection of objects relating to all aspects of Morris's life and work, including his work as a designer, a writer and a social activist. The permanent exhibit is divided into 9 rooms: *''1. Meet the Man'', Morris' early life and background; *''2. Starting Out'', Morris' early works and his influences including

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jam ...

artists and Art Critic

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

; *''3.

Morris & Co Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (1861–1875) was a furnishings and decorative arts manufacturer and retailer founded by the artist and designer William Morris with friends from the Pre-Raphaelites. With its successor Morris & Co. (1875–1 ...

'', the formation and ideal's of Morris' design company; *''4. The Workshop'', the design and manufacturing techniques championed by Morris; *''5. The Shop'', an interactive gallery exploring the experience of shopping for Morris' creations in Victorian London; *''6. Ideal Book'', Morris' foray into printing and book design includes an original printing of Earthly Paradise by William Morris; *''7. Fighting for a Cause'', Morris' social activism and socialist beliefs; *''8. Arts and Crafts'', the movement that Morris founded; *''9.

Frank Brangwyn Sir Frank William Brangwyn (12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was a Welsh artist, painter, watercolourist, printmaker, illustrator, and designer. Brangwyn was an artistic jack-of-all-trades. As well as paintings and drawings, he produced des ...

'', works from the student of William Morris. The museum is also used as a learning facility with educational exhibitions from artists such as Eamon Everall of the

stuckist Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.

History

Water House was constructed in 1762 and was Morris' family home in his teenage years from 1848 to 1856. The building and its grounds were sold on to newspaper proprietor Edward Lloyd in 1856, whose son donated the house and grounds (which then became Lloyd Park) to Walthamstow in 1900.The building was not opened as a museum until 1950, by Prime Minister Clement Attlee. In 2007, as a result of cost saving exercises, by owners

Waltham Forest Borough Council Waltham Forest London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Waltham Forest in London, England which has existed since the London Government Act 1963 was commenced in 1965, replacing three local authorities: Chingford Bor ...

, the museum's opening hours were cut back to allow staffing to be reduced. This broke a ''stipulation of gifts'' by Sir Frank Brangwyn, that works should be on view for a minimum amount of time weekly. And a number of campaigners, including former Culture Secretary Chris Smith, were concerned that this would lead to the museum's closure.

Redevelopment

In March 2009 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the gallery £80,000 to enable detailed proposals for redevelopment. In Autumn 2010 this proposal was successful in securing a second funding of £1.523 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which was matched with £1.5 million from the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Subsequently, a major redevelopment was carried out. The building was closed for refurbishment and redevelopment in 2011 and was reopened in August 2012. The redevelopment of Water House, designed by architects and exhibition designers

Pringle Richards Sharratt Pringle Richards Sharratt is an architectural firm that was formed in 1996 by John Pringle, Penny Richards and Ian Sharratt. Based in London, the practice has worked on public buildings, art galleries, museums, libraries, archives, university a ...

, included a new wing "''inspired by Georgian & Victorian precedents''" containing a gallery for temporary exhibitions as well as a tearoom with windows incorporating a Morris ‘Thistle’ frit pattern and a balcony that overlooks the gardens. Grayson Perry's fifteen-metre long

Walthamstow Tapestry Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South ...

was displayed for the first month after reopening.

Recognition

In 2013 the William Morris Gallery won national prizes for Museum of the Year, and the ''Museum and Heritage Showss award for Best Permanent Exhibition.

Lloyd Park

The gardens of Water House, now known as Lloyd Park is a public park maintained by

. The park notably includes an area surrounded by a moat which pre-dates the Georgian house. The park's facilities include a café, public toilets, artist studios, a play area, a bowls pavilion,

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be ...

s, skate park and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

practice areas. The park also hosts a regular food market, ''Lloyd Park Market''.

Waltham Forest Theatre

A pavilion was built in 1937, on the artificial island created by the moat, and converted into the ''Waltham Forest Theatre'' in 1972. The theatre was popular through to the 1990s and local actor Jack Watling presented several seasons of plays there. But it eventually fell into disuse and was demolished in 2011 as part of wider redevelopment.

References

William Morris Gallery Website {{authority control Houses completed in 1762 1950 establishments in England Art museums and galleries in London Art museums established in 1950 Arts and Crafts movement Morris, William Country houses in London Decorative arts museums in England Georgian architecture in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Waltham Forest Grade II* listed museum buildings History of the London Borough of Waltham Forest Museums in the London Borough of Waltham Forest William Morris Art galleries established in 1950 Walthamstow Morris, William