Red House

About Red House

Grade I listed historic house museum, former home of William Morris

Red House is a significant building in the history of the Arts and Crafts movement and of 19th-century British architecture, located in Bexleyheath in south-east London and Grade I listed. It was co-designed in 1859 by the architect Philip Webb and the designer William Morris to serve as a family home for Morris, and construction was completed in 1860. After his education at Oxford, Morris decided to build a rural house for himself and his new wife Jane within commuting distance of central London, bought a plot in what was then the village of Upton in Kent, financed the project with money inherited from his wealthy family and wanted it to be a "palace of art" where he and his friends could enjoy producing artworks together. Morris was deeply influenced by medievalism, and medieval-inspired neo-Gothic styles run through the design, which he described as "very medieval in spirit": red brick with steep tiled roofs and an emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship, an early example of what came to be known as the Arts and Crafts movement. Many of his friends visited, most notably the Pre-Raphaelite painters Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who helped decorate the house, and several Burne-Jones wall murals and stained-glass windows survive. While at Red House Morris was involved in forming his design company, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., and embarked on his earliest wallpaper designs, and his two daughters, Jenny and May, were born here. The house is now cared for by the National Trust, with displays of textiles and designs and a garden replanted in the spirit of Morris.

Where:

London, United Kingdom