Kelmscott Manor
Kelmscott Manor is in the 16th century built Cotswold -Haus in kelmscott , Oxfordshire (England). From 1871 to 1896 it was the country house of the poet, politician and designer William Morris , his wife Jane Morris and their daughters Jane and May . The painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti was a roommate for some time.
Kelmscott Manor is listed as a "Grade I-Building" ( "of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important" ) on the United Kingdom's list of monuments .
Emergence
Kelmscott Manor was built from limestone around 1570 and is located on the outskirts of the village of Kelmscott, near the Thames . In the late 17th century it received an additional wing.
William Morris at Kelmscott Manor
Like many of his contemporaries, Morris knew and loved life in the country. The untouched authenticity of the architecture and the craftsmanship of the building, as well as the organic connection with the place and the rural surroundings were inspiring for Morris. He named the private press , which he founded in 1890, after the location: Kelmscott Press , as did his London residence, Kelmscott House . Morris used Kelmscott Manor from 1871 until his death in 1896.
Furnishing and design
William Morris enjoyed the garden flowers and trees. The willows that grew near his fishing spot inspired him to create his long-loved wallpaper and fabric patterns, "Willow Boughs", which adorned his wife's bedroom. His embroidery and wall hangings with flowers and birds were everywhere. His preference for walls was fabric, either woven or embroidered. He saw wallpaper as an inferior substitute, more for sale than for his own use. The furniture is a compilation of country house antiques and Morris' own production - from his early heavy medieval pieces to the classically simple Sussex chairs. Exotically lacquered pieces were later introduced by Rossetti. Antique stone fireplaces were rimmed with blue and white tiles, which were popular with arts and craft artists. The floors were covered with oriental carpets or rush carpets. The floor space was a playroom for the children and sleeping quarters for the servants.
Roommates and guests
From 1871 to 1874, Dante Gabriel Rossetti was a roommate at Kelmscott Manor. He alternately used the "Tapestry" room and the "White" room as a studio. The women of the Morris family sat as models for him. Rossetti painted "Proserpine", "La Ghirlandata", "The Bower Maiden", "The Blessed Damozel", "Dante's Dream" (a smaller replica) and "The Roman Widow" at Kelmscott Manor. The publisher FS Ellis also lived in the house later.
Ford Madox Brown was not only a friend, but also a business partner in the Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co companies and designed furniture and leaded glass windows. Madox Brown painted a large part of his painting Cromwell on His Farm in the great outdoors here in 1872 . Even Edward Burne-Jones was a frequent visitor to Kelmscott Manor, where some of his works are exhibited today. One of the best known and most famous collaborations between Morris and Burne-Jones was The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer , which was produced in the Kelmscott printing house, and which took the two artists four years to complete and which contains 87 illustrations based on Burne-Jones' drawings (with wood engravings by William Hooper).
History in the 20th century
In 1913, a year before her death, Jane Morris bought Kelmscott Manor, which had previously only been rented, for her daughters Jane and May for £ 4,000. May Morris bequeathed the house to the University of Oxford after her death in 1938 . This auctioned it in 1939 for a low price. The facility had been laid on the lawn and was soaked in the rain.
Since 1962, Kelmscott Manor has been owned by the Society of Antiquaries of London , which thanks to a donation of £ 350,000 have maintained and opened it to the public.
literature
- Dorothy Eagle, Meic Stephen (Eds.): The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide. 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press 1992, p. 116.
Web links
- Kelmscott Manor (English)
- William Morris, His Family and Residences
- Kelmscott Manor Photo, William Morris grave
- Kelmscott Manor Photos, page 2
- Kelmscott Manor 31 Photographs by Frederick H. Evans (British, London 1853–1943) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Individual evidence
- ↑ German: "Buildings of extraordinary, partly international importance"
- ↑ Heritage: Life's rich tapestry Anne Campbell Dixon, The Telegraph 15 Apr 2003
- ↑ Chapter XXXV. In: WM Rossetti: Dante Gabriel Rossetti HIS FAMILY-LETTERS . In the Rossetti Archive
- ↑ Cromwell on His Farm ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 51 ° 41 ′ 21 ″ N , 1 ° 38 ′ 22 ″ W.