'Pomona' tapestry design, with figure by Edward Burne-Jones and background by William Morris, 1884, at Wigthwick Manor. ©NTPL/Derrick E. Witty
In 1861 William Morris founded the company Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co, later known as Morris & Co, which was to spread his pioneering design throughout the world.
The Billiard Room at Wightwick. ©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel
An exhibition celebrating the history of the company and of Morris’s work, entitled ‘The Nature of Design’, is currently running at Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton.
- ‘Pomegranate’ wallpaper (1866), at Wightwick. ©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel
The former home of the Mander family, Wightwick has one of the most complete surviving Arts & Crafts interiors. The Manders mixed what they bought from the Morris & Co shop in London’s Oxford Street with their own belongings and antiques.
The Pomegranate Passage at Wightwick. ©NTPL/Paul Raeside
The exhibition shows some of the rare archival pattern books, wallpaper designs and printing blocks held in the Morris & Co archive. There are also some room sets created especially for the exhibition, showing Morris & Co’s new Archive range.
View down into the Great Parlour at Wightwick. ©NTPL/John Hammond
Morris & Co products can be bought at the Wightwick shop. Opening times for the exhibition can be found on the Wightwick events webpage.
