To think William Morris and Gransnet are poles apart

Varian - what about the women here, so many of us with Morris round the house

Kitty letter - is your wall paint F and B muzzle?//

Iam, it's our hall.

The paint is Dulux something (mossy stone?) not f&b.

JaneJudge

varian, please do educate us as I know a bit but not enough....

In December 1884, Morris founded the Socialist League (SL) with other SDF defectors. He composed the SL's manifesto with Bax, describing their position as that of "Revolutionary International Socialism", advocating proletarian internationalism and world revolution while rejecting the concept of socialism in one country.[

In this, he committed himself to "making Socialists" by educating, organising, and agitating to establish a strong socialist movement; calling on activists to boycott elections, he hoped that socialists would take part in a proletariat revolution and help to establish a socialist society.[

Bax taught Morris more about Marxism, and introduced him to Marx's collaborator, Friedrich Engels; Engels thought Morris honest but lacking in practical skills to aid the proletariat revolution.

Morris remained in contact with other sectors of London's far left community, being a regular at the socialist International Club in Shoreditch, East London,however he avoided the recently created Fabian Society, deeming it too middle-class.

Although a Marxist, he befriended prominent anarchist activists Stepniak and Peter Kropotkin, and came to be influenced by their anarchist views, to the extent that biographer Fiona MacCarthy described his approach as being "Marxism with visionary libertarianism".

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris

Morris remains a hero for our times

Kittylester, yes my hall as well. Our is a f and b mizzle but mixed at half the price by our decorators supplier

If any of you are traveling through northern France and have the time, there is an Arts and Crafts house by Edwin Lutyens with the garden by Getrude Jekyll. It's called Bois des Moutiers at Varengeville and is well worth a visit. I mention it because it has William Morris textiles in at least one of the bedrooms.

It used to have a large Morris tapestry designed by Burne Jones. During WW2 the house was occupied by the Germans who drove a tank up the middle of Jekyll's walled garden, thereby destroying it. After the war the family decided to sell the tapestry in order to fund renovations to the house and gardens.

On one of our visits we saw an elderly lady in the garden pushing an empty pram and taking cuttings or possibly dead heading. She started talking to us and it turned out that she was the lady of the house. It's future is uncertain because on the death of its owner a few years ago it was left to 4 people and they can't afford the upkeep.

For lovers of the Arts and Crafts movement it is an essential visit. One of Lutyens' first houses and very beautiful with its interiors with all the English fittings pretty much intact.

Thank you varian iswkym

Dinahmo, there is also a house in Cambridge...

davidparrhouse.org/

When I was a child my mother had a set of The Children's Encyclopedia printed in the early years of the 20th century, it was full of things to make and do and the style was very Arts and Crafts. It got me permanently hooked on the style. I don't have any William Morris but I have got a lovely John Pearson copper planter that came from my mother's family and I've just treated myself to a stoneware fruit bowl by Martin Brothers of Southall. They used to make grotesque pottery which sells for thousands of pounds but mine is much plainer and way more affordable.

^I often wonder how the middle class ladies who chose his wallpaper and curtain designs in the 1970's and 80's, might have felt about his politics

You underestimate some people, Varian - we got our first sofa - Golden Lily - in 1972 and it did sterling service for many many years until recovering and reupholstering it was going to cost more than as replacement.
And yes, I did know about William and Jane Morris and his mates!
You might be interested in this, if you haven’t seen it already

suzannefagencecooper.blogspot.com/2020/04/at-home-with-jane-william-morris.html

My settee and chairs when first married were covered in his beautiful Golden lilies in linen.Unknown to me until I saw photos of the children my cousin had exactly the same print in the same colour.

Wasn't there a scandal about Morris's wallpaper poisoning people with arsenic, a fact which he kept hidden as he was a director of an arsenic mine (or arsenic factory or something)?

Not quite as socialist as he liked to appear, it seems.

To think William Morris and Gransnet are poles apart

Um,
William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a revolutionary force in Victorian Britain whose work dramatically changed the fashions and ideologies of the era. As a craftsman, designer, poet, printer, socialist, novelist, and environmentalist, Morris was not only influential in his own time, but his legacy remains alive and important today.

Gransnet is the busiest online community and lifestyle site for the over 50s. At its heart is a buzzing forum where users debate the hot topics of the day, support each other through tough times and share a laugh. Brimming with useful content covering everything from beauty to grandparenting, travel to technology, health and moneysaving tips, as well as fantastic competitions, there is something on the site for everyone. Gransnet is recognised as a champion for digital inclusion and is constantly challenging the stereotypes of ‘older people’ in the media.

Like oranges and bananas?

You omit Varian to mention that that Morris came from a wealthy background himself, born in Walthamstow, Essex, to a wealthy middle-class family. He came under the strong influence of medievalism while studying Classics at Oxford.
His socialist principles did not always sit comfortably with his insistence on handmade craftsman- made furniture etc which put it well out of reach of the average working person in his day.
This is the house he lived in in his teens in what is now Lloyd Park in Walthamstow

And his designs are gorgeous. Why does a person's politics have ant bearing - really.

It's very easy to be a Socialist when one has a cushion of wealth.

kittylester

And his designs are gorgeous. Why does a person's politics have ant bearing - really.

You might not have found them so gorgeous if you had papered your house with his wallpaper and your family all died. That's not political in itself, but his knowledge that the arsenic that made him a fortune was killing people, and keeping that fact to himself is akin to asbestos companies fighting compensation cases from asbestosis victims, or thalidomide producers doing likewise.

No, it doesn't detract from the designs themselves, and clearly he is not making a profit from them now he's dead, but it certainly tarnished his image. And his poetry is atrocious?

Oh exaggeration or what?

That's Water House MayBeMaw which houses the Morris gallery. It is in Walthamstow. Prior to that he lived at Woodford Hall in the much more salubrious Woodford, (just up the road from Walthamsow). The big house is no longer there but there is plaque on the wall of the parish church hall. He had a tutor who was a Master at Forest School, a well regarded private school which I know very well. Waitrose is now just across the road, so you can gather the type of area!

Thanks Dinahmo. Giverny and Amiens are on my list for next year, so not too far away from Bois des Moutier for a visit.

MayBeMaw

Oh exaggeration or what?

My post?

I have zero axe to grind with Morris (apart from his awful poems?). I did a course on Victorian serial killers a while ago (a local library thing) and one of the most popular methods of despatching unwanted spouses or inconvenient children was by slow arsenic poisoning, and the business of Morris's arsenic came up as part of that.

I believe it's true, as the person running the course was an expert in the topic, but if you know otherwise, I'll happily agree - I just thought it was interesting in the context of the thread.

What a strange turn this thread has taken.

Are we 'supposed to' be discussing Gransnet's choice of what to delete? The thread diverted from that some time ago.

Iam, you have excellent taste in hall decoration.

Callistemon21

What a strange turn this thread has taken.

Killing one's spouse vis the medium of William Morris wallpaper?

I prefer the hammer and rug method myself but why ruin a perfectly good rug..

Thanks kitty leister, so do you. ?

Ok - why is it becoming a socialist when wealthy a Bad Thing?

I don’t expect Morris set out to fe a serial killer -

I didn't say he was a serial killer?

I said that in a course about Victorian serial killers his wallpaper was mentioned in the context if the fact that serial killers (eg Mary Ann Cotton) used arsenic to murder people.

I wish I hadn't bothered now, but I didn't realise that there were rules for chatting on a thread that (I assumed) was never intended to be a genuine discussion about the merits of WM.

Oh, and I see no reason why socialists should not be wealthy. Hiding the fact that their profit-making business interests are responsible for the deaths of many people, on the other hand . . .