Celebrating International Day of Charity
An Interview with The William Morris Society
To mark International Day of Charity this year, we headed to West London to visit an organisation that’s very close to our hearts - The William Morris Society.
We’ve had the pleasure of collaborating twice with The William Morris Society to create a collection of gorgeous dresses featuring the revolutionary artist’s prints, and last week, we were lucky enough to meet with Claudia Suckling, the Chief Executive Officer of the charity, to explore its fascinating archives and learn more about the wonderful work it does for the local community.
Hi Claudia, thank you so much for having us! Can you tell us a little more about The William Morris Society – how did it come about?
Founded in 1955, The William Morris Society aims to celebrate and share knowledge of William Morris's life and works. Now most famous for the enduring beauty of his fabric and wallpaper designs, Morris was also a renowned poet, painter, publisher, political activist, environmental and heritage campaigner, whose work still has influence and resonance today.
Where is the charity based? Can people visit you?
We are based at Morris's former London home, Kelmscott House, where we hold a wonderful collection of his works which can be seen in our museum here any Thursday, Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
Tell us more about the history of Kelmscott House...
Morris moved to Kelmscott House in 1878 and died here in 1896. It had already been home to other extraordinary people, including Francis Ronalds who invented the electric telegraph - precursor to today's electronic communications – at just 23 years old.
Author George MacDonald, who was one of the first people to write fantasy novels for adults, also lived here.
Morris's many guests included Karl Marx’s wife, Eleanor, W B Yeats’s family, George Bernard Shaw, and Gustav Holst, who rehearsed the Socialist Choir here, and later wrote The Hammersmith Suite to celebrate his time in the area.
What kind of educational and outreach work does the charity do?
While we do publish three magazines and two academic journals a year for Society members, we want everyone to know about the wonderful work of Morris! So, we also run a series of education programmes, including online and in-person talks, pre-school sessions and school groups, as well as family workshops and accessible talks for care home residents with cognitive impairment.
What’s next for the charity? Do you have any plans for the museum?
We’ve opened up the room overlooking the garden, which was previously a library closed to anyone but researchers. Next, we want to renovate the garden, have low brick walls and little cushions so local children can enjoy the outside space with Morris colouring patterns and crayons. We’re keen to be part of a movement towards opening up the history of art to a broader range of people, so people from every background feel welcomed in museums and gallery spaces.
What should visitors expect when they are coming to the museum?
Our current exhibition highlights the objects donated by Helena Stephenson – an avid Arts and Crafts enthusiast – who bequeathed Kelmscott House to the Society upon her death in 1972. It will feature works saved from the Morris & Co. offices upon their dissolution in 1940, including original hand-drawn designs for commercial wallpapers and custom commissions.
We absolutely loved getting a private tour of The William Morris Society’s museum, and learning more about the charity-run organisation’s educational work! We also couldn’t resist the opportunity to sport a few designs from our new collection and compare our designs to the immaculately preserved originals.
Be sure to take a look at our socials to see all the amazing prints we got a sneak peek of, and don’t forget to visit the museum for yourself!