Red House, Bexleyheath

Red House
View of Red House from the garden
General information
Architectural style	Arts and Crafts
Location	Red House Lane, Bexleyheath, London, England
Coordinates	51°27′20″N 0°7′49″E
Completed	859 (859)
Client	William Morris
Owner	National Trust
Design and construction
Architect(s)	William Morris Philip Webb
Other designers	Edward Burne-Jones

Red House in Bexleyheath in southeast London, England, is a major building of the history of the Arts and Crafts style and of 19th-century British architecture. It was designed in 1859 by its owner, William Morris, and the architect Philip Webb, with wall paintings and stained glass by Edward Burne-Jones. Morris wanted a home for himself and his new wife, Jane. He also desired to have a "Palace of Art" in which he and his friends could enjoy producing works of art. The house is of red brick with a steep tiled roof and an emphasis on natural materials. Red House is in a non-historical, brick-and-tile domestic style. It is now a Grade I listed building.

The garden is also significant, being an early example of the idea of a garden as a series of exterior "rooms". Morris wanted the garden to be like an integral part of the house. The "rooms" consisted of a herb garden, a vegetable garden, and two rooms full of old-fashioned flowers—jasmine, lavender, quinces, and an abundance of fruit trees—apple, pear and cherry.

Morris lived with Jane in the house for only five years, during which time their two daughters, Jenny and May, were born. Forced to sell the house for financial reasons in 1865, Morris vowed never to return to it, saying that to see the house again would be more than he could bear.

Overview

Red House would be the only house that Morris ever built. Burne-Jones termed it the "the beautifullest place on Earth", while Rosseti termed it "a real wonder of the age... which baffles all description".

The National Trust describe it as "a complex fusion of Morris's romantic utopianism and Webb's practical common sense."

Subsequent history

The house was lived in as a family home for nearly 150 years. From 1889 until 1903 it was owned by Charles Holme, who later founded The Studio, an art magazine that also gave importance to arts and crafts. From 1903 the architect Sir Edward Maufe, famous for designing Guildford Cathedral, lived in the house with his parents, Henry Maufe and his wife Maude. Henry Maufe died in the house in 1910 and Maude remained there until her death in 1919. In 1952, Ted and Doris Hollamby moved into Red House; they, along with the members of two other families, the Toms and the McDonalds, restored the house and reinstated many of the original arts and crafts features.

Window detail in Red House

Blue plaque

The National Trust acquired Red House in 2002 and is performing further restoration and research to restore the house as much as possible to its original condition. The house is open to the public, but not every day; guided tours must be advance-booked and unguided visits are available for limited periods. Current information from National Trust link below. There is a tea room and a gift shop.

Rooms

Drawing Room

Over the fireplace, Morris had inscribed a Latin motto, "Ars longa vita brevis", meaning "Life is short, but art endures."

References

Further reading

• Rob Allen (2001). "Why William Morris left his Joyous Gard" (PDF). The Journal of William Morris Studies. Vol. 14, no. 3. pp. 21–30.
• Sonia Ashmore; Yasuko Suga (2006). "Red House and Asia: A House and its Heritage" (PDF). The Journal of William Morris Studies. Vol. 17, no. 1. pp. 5–26.
• Edward Hollamby (1993). Red House: A Guide. William Morris Society. ISBN 0-903283-17-4.
• E.P. Thompson (1955). William Morris: Romantic to Revolutionary. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
• Fiona MacCarthy (1994). William Morris: A Life for Our Time. London: Faber. ISBN 0 571 14250 8.
• J.W. Mackail (1901). The Life of William Morris: Volume One (new ed.). London, New York, and Bombay: Longmans, Green & Co.
• Olive Mercer; Jane Evans (2008). "The Glazed Screen at Red House" (PDF). The Journal of William Morris Studies. Vol. 17, no. 4. pp. 33–51.
• Ray Watkinson (1988). "Red House Decorated" (PDF). The Journal of William Morris Studies. Vol. 7, no. 4. pp. 10–15.

External links

• Red House information at the National Trust
• A tribute to Ted & Doris Hollamby's stewardship of Red House
• Friends of Red House