After walking in Epping Forest, we stopped off at the William Morris Gallery, which occupies Water House, the third house that Morris lived in in Walthamstow, after being born in Elm House in 1834, then moving to Woodford Hall in 1840, and to Elm House in 1847, following the death of his father. I hadn’t been there since the exceptionally intelligent redisplay by Pringle, Richards, and Sharratt, which – deservedly – won Museum of the Year Award. This was a detail of the wood carving on a Morris and Company bench:-
A detail of his sample books:-
Some embroidered slippers which he bought on his trip to Iceland:-
A piece of Morris and Company stained glass:-
And the cover of May Morris’s book about needlework:-
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
As always your attention to detail is a delight but those who haven’t visited should do so as there is so much here : his best wallpapers, and the blocks from which they were printed; tapestries, such as the WOODPECKER; tiles, ceramics, metalwork; and much by those who he influenced (Voysey, Burges, Gimson, Brangwyn). Or read Fiona MacCarthy’s great biography : WILLIAM MORRIS : a life for our times.
Yes, I felt badly that I hadn’t been. Charles
Dear Mark, I have been thinking about your description. Have you been since it was redisplayed in 2012 because, whilst it is rich in content and displays, I’m not convinced that it shows as much original material as you imply. Charles