A group of the Friends visited Kelmscott Manor last week; our visit included a drink and biscuit on arrival, a guided tour followed by lunch. It has fairly recently been upgraded and restored and the house appears in good condition with in places wallpaper recreated using traditional William Morris techniques. The furniture and decorative items have been placed where they would have been when Morris lived there, it does feel quite authentic, although because no one knew what would have been in the kitchen, it's empty!! The interiors are beautiful and so is the garden. Our guide went into great detail about each of the rooms and was able to answer questions, because of his thoroughness, there was a slight feel of being a bit rushed, but it kept us on our toes and made me want to go back and look more carefully at things.
I took photos and will start with the outside where it's so beautiful and it's easy to see why Morris loved it so much and kept going back there, although even now, it feels quite remote.
The front door and path going up to it are so delightful, it's hard not to photograph them
and in a corner of the garden opposite the front door is a covered small summerhouse where I imagine people would meet, although it is not very private
I have taken some of the views inside the house where often the lighting was quite subdued, and looking at photos in the guidebook helped me see the true colours
Here's another view of a brighter room
This corner cabinet holds lots of Iznik plates and tiles which apparently were an inspiration for Morris
and below the fabulous painting 'The Blue Silk Dress' by Rosetti; a portrait of Jane Morris. According to the wonderful Kelmscott guidebook, Rosetti composed a Latin verse which connects the idealisation of love with the making of art.
Finally it's well worth having a look at the river which runs along the edge of the garden very close to the house
You will notice there are many stone slabs used as fencing around Kelmscott village, and here they were used to make a herb filled planter.
Thank you to the guides and all those people who made our trip on 18 October such a wonderful day out. We had a lovely time and would recommend the guided tour.
