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8th March 2016
Born Jane Burden, she grew up to embody the Pre-Raphelite ideal of beauty and became a model to many famous artists- including her husband William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. She grew up in Oxford, the daughter of Robert Burden- a stableman, and Ann Maizey- a laundress and therefore grew up having quite a poor childhood, she had little education herself and if she had not gotten involved with the artists, she probably would have followed her mother into the domestic service industry.
Instead, in 1857, along with her sister Elizabeth she visited the Drury Lane Theatre Company in Oxford; here, Edward Burne-Jones and Rossetti noticed her seated in the gallery below them and approached her to ask her to model for them. At first she was reluctant to accept the proposal, she did not know these men and was therefore wary, she didn’t even show up to the scheduled time Rossetti was meant to paint her for his mural; it was only when she by chance bumped into Burne-Jones that she agreed and was thereafter catapulted to become an iconic face of the Pre-Raphealite art movement. Over the years, Rossetti became obsessed with painting Jane; much of his artwork that you can see today uses Jane as his model.
Morris met Jane when he used her as a model for his painting of Queen Guinevere (also known as La Belle Iseult,) during this period, he fell in love with her and proposed, she agreed however by her own admission, she was not in love with him. In a rather sweet gesture, it has been said Morris wrote on the back of the Guinevere painting, “I cannot paint you, but I love you.” Guinevere, in perhaps a bitter irony was also famously beautiful; and famously unfaithful. Rossetti was already engaged to Lizzie Siddal at this time and, despite probably being in love with him from the get go, she agreed to marry Morris. After her engagement, her education was focused on as she needed to be privately educated to become a rich gentleman’s wife. She had natural intelligence and was able to learn French and Italian and also learnt to play the piano. Her manners were also honed as she improved her class, and her speech more refined. Perhaps taking inspiration from her husband, she became quite the talented needle woman as she created beautiful embroideries.
La Belle Iseult 1858 William Morris 1834-1896 Bequeathed by Miss May Morris 1939
The couple had two daughters together- Jenny, born in 1861, and May born in 1862, the couple lived in Red House in Kent- a property Morris had built and he decorated, this remains as a beautiful National Trust property which is well worth a visit; the decorations he used in this house led to the Arts and Crafts movement. Later they moved to Kelmscott House which is now home the William Morris Society in the basement and coach house!
Morris went to Iceland in 1871, reportedly to leave his wife and his friend Rossetti to their affair as he found it too painful to watch; despite having invited Rossetti to live with them both in Kelmscott to keep the affair private. Once simply his favourite muse, once Rossetti’s wife died, the two seem to have developed a closer relationship which, on some level continued until his death in 1882. Of a Victorian marriage, it is not that surprising Jane married not for love but for class, this was done regularly and as a girl from a poor background, made financial sense. The relationship between Jane and Gabriel relationship did suffer due to his dependancy on chloral hydrate, a drug taken for insomnia, which she distanced herself from him due to. If you view his artistic impressions of Jane (of which there are many to choose from- even mythological roles he cast her in from Pandora to Proserpine,) she always has a sombre brooding face, which some have debated could be due to Rossetti’s own troubled soul, regardless, his artwork of Jane ensures her face is iconic of the ideal beauty of Pre-Raphaelite womanhood.
After Rossetti’s death, she had an affair with Wilfred Scawen Blunt; a poet and political activist that carried on until 1894. This was to be her last love, following the ending of the affair, her husband fell ill, and she cared for him until his death, after which she remained alone for the remainder of her life. She died 16 years after Morris, peacefully in her bed, aged 75.
Jane sits second from the right, in between her daughters Jenny and May, and in front of her husband, Morris. Photo from the National Portrait Gallery.
Posted in William Morris by Laura
Golden Lily on the table today 🧁 everything should feel special even a little coffee and cake with friends, so we dressed the table up for it to make it extra special, isn’t Golden Lily such a beautiful William Morris design, one of our all time favourites ✨
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#williammorris #wmorris #goldenlily #floraltable #floralprint
Gorgeous William Morris Sweet Briar fabric! 🌿 Love the green leaves and pink flowers 🫶🏻 We have it in cotton, heavyweight cotton, and pvc, so you’ll find the perfect fit for your project ✨ 🪡🧵
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #fabricstash #ukfabric #wmorris
We’re having a moving sale over on our website! ✨ There are some absolute bargains to be had, including all these items! 🛒 Remember we offer free UK postage on all orders too 🌿 Plus we have a 15% off code running at the moment with code; JAN15 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #wmorris #smallukbusiness #smallshop #floralprint
We’ve got some fab bundles on our Etsy - we have a lot of offcuts from end of rolls and floral fabric magic can’t be wasted so we bundle them up ✨ Perfect for crafting, we have heavyweight fabric bundles and cotton available now, but hurry, they always sell out quick 🥰
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#williammorrisdesign #williammorris #wmorris #fabricstack #ukfabric
Guess who has a new bed for our new offices ✨ The king of naps, he will wake for biscuits, pets and little else during his day in the office 🫶🏻 His bed is covered in our licensed William Morris Willow Bough green and it looks so beautiful 🌿 The perfect bed to nap on all day ✨
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#williammorris #wmorris #blacklab #blacklabsquad #dogbeds
Has anyone got any January crafts? ❄️ After we’ve settled in our new office, we’re planning some cosy January crafts whilst we hibernate a little! 🌨️ This board is a beautiful way to display photos and notes that was covered in a fabric we no longer loved so last year I recovered it with something we did like - a range of our exclusive quilting fabrics and now it hangs proudly on the wall, showing you can upcycle things to be something you really love 🫶🏻
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#cosycraftclub #crafting #fabric #fabriccraft #upcycle
We’ve been a little quiet on here as we’ve been in the absolute trenches moving our office! ✨ Now we just need to settle in and find everything we’ve shoved in boxes and bags and then stashed in random places(!) but, we’re getting there 🫶🏻 Nothing will change for you ordering but we’ll have a new returns address 📮 It’s taken an absolute task force to move all that fabric and products and we’ve found some things for a little moving sale if anyone is interested… ✨
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#williammorris #wmorris #smallbusiness #smallbusinesswomen #uksmallbusiness
Not long to go until Christmas now ✨ Have you got your Christmas table sorted and your presents wrapped? 🎄
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#williammorris #wmorris #independantbusiness #christmastable #festivetable
The stockings were hung by the fire with care…✨ A week until Christmas Eve! 🎄 Still lots of time to order since we post the next working day with a 24hr service 🤶🏻
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#williammorris #wmorris #christmasgiftidea #smallbusinessgiftguide #christmasstocking
One of our biggest sellers this year for Christmas gifts - our licensed William Morris oven gloves ✨ Practical and stylish, every home needs a set, hanging some Morris floral magic over the cooker 🎄 Lots of designs are still in stock and with our free UK postage being tracked 24 Royal Mail, there’s still quite a few shopping days left until Christmas 📮 (I’ll even gift wrap it for free for you as an option at checkout, even though my own Christmas gifts are all hidden in the wardrobe still to wrap 😂) 🤶🏻🎅🏼
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#christmasgiftidea #ovenglove #floralhome #shopindie #williammorris
One pack of napkins folded four ways for Christmas tablescapes ✨ Which is your favourite? 🎄 We always love when a table set up comes with a little chocolate treat 🎅🏼 Beautiful Charlotte Rose is one of our favourites all year round, it can be dressed so many ways from Christmas to summer 🫶🏻
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#floralfabric #floraltable #christmasnapkin #christmastable #smallindiebusiness
There’s still plenty of shopping time before Christmas with our free UK postage with Royal Mail tracked 24 📮 We’re also doing free gift wrap on our website as an option at checkout 🤶🏻 Take 15% off too until the 20th December so whether for a gift of Christmas hosting having beautiful florals on the table, use code; FESTIVE at checkout on our website 🎄
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#williammorris #giftguide2025 #shopsmallforchristmas #christmasgiftideas #floralprint
Oh Mallow Forest Green, we love you on our festive tablescapes 🎄
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#williammorris #wmorris #floraltable #preraphaelite #christmastablesetting
Obsessed with this tree with all the vintage ornaments on the tree this year ✨ They were all grandparents so very special 🎄 having a little coffee and cake whilst the lights twinkle is so lovely ✨ This is our William Morris Golden Lily tablecloth, beautiful year round 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #vintage #vintagechristmas #vintagechristmasornaments #floraltable
It’s a blue and white Christmas over here 🙋🏽♀️ We went to the beautiful Christmas event at @harewoodhouse by the wonderfully talented @interiorcurve and we’re so inspired to have a themed blue and white tree and we’re so glad we did! 🤶🏻 This is our William Morris Merton blue, isn’t it beautiful, and so lovely to be able to dress it in various ways throughout the year, it’s so versatile ✨
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#williammorris #blueandwhitedecor #floraltablescape #flowerarranging #floralchristmas
What design are you having on your Christmas table? 🎄 We’re debating a few - our new forest green colours, our strawberry thief red, or maybe a Christmas blue and white… ✨
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#williammorris #christmastable #christmastablesetting #strawberrythief #floral
Christmas tablescaping all month long ✨ are you feeling festive already? 🎄 This is our Brother Rabbit blue design, isn’t it gorgeous 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #christmastable #floraltablescape
BLACK FRIDAY ENDS TONIGHT! ✨ use code; BLACKFRIDAY at checkout on our website to take 20% off everything - go, go, go! 🎄 We also have free gift wrap available at checkout so we can send gifts directly to loved ones or back to you gift wrapped and ready to go, we’re in the festive spirit so will gift wrap whilst we sing along to some festive songs 🤶🏻🎄
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#blackfriday #williammorris #wmorris #morrisfabric #floralfabrics
A very floral Christmas🎄 Our William Morris Sweet Briar design looks so beautiful dressed up for Christmas! ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #sweetbriar #floralchristmas #christmastable
One thing that is wonderful about timeless design is that you can use it year round- dressed with Christmas candles and foliage, springtime blooms, summer florals and autumn pumpkins - it can see you through it all 🫶🏻 That’s why we want to show them in a Christmas setting so you can see they’re a perfect gift for your loved one or for your own table ✨ Which is your favourite season to dress your table for? 🎄
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#williammorris #wmorris #timelessdesign #classicdesign #merton
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