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Merton Abbey and William Morris

2nd December 2016

Merton Abbey Mills actually takes it’s name from Merton Priory which was one of the most important monasteries of the middle ages. Built in the early 12th century, an Augustinian Priory, Eleanor of Provence (Henry III’s Queen) and King Henry VI were both crowned at Merton Abbey. Walter de Merton (who founded Oxford’s Merton College) and Thomas Becket were also both educated here.

Textile mills were attracted to River Wandle by 1600, due to the power the water provided, but also because the water had a special balance of a chalk stream which was suited to textile creation for washing, dyeing and printing. By 1792 the river was actually one of the hardest working rivers in the whole of Europe as various print works moved to the banks.

merton priory

During this time, the textile industry in the UK was booming; with the population increasing and the British Empire expanding, the demand for cotton and therefore cotton factories were increasing, becoming a dominant feature of the Pennines. It was a great industry for the population; prior to industrialisation, many families had been working in the domestic system, especially in the North of England, and so there was a ready supply of talented weavers and spinners.

The printing industry in the Wandle Valley was no different, attracting workers from all over the country and because of the hive of workers, it was here that many techniques in printing were created and developed upon. Once established in the textile industry, today, England sadly sees most of their textiles imported due to lower costs. However, there are still mills in England, and we’re very happy to say that all our fabrics are printed in the UK, and all our products manufactured here too.

William Morris moved his company to the site on The River Wandle due to the conditions being perfect for his needs designing and printing his textiles. He was at Merton Abbey from 1881 to 1888, here he created some of his most iconic designs for which he is remembered for today. If you’ve read into Morris, you’ll know he was very interested in Socialism, it was actually during his time at Merton Abbey that he became more involved in the ideals.

“…I do not want art for a few; any more than education for a few; or freedom for a few… ”  – William Morris

An admirable trait of Morris was that he didn’t just write or speak about his beliefs, he acted upon them; paying his workers higher wages than the average, supplied a library for their education, provided a safe, healthy and enjoyable workplace. For apprentice boys, he even provided accommodation whilst they learnt their craft.

Some of our favourite designs were created at Merton Abbey, amongst them, Willow Bough, one of our latest licensed designs!

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For the keen baker or chef, a beautiful oven glove is such a perfect Christmas gift 🫶🏻🎄 This is our beautiful William Morris Daisy design ✨
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#williammorris #daisy #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #design #ovengloves #ovenglove #christmasgift #christmasgiftideas
Black Friday Giveaway! ✨ We thought we’d do a fun little giveaway of a bundle of half metres of our licensed William Morris fabrics to celebrate there being 20% off our entire website for Black Friday! 🤎 Whether you want to win them to create some beautiful crafts or to give to your favourite quilter and crafter this Christmas, we hope you enter! 🎄

To enter, just:
- make sure you’re following us
- like this post
- tag everyone you think would love this prize (every comment is an entry)
- for an extra entry, share on your stories

Winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday 4th December so be quick to enter! 🫶🏻

What’s included; a half metre of Blue Strawberry Thief, Pimpernel Green, Willow Bough blue, Sweet Briar, Brother Rabbit blue and Daisy, all cotton fabric 🪡🧵
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#williammorris #giveaway #giveaways #giveawayuk #giveawaytime #competition #cottonfabric #craftingfabric #quiltingfabric #preraphaelite
We made these little Christmas trees using our Morris fabrics a few years ago and this year altered them from a garland to ornaments for our tree 🎄 Aren’t they so cute, they add so much colour ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #christmascrafts #crafts #christmastree #floral #labrador #lablife #blacklab
How to fold our favourite napkin fold of the year- a Christmas tree! 🎄 Super easy but super effective, we love putting it on the plates to lay the table with some little chocolate coins slotted in as if they’re baubles! 🎄✨ Will you try this napkin fold? ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #shopsmall #shopsmallbusiness #napkins #napkinfolding #napkinfolds #christmastable #christmastable
Can’t stop posting this Christmas table set up 🎄 Christmas table florals have our heart! 🫶🏻
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#flowerarranging #yorkshirebusiness #williammorris #williammorrisdesign #mallow #flowersmakethehome #florals #christmasflorals #christmastable
Free gift wrap? Oh go on then! 🎁 From now until Christmas, if you message us immediately after ordering with your order number and your gift wrap message (optional!) we will wrap your order for free ✨ We just want to make Christmas as easy as possible for everyone so if you find wrapping a faff, want us to write the tag to keep secret Santa a suprise or you’d like to send the gift straight to your loved one, we’re here to help 🎄 From our website straight under the tree, spend more time enjoying Christmas and less trying to find the sellotape 👏🏼
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #smallbusiness #familybusiness #christmasgifting #christmasgiftideas
Did you know all our fabrics are printed in the UK and all our products manufactured in the UK too? 🇬🇧 We hope you enjoy shopping small this Christmas 🎄✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #christmastablescape #christmastablesetting #christmastable #floraldesign #shopsmall #independantbusiness
We think you’d be very popular if you made one of these beautiful Morris advent calendars for your loved ones! 🫶🏻 So easy to make, let us know if you would like a tutorial on how to make your own using our Morris fabric🎄 
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #fabric #adventcalendar #adventcalendars #craftersgonnacraft #crafting #smallbusiness #ukbusiness #supportsmallbusinesses #shopsmall
Isn’t this time of year so beautiful, we love our candle table floral arrangement, perfect for dressing up for dinner or down for hot chocolates! ☕️🍫
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#williammorris #floraltable #floraltablescape #florals #myfloraldays
We love the idea of setting the table with a little stocking gift hanging from everyone’s chair ✨ 
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#williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorris #williammorrisprint #florals #christmasflorals #christmastable #shopsmall #shopsmallbusiness #christmascrafts #stockings
We absolutely love setting the table this time of year, aren’t Christmas tablescapes so magical ✨ This central floral arrangement is the star of the show this week 🫶🏻🕯️ Anyone want a tutorial on how to fold these Christmas tree napkins? 🎄
On the table; William Morris Mallow Wine pvc fabric and matching napkins ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #christmasflorals #candlelight #floralarrangement #floralarrangements #christmastablesetting #christmastablescape
Beautiful Strawberry Thief ovengloves are back in stock! 🍓 A perfect Christmas gift, remember you can always gift wrap your items at checkout to make Christmas a little easier, then either send it to yourself or we’ll write the tag with your message and send it straight to your loved one 🥰 
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#christmasgift #christmasgifts #shopsmall #shopsmallbusiness #independant #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #strawberrythief #ovengloves
Christmas tablescapes are a go! ✨ Our Brother Rabbit blue pvc fabric and napkins are on the table and look so beautiful paired with our dressed up garland! 🎄 If you’re planning your Christmas table, remember there’s 20% off everything right now with code: floralfriday at checkout 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #florals #floraldesign #morris #preraphaelite #christmastable #christmastablescape
Every Morris lovers best friend needs one of our new beautiful dog bandanas! 🐾 Hand made in Yorkshire, aren’t they adorable! 🐕‍🦺
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #dogbandana #dogbandanasuk #dogbandanas #labrador #christmasgiftideas #giftsfordogs #giftsfordoglovers
Beautiful Willow Bough, one of our all time fave Morris designs 🌿 The matching set is a beautiful Christmas gift to brighten up their home all year! 🫧 20% off now for Black Friday too if you use code; floralfriday 🌷
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#williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorris #williammorrisfabrics #morris #willowbough #floralprinteverything #floralprint
Yippee it’s here! ✨ Use code: FLORALFRIDAY at checkout on our website only for 20% off everything - including sale items! 🫧
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #morris #blackfriday #florals #floralsyourway #myfloraldays #christmasflorals
Get ready for flower arranging class with us 🌷 Our beautiful Willow Bough William Morris pvc apron is perfect to protect your outfit from splashes when cooking, crafting or cutting your stems! 🌿🫶🏻
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #pvc #pvcfabric #apron #willowbough #floralapron #flowerarranging #flowerarrangingclass #labradorable #labrador
We couldn’t resist another pic of our bonfire night set up! 🫶🏻 our PVC fabric is such a popular option for the table as it’s wipe clean, so any spills can just be quickly fixed 🫧 We wouldn’t reccomend lighting sparklers in the house or over your tablecloth though! 🙃
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisprint #morrisdesign #bonfirenight #tablescape #floraltable #myfloraldays
🎆 Take 15% off our whole website for 48 hours only using code: BONFIRE at checkout 🔥 (we’ve also launched gift sets including half metre gift sets for the quilters and crafters in your life, you get a half metre free when you purchase the set and they come gift wrapped… this is is soft launching Christmas Incase everyone says we’re too early.. but also our Christmas trees are already up so we’re ready to talk about it when you are? Let us know?) 🎄
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #discountcode #bonfirenight #christmasflorals
Had to video us cutting beautiful William Morris Willow Bough today, this heavyweight fabric is off to be made into curtains, it’ll look so stunning! 🫶🏻 If you’d like a free sample just let us know ☺️
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #preraphaelite #floraldesign #fabrics #curtainfabric #ukbusiness
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