FAQs

Your Cart

Close
Paper Plane Your order qualifies for free standard delivery
Subtotal £0.00
Delivery £0.00
Order Total £0
Checkout Securely

Rossetti’s Wombat, Top

14th May 2019

We’ll begin the blog by discussing Victorian animals and our fascination with it. The fact that in Victorian England, you could go to a store in England and purchase exotic animals is incredible to us. In 2019, you can pop to Pets at Home and the biggest animal you will come away with is a rabbit (or a really big gerbil..) but, visit Charles Jamrach’s store in 19th Century London – Jamrach’s Animal Emporium – and you could purchase a whole manner of animals. If you saw ‘The Greatest Showman’ film, what you might not know that after P.T.Barnum’s circus fire in 1864, Jamrach was the main provider of animals for the circus. The Greatest Show indeed!

Visit Tobacco Dock and you’ll see a bronze statue. It’s there because in 1857, a Bengal tiger escaped the Emporium, found an eight year old boy and began to carry him away. Jamrach ran up and thrust his bare hands into the tigers mouth which forced him to drop the child. The young boy hadn’t seen such an large cat before and had tried to pet the animal – but after the incident the parents sued and were awarded £300.

Now; Wombats. Australian animals, males are usually about 30kg but can be bigger than that. Mostly nocturnal, they do feed during the day but because they are nocturnal, it means their hearing is increased as is their sense of smell. You’ll notice that their eyes are on the sides of their head so they can see sideways much better than they can forwards. They’re vegetarian and not particularly aggressive but if their burrow is invaded, they sound like they can have an aggressive streak towards their intruders!

At the beginning of the 18th Century, it’s important to know the feeling of the time. Of course, Australia was at the other side of the world and so it appears that the English were just beginning to learn more about the other countries and their animals. The British rule in India taught them lots about Elephants and so exotic animals weren’t a complete unknown.

Wombats were first known in England because of John Wilson – a convict transported to Australia because of a theft in Wigan. He befriended the local aboriginal people and learnt about the ‘Whom-batt’ as he called it.

Our Wombat is from the gift shop in Wightwick Manor as a little representation of Top – photo taken in Kelmscott Manor – notice behind, a book from Morris’s Kelmscott Press

Rossetti and his wombat

In September 1869, Dante Gabriel Rossetti bought himself a wombat that he called ‘Top.’ Named after his William Morris’ nickname. Sadly, by November of the same year, the wombat died. Now, it’s not known nor recorded of whether the wombat was brought over from Australia or was born in Jamrach’s shop – or how old he was when Rossetti bought him.

For three months though, Top joined Rossetti’s menagerie in Chelsea. Rossetti is well known to have a private zoo/menagerie in his spacious garden. A tiny piece of Australia brought all the way to Chelsea to inspire and intrigue the Pre-Raphaelites.

 

Rossetti’s love for wombats

In the Zoological Society’s Gardens in London, during 1856, a wombat had been born – it’s not clear if this is the first one or not (if you know – let us know!) As a child, Rossetti loved to visit the zoo and had gone a lot during his childhood. During one visit, his sister Christina was bitten by a peccary, her and their other brother, William, were actually the ones that discovered the families love for Wombats. When Rossetti was an adult, he remained a lover of the zoo and would take walks there and would have the meeting point of ‘the Wombat’s Lair.’

Our Wombat in Kelmscott Manor

Rossetti’s Tudor House

Following his wife Lizzie Siddal’s death in 1862, Rossetti could no longer bear to live in their home and moved to Tudor House. The garden measured 4/5ths of an acre and so was perfect for his dream of a menagerie. He set about filling his zoo – some were allowed to roam free which resulted in various consequences (some disastrous) and some in cages – again, some with disastrous consequences. Sometimes, he set up a marquee in the garden where himself and friends would dine sat on Persian rugs surrounded by some of  the animals. He was, for obvious reasons, not a popular neighbour.

His animals, at various times, according to ‘Rossetti’s Wombat’ included: “a white Brahmnin bull, or zebu (a specimen of the distinctive humped cattle of India). This was purchased on a whim from a ‘beast show’ in Cremorne Gardens” – page 68. “By May 1870 Rossetti had acquired two kangaroos – an adult female with a male joey in her pouch. These came to a bad buy mysterious end.” – Page 78. He also had a racoon which seems, nicely put, mischievous – Rossetti is known to have had to pay compensation for it’s raids on the neighbours gardens. There were also several peacocks – one of them was a beautiful white peacock which dived under the sofa and refused to come out until it died. His armadillos also were a nuisance to the neighbours and their privet hedges. The dormice were given to William Morris’ children in April 1868 when he took them through his pockets as he stepped through the door – we’re sure Morris was thrilled! He attempted to get an Elephant through what reads as a harebrained scheme and also a woodchuck. He also almost had a lion but it was only the fact he was put off by the expense of running hot water pipes through the garden to keep the lion warm during the English winter that he didn’t get one.

Other animals included: Punch the Pomeranian, Wolf the Irish deerhound, Jessie and Bobby barn owls, wood owls, Virginian Owls, mice, squirrels, rabbits, hedgehogs, and possibly a penguin. A grey parrot which tried to bite off visitors fingers and perhaps others that we don’t even know about!

Our Wombat in Kelmscott Manor

We’re so interested in the Rossetti and Top story – there’s so much to read. We did use John Simon’s fascinating book, “Rossetti’s Wombat” for reference in this blog and as quoted by page numbers above, did use it to help write parts of this blog. Also notice our featured image of the blog – it’s our Wombat on the windowsill at Kelmscott Manor next to Rossetti’s photo!

Related Articles

Post Title

William Morris Tissue Holders

A special thank you to Helen from the William Morris Society for the photograph of our William Morris Mallow green  fabric made into lovely tissue...

Post Title

The Revolt of Gent (Ghent)

William Morris had a passionate interest in medieva,l northern European, history, art and culture and he visited Ghent in 1859.  Whilst in Ghent, Morris would...

Post Title

William Morris Fabric Craft Projects

We always love a crafts project - especially when it's made using our beautiful fabrics! With a wide range of both William Morris and French...

Is it just us or does anyone else come across an old photo and get upset that the cake is now gone? 🍰
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #strawberrythief #fabrics #teatowel #preraphaelite #emmabridgewater
Lay the table with us for Easter dinner 🐰 These rabbit napkin folds are so simple yet effective, will you give them a go this weekend? 🐣
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #floraltable #napkinfold #napkinfolding #napkinfoldingideas #brotherrabbit #easternapkin
Us 🤝 simple napkin folding 🎀
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #williammorrisfabricdesign #design #afternoontea #daisy #preraphaelite
A really simple napkin fold for your Easter table! 🐣 We used a napkin ring but you could use ribbon or twine, whatever you’ve got! 🐰
Just fold the napkin into a triangle and roll up from the point until you can fold it in half to make the ears 🐇 You could put a little creme egg in there as an extra treat 🤎
•
•
•
#napkinart #napkinfolding #napkinfolding #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #eastertable #eastertablescape #fabrics #easter2025🐰🐥☀️🍹
Hopping into Easter week with a fab 10% off our website, just use code: EASTER on our website 🐣
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisprint #morris #willowbough #floraldesign #florals #easternapkin #eastertable #eastertablescape
Have you seen our new remnants and bundle section on our website? 🪡 Perfect for quilting, sewing and crafting, they’re all in varying sizes and we’ll keep it constantly updated 🧵
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #crafting #fabriccrafts #quilter #quiltersgonnaquilt #quiltlife #sewsewsew #sewersgonnasew #fabricremnants
Layering florals on florals this Spring 🪻🌷
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #morris #fabric #fabricaddict #pimpernel #floraldesigns #spring #springtable
The start of the Easter tablescapes this weekend 🐣 We cant resist a little rabbit napkin, so easy and so effective we can post a reel on how to do the napkin fold! 🐰 This is our pvc fabric in William Morris Brother Rabbit red which is perfect for on the table as it simply wipes clean so isn’t an issue for any spills 🧼 
We know that seasonal tablescapes whilst looking amazing can often seem really expensive on Instagram so we wanted to prove that with a simple napkin fold and a few little inexpensive decor bits it can be wonderfully seasonal yet affordable and used every year - the carrots are from @poundland and the cute little sheep are from @sainsburys 🐑
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #floraldesign #pvcfabric #pvctablecloth #eastertable #eastertablescape #eastertablesetting #easter2015
Spring has truly sprung this week and we’re looking forward to Easter 🐣 Our William Morris Daisy was looking gorgeous on the table with a little Easter treat 🐰
•
•
•
#napkinart #easteregg #easterdecor #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #floralfabric #printedintheuk #preraphaelite #artandcraftsmovement
One of the crafters among us couldn’t help but steal some of our new designs from work to create a gorgeous quilted bag from all our original designs to take to Chicago with them on holiday 🤍 For all of us back home in Yorkshire we’re a little jealous seeing all the holiday snaps of the bag round the city! ✨ All these designs are now available on our website 🥰
•
•
•
#quilted #quiltedbag #quiltedbags #quiltersgonnaquilt #quiltlife #sewersofinstagram #sewallthethings #whatimade #whatimadetoday #chicago #blossomtree #smallbusiness #ukbusiness #patchwork #patchworkbag
It’s back in stock!! 🍓 Our cotton Strawberry Thief blue licensed William Morris design is now back in stock - and digitally printed 🌿 We hope you can tell how crisp the design is from this video, the details within the design are so clear in the digital print which is fabulous becuase there’s so many beautiful details within all Morris designs 🎨
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #floraldesign #fabrics #strawberythief #quiltingfabric #quiltingdesigns #backinstock
The colours of Compton 😍 did you know some of our designs are now digitally printed? 🤎 digital print gives top quality printing design with a really crisp finish that brings to life the whole design and its details, of course, we’re still printing in the UK 🇬🇧
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #smallbusiness #floralfabric #quiltingfabric #florals #curtainfabric #upholsteryfabric #ukcrafters
Pack an order with us of our new quilting fabrics 🌿 These are all our exclusive designs that are now available on our website, and each beautiful design has been faithfully resorted from our French archive, we wonder what they’ll be made into 🤍
•
•
•
#quilting #quiltingfabric #fatquarterbundle #fatquarters #sewistofinstagram #sewingmakesmehappy #patchwork #patchworkquilt #smallbusiness #packanorderwithme #packanorderwithme
A tea towel hanging in the kitchen, bringing floral magic easily into the home 🌿 Can you believe William Morris designed Willow Bough in 1887? It’s such a timeless design we love imagining how many people throughout the years have chosen to have it decorating their homes 🤍 
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #morrisdesignsuk #timelessdesign #fabric #fabricstash #teatowel #teatoweldesign
Use code: birthday for 20% off our entire website 🌿 Includes our fabulous fabric by the half metre, tablewear & kitchenware 🤍 
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisstrawberrythief #morrisfabric #smallbusiness #quiltingfabric #sewingfabric #curtainfabric #fabric #fabricstash #fabriclove #floralfabric
We’re excited to announce our new range of fabrics, perfect for quilting 🪡 they are all from our exclusive French archive which dates from the late 1800s-early 1900s ⚜️ With a new range we were chatting about what to name each design, so as a female founded and run business, we decided to name them after some important women in our lives 🤍 We’re digitally printing this fabric so it’s amazing quality, but there’s limited stock of each design so let us know which designs you love ☺️
-
-
-
#smallbusiness #digitalprint #smallbizowner #quiltingfabric #quilting #frenchfloralfabric #quiltingfabrics #femalebusiness #sewersgonnasew #sewingaddict #sewingfabric #ukquiltersunited
Waiting patiently for peony season… 🫶🏻
On the table; our William Morris Willow Bough 🌿
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #willowbough #fabric #tablescape #burleighpottery #britishmade #peonyseason
Why wouldn’t we celebrate William Morris’ birthday with one of our biggest sales of the year! Hurry, it’s tonight and tomorrow only, take 20% off everything on our website with code; BIRTHDAY 🌿 
Born on this day in 1834, William Morris was an incredible talent. His designs are as timeless and popular today as ever, so long after they were designed 🎨 He also was a poet, writer and socialist activist who was involved in the arts and crafts movement and worked hard to keep traditional British textiles, he opened his own mill, Merton Abbey Mills 🌿 there’s so many interesting aspects of his life that he seemed to live many lives at once, when you’re that talented it must be hard to pick just one passion! 🌿 Happy Birthday William, thank you for all the stunning designs we print here in the UK just as he was passionate about all those years ago! 🇬🇧
•
•
•
#onthis #onthisday #williammorris #morris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #artsandcraftsmovement #preraphaelites #fatquarters
Happy first day of Spring 🌷what’s your favourite thing about spring? 🌱 Ours is of course all the stunning flowers blooming all around us 🪴 To get 15% off our website to bring some florals indoors, use code; SPRING at checkout on our website 🤍
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #morrisdesign #williammorriscollection #spring #springflorals #springflowers #flowerarrangement #flowerarranging