22nd January 2016
Welcome to part two of our Philip Webb chronicle! We’re concentrating on his early years in this blog, his friendship to Morris at this formative time was important and we look to explore this more as well as understand how both Webb and Morris rose to be such influential figures in their crafts- before they could do this, they had to learn their trade…
On the 16th May 1854, Webb began work at G.E. Street’s office- his salary? £1 a week- I bet we all wish such a an architect was a pound a week! It wasn’t until 1856 that Morris and Webb met, when Morris went to work for G.E.Street in Oxford, whilst Webb was the senior assistant. It has been recorded that Webb described Morris as, “a slim boy, like a wonderful bird just out of his shell.” It was these two who were to become the Art and Crafts movements most influential pioneers. It was around this time that Webb and Morris took up the crafts that would make them famous over a hundred years after their deaths for the talents they possessed- the crafts included carving, wood-engraving, embroidery and clay-modelling. Morris was inspired by John Ruskin who designed many beautiful Gothic buildings, and upon finishing his degree he devoted his life to architecture.
Portrait of Philip Webb by Charles Fairfax Murray. ©National Portrait Gallery, London
Morris didn’t enjoy the work in Street’s office, he found the measured drawings tedious and difficult. Webb and Morris continued their friendship as Webb showed him his favourite haunts in Oxford, taking him to old churches and showing him the architecture around them. They formed a close friendship which would last until Morris’ death, and have important affects on English architecture, interior design and the preservation of historical buildings. The book Philip Webb, ‘Pioneer of Arts & Crafts Architecture’ by Sheila Kirk summarises their friendship wonderfully, “Their personalities were complementary. Morris, usually somewhat unkempt, was mercurial, rebellious, vehement, and prone to sudden enthusiasms which he pursued with an egotism Webb described as ‘amusing and childlike’, and to sudden violent rages in which he sometimes damaged himself and the furniture. Webb, a tall, slim man with a serious, intelligent and kindly expression, was extremely reticent, of equable temper, self-controlled, slow to form or change his beliefs, and careful of his appearance. Both men were steadfast on matters of principle, loyal, sincere, lacking in pettiness, and wholly without pretence, with a strong aversion to the artificiality of formal social occasions.” (Kirk, 2005, P.15)
When Burne-Jones first met Webb, he apparently was suprised he was of the same age as him as when Morris described his friend from work he spoke of him as a, “very fine old fellow in the office.” (Kirk, 2005, p 15) Morris left Street’s office in 1856, he was tired of architecture full time, and though it remained a passion, he preferred to create things with his own two hands- though an architect designs the property, they don’t create it, and so he left to pursue painting.
Philip Webb’s drawing instruments. Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Red House, 2014. ©National Trust/Sophia Schorr-Kon
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, begun in 1848 had been disbanded by 1856, but, “a wider circle of painters, centred round Rosetti, had espoused its ideal of portraying people and events in the colours and attitudes of real life instead of the formal conventionalised postures and arrangements, with colour subordinated to drawing, demanded by the royal academy.” (Kirk, 2005, p15)
Webb was, by all accounts, a lovely man. He was immensely kind, honest, and was hugely supportive of his friends successes. When someone was worse off than him, he made a point to help them out even if he didn’t have it himself, he was known for giving money as ‘gifts’ not loans, so only if someone came into good fortune were they to repay him. When Morris set up the Kelmscott Press in 1891, Morris insisted on giving Webb a copy of every book he published, so Webb bought a copy of every book published to lend to friends so Morris wouldn’t financially suffer from his generosity. Sydney Carlyle Cockerell, the secretary of Morris’ Kelmscott Press from 1891-1896 recalled Morris referred to Webb as, “the best man that he had ever known.” (Kirk, 2005, p16.)
After Morris met and married Jane Burden, Burne-Jones engaged to Georgiana Macdonald and Rossetti to Elizabeth Siddall, Morris decided to build a house in the country to realise his and Burne-Jones’ dream of a monastic establishment, calling themselves the brotherhood. This had to be revised once the men married, and the dream would be realised on a part time basis. This house remains today as Red House, which we will focus on in our next blog, and is now a beautiful National Trust property which we would highly recommend visiting.
Webb met Faulkner when they were both painting the Debating Hall, and in 1858 Faulkner, Webb and Morris took a trip to Paris, which has become a famous holiday as the three were heavily inspired whilst in France, Webb returned to England with not only an intensive knowledge of British buildings, but now also an awareness of French churches, castles and townhouses. Taking a month to complete, the three rowed from Paris to Caudebec, the boat arrived with a hole in it from Oxford, to Morris’ fury. “They hoisted sail in favourable winds, slept at inns, and stopped to explore towns and make short excursions. It was an unusual and adventurous holiday, involving not only he studying of medieval architecture but also hilarious battles with soda-water syphons, a leaking boat, being stranded in a lock because Morris had angered the lock-keeper, and a narrow escape from being shipwrecked by the tidal bore.” (Kirk, 2005, p.19)
Our next blog picks up the story after the friends return from their trip!
Posted in News by Laura
Is it just us or does anyone else come across an old photo and get upset that the cake is now gone? 🍰
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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? 🐣
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Us 🤝 simple napkin folding 🎀
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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 🤎
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Hopping into Easter week with a fab 10% off our website, just use code: EASTER on our website 🐣
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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 🧵
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Layering florals on florals this Spring 🪻🌷
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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 🐑
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A gorgeous spring day today spent in the garden, anyone else unable to spend a day without a pot of mini eggs nearby? 🐣 Our pvc fabric is perfect for garden tables, a simple wipe clean and it’s ready for outdoor meals - just make sure to not leave it outside in the rain! ☔️☀️ On the table today is our William Morris Compton pvc, a year- round fave of ours 🤎
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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 🐰
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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 🥰
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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 🎨
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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 🇬🇧
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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 🤍
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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 🤍
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Use code: birthday for 20% off our entire website 🌿 Includes our fabulous fabric by the half metre, tablewear & kitchenware 🤍
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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 ☺️
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Waiting patiently for peony season… 🫶🏻
On the table; our William Morris Willow Bough 🌿
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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! 🇬🇧
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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 🤍
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