24th October 2016
In our last post, we talked about the exhibition running at Bradford Cathedral celebrating William Morris. It couldn’t be left unsaid however, the beauty of the stain glass windows Morris & The Firm produced for the cathedral. It’s amazing when you’re researching Morris how widely spread his reputation was in the art he created, as word of mouth alone brought him much of his business.
John Aldam Heaton of ‘Woodbank’, Harden, suggested the cathedral commission the stained glass window to Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. Although only their third commission, the standard they produce made the group commissioning the piece confident. Heaton noted at the time, “the old tracery (of Jacobean character) was considered unfit to receive this valuable glass and it has been replaced by an entirely new window of the Perpendicular type, as more in harmony with such portions of the old church as remain.” (The tracery are the stonework elements which support the glass in these kind of gothic windows.)
Because all of the work carried out in The Firm was noted down, we know that Morris himself designed the angels in the top of the design, as well as several of the figures. His associates completed the rest of the work, including Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Peter Marshall, Philip Webb and Ford Madox Brown.
As described in the guidebook by Bradford Cathedral, the window theme could be described as “Witnesses to Christ.” From the guidebook, written in conjuncture with the Bradford Historical and Antiquarian Society, we can learn more about the different aspects of the window. “Jesus, in the upper centre light, is surrounded by four tiers of figures representing, in descending order, the Women who ministered to him, the Evangelists, the Patriarchs, and the Prophets who foretold his coming. The right hand of Christ in Majesty is raised in blessing and the left hand holds a golden orb surmounted by a cross. This is the work of Rossetti. The venerable figure of the patron saint, Peter, designed by Peter Paul Marshall, occupies the lower part of the central panel. His green cloak discloses a white robe, and from a golden chain round his neck hang two not very traditional keys and a bible. The panel is completed by Philip Webb’s Agnus Dei, the lamb being separated from the figures by a border of daisies within circles.”
Installed in 1864, before this piece was added when renovations began, the windows were mainly plain and modest with only a small amount of heraldic detail.
Morris was hugely influenced by the work of Thomas Carlyle and John Ruskin, who wanted to reinstate values of past times to improve society. Morris aimed to provide affordable ‘art for all.’ The company Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. therefore worked within all the decorative arts. Though Morris’ is perhaps best remembered for his wallpaper and textile designs, he also designed and created embroideries, such as the alter frontal textile currently at Bradford Cathedral. He always specialised in tapestries, stained glass windows and other of the traditional arts which had been forgotten with the rise of industrialisation. Whenever we write about Morris’ life work, we wonder how he fitted in the time mastering all of the crafts he did; learning all the hand making processes, learning the best techniques when working with the materials so that he could pass on his skills.
The windows The Firm created are beautiful, the detail as shown in the photos makes it seem unbelievable that they’re made with glass. If you get a chance to visit the Cathedral, it’s well worth it.
Posted in William Morris by Laura
Always one of our favourites, our Willow Bough blue tablecloth brings the beauty of William Morris into the home, remember our whole website is 15% off this week! Use code: springblooms 🌿
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Making everything in life its own little event, even a coffee and a cake 🫶🏻 Featuring our Strawberry Thief red William Morris design napkin and placemat 🍓
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The easiest napkin fold is so effective 🫶🏻 Next to a dinner plate or placed on the plate with a cake fork, it’s perfect for easy yet chic presentation 🍴
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#napkinfold #napkinfolding #tablescape #atthekitchentable #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #preraphaelite #floraldesign
Our William Morris Lily design is back in stock! 🤍 A gorgeous design especially this spring/ summer it’s a timeless design we adore year after year 🌿
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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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