Red House

"A real wonder of the age...
which baffles all description."
Dante Gabriel Rossetti

In 1858 William Morris chose the site for his nuptial home in Cray Valley, which was then still Kentish countryside. One imagines Morris and his painter-poet-philosopher friends, not to mention his innovative architectural style, quite shocked his country neighbours. Red House's rural setting is now gone, save for the old orchard trees and oversized, by London standards, garden with its red-brick wall. Sadly, most of the furnishings have been scattered but still enough remains to evoke an aura of the past.

Of warm red brick with a steep red-tiled roof, Red House was the only home Morris ever built and the first independent architectural undertaking of his friend and colleague Philip Webb. Friends, many of them artists, were enlisted to help decorate Red House and a campaign was soon underway which would eventually result in the interior design company that bears Morris's name. Burne-Jones designed stained glass windows for Red House, some of which remain, the Rossettis adorned furniture and furnishings, and walls of specific rooms were dedicated to medieval romance, Greek myth and to "illustrious women". Morris proved a generous host and a bohemian-like existence prevailed, much in keeping with his philosophical leanings.

Personal tragedy and finances led Morris to abandon Red House in 1865. He moved his family and business back to London and never returned to Red House, reputedly unable to "set eyes on it again".

The National Trust acquired Red House in 2003 and it is open to visitors by pre-booked, guided tour only.

Date of Our Last Visit: April 2004