Designer, craftsman, writer and socialist. Born in Walthamstow in 1834, William Morris entered Exeter College, Oxford, in 1853, where he met Edward Burne-Jones, a life-long collaborator and friend. Morris was articled to the architect G.E. Street in 1856, and moved with the firm to London in the summer of that year. There he entered the Pre-Raphaelite circle, which led to the formation of his decorating company, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., later Morris & Co., producing wallpapers, furniture, embroidery, ceramic tiles and stained glass. While his reputation as a poet was high, his lasting legacy has been his encouragement of what became known as the Arts and Crafts Movement, and his work as a social critic.
Flickr William Morris and Friends Group
