Red House
The National Trust has secured the future of Red House, Bexleyheath, South East London, which is of international significance in the development of the Arts and Crafts movement.
William Morris was only 25 years old and newly married to Jane Burden, the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood's model and muse, when he commissioned the young architect Philip Webb to design Red House. Morris together with his friends, including Webb, Rossetti and Burne-Jones, decorated Red House in a medieval style. Out of this work they conceived the manufacturing and decorating firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. which had a profound influence on design and decoration. Many of the original furnishings are now on display at Kelmscott Manor and the Victoria & Albert Museum but some original built-in furniture is still in situ, including pieces painted by Morris and Burne-Jones.
Red House was designed to express a set of social, architectural and cultural values drawn from history. It was Webb's first private commission and with its garden was planned as a single entity. Morris believed that the garden should 'clothe' the house linking it with the countryside which then surrounded it. The house was constructed of warm red brick, under a steep red-tiled roof, with an emphasis on natural materials. The sense of space and light was a radical departure from the high Victorian style of the day and much of the interior was decorated by Morris and Webb with Rossetti and Burne-Jones.
The National Trust plans to open the house and garden to visitors from early summer 2003 and the property will provide wide-ranging learning and training opportunities. The Trust hopes to appoint a Learning and Community Officer who will co-ordinate school visits linked to the national curriculum; there will be a study centre with facilities for research; and, working with the Friends of Red House, the Trust will provide public tours for visitors. There will also be a holiday flat, giving people the opportunity to live in, experience and enjoy the house, from summer 2003.
The National Trust has been able to save Red House from an uncertain future with funding and support from English Heritage, Bexley Council, the William Morris Society, the World Monuments Commission, the Red House Trust, the Victorian Society, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Bexley Heritage Trust, the Friends of Red House and National Trust benefactors. The Trust will also be running a fundraising campaign for research, archaeological work and conservation of the garden, as well as providing equipment for the study centre.
After living there for 5 years, Morris sold Red House and it had a succession of sympathetic owners. From 1952 until 2002, it was the home of the Hollamby family. The late Edward Hollamby, a former Greater London Council architect, continued the architectural associations with the house and provided limited public access.
Jill Hollamby, his daughter, says: "Before his death Dad, along with Mum, wanted to secure the future of the house as a home yet still maintaining public access and we are now especially pleased that so many will be able to appreciate their commitment and love of Red House and all it stands for. The future of Red House is secure."
