England Day 2: A Palace of Arts & Crafts

Day two of my England adventure. I woke up incredibly well rested and ready to explore. Our first full day had only one thing on the schedule, and that was Wightwick Manor. It was a long drive (over five hours round trip) to this absolute haven for Pre-Raphaelite art and Arts & Crafts interiors, but it was definitely worth it. You see, there are plenty of museums in England with art and furniture in the style, but Wightwick is a family-owned mock Gothic manor house that retains its interior as it was when the artists made art, fabrics, wallpaper, furniture, etc. for it in the 1800s. The collection has been added to, but with respect to the spirit of the original atmosphere. Basically, if you want to immerse yourself in the energy of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, there are three main possible places to go in England (in my opinion): Red House (home built for William Morris where he and friends spent what was arguably the pinnacle of their days), Kelmscott Manor (where Morris moved to and spent the last of his days), and Wightwick Manor. The other two were beyond the scope of my trip travels, so Wightwick was my first request when Bryony asked me if there was anything specific I wanted to see on my trip.

The long journey gave us a lovely chance to talk in the car. I love the sorts of conversations one can have on long car trips.

I have to give you a warning, today’s trip summary is going to be utter geeking over the Pre-Raphaelites and Arts & Crafts. So many pictures of details. Apologies if this isn’t your thing…from here on, honestly you might want to just skip to my next day, or scroll quickly. But for those of you who love such things? Oh gird your loins, dearest.

Gilly, Bryony, and Fiend all wore their Morris print dresses for the day’s theme, and I could kick myself for not packing my own (which matches Gilly’s). We were an absolute hit among the staff/employees who were delighted to see such an enthusiastic bunch. By the way, if you have to go to a place that embodies something you are really enthusiastic about? I highly recommend going with kindred spirits who are equally as enthusiastic. I felt no qualms whatsoever about spending half an hour in a single room looking at all the details of carved chair arms, wallpaper, hinges, and so on. In fact, we were pointing out things to each other and then each taking turns photographing them on our cameras.

We arrived, stretched our legs, ate a snack at the car, and then walked to the gatehouse where an employee took our coupon for free admission (hooray!) and gave us a couple of maps to the grounds. Giddy after hours in the car, we were like schoolgirls, skipping with linked arms and running around the outside of the manor, exclaiming over every detail.

Commence a series of exterior photos, some of which may look very similar, but there were just so many little details that charmed me utterly. Every time I’d put down my phone and think “oh I don’t need a photo of this wall” I’d notice a little carved detail or hinge, or window.

Look at the little cat lion gargoyle guy at the center of the decorative piece in the photo below!

The green men on the metal boxy piece in the below photo!

Stained glass windows, beautiful even from the outside.

And those twisted brick CHIMNEYS against the gorgeous blue sky? Come on now….

The front door was of course appropriately stunning.

With an owl and bat corbel to either side.

I started getting teary-eyed in the first room. There was an employee in each room there to tell us the story of each piece. I think most of them could immediately tell we were afficionados with plenty of knowledge already. But there was one employee in one room who insisted on continuing his shpiel. I joked with my friends later that it made me think of the line from The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe: “do not cite the deep magic to me, witch, I was there when it was written.” Hahaha!

I’ve deeply explored as many photos of Wightwick as I could find, and of course so many of the artworks are ones I know from having a Pre-Raphaelite blog for many years. It was utterly surreal to see these things in person. Wightwick also didn’t allow photography indoors for a long time, so a lot of this I had only seen in tiny images in books, or blurry surreptitious photos.

Wightwick used to put pinecones on all the furniture you couldn’t sit on. They’ve switched to putting signs like this with an adorable porcupine on the things you can’t sit on, and a Morris print pillow with a black cat on the seats where you are welcome to sit. It’s a very sweet way of getting the message across.

I love how if you look super closely you can see both me and Gilly in this photo. I think that might be a peek of Bryony too behind me.

Bryony took a couple of nice photos of me in this window seat (second photo is from my phone and sadly blurry, but shows the gorgeous ceiling) and then the employee offered to take a photo of all of us!

I’m absolutely obssesed with crown glass windows.

Truly, if I could create a palace of the arts for myself, it would look so much like this. Little details everywhere. So many stories told by panels of stained glass in a window or carvings in a wall. No questioning if it’s “too much,” and yet somehow it all flows so perfectly.

Look at the way the floor matches the tile! Agghgh. And the copper chimney hood!

Giant artworks I’ve only seen in photos online casually line the hallways.

Just look at the strapwork on this cupboard!!

This portrait of Jane Morris was really a stand out of beauty in person.

I loved these sketches for William Morris’s “The Forest” tapestry.

Bryony caught this candid photo of me sitting in the moment.

And then, there’s the room I most looked forward to: the great hall.

A detail of the frieze that went around the top of the room.

Inglenooks are another favorite architectural detail of mine, and this one is exemplary.

If you wonder where my inspiration comes from to have poetry and quotes written on my walls…

At the far end of the room is the crown jewel (in my opinion) of the entire collection: Edward Burne-Jones’ Love Among the Ruins. Just there. On the wall. With a gorgeous chest in front of it so you can’t get right up next to it, but pretty darn close. The worker in this room was kind enough to shine her phone light on the chest so that we could see the dragon-like animals etched on it. They totally disappear if the light isn’t on there, because of the darkness of the patina and the shadows in the room.

She also took a group photo of us with the artwork, but there’s always a risk when someone else takes your photo: she only took two, and they’re both awful. So that one stays offline.

Burne-Jones is my second favorite “no-longer-living” artist, and I’m always so enthralled to see his work in person. Just look at the detail!

I wish this sofa didn’t have a porcupine on it. Look at how inviting it is!

We all were delighted when we got to the billiards room. The wallpaper matched Gilly!

A perfect example of us exclaiming over every detail:

Wightwick makes me want to put even MORE quotes all over my house…

The upstairs balcony / minstrel’s gallery allows you to look down into the great hall.

And this gorgeous settle is in the center of that hallway.

These are all details of one giant cupboard.

My favorite part of the cabinet was this carving that looks quite like Jane Morris.

I just love pieces like this that defy definition. Mirror? Art? Frame? All of those?

More stunning quotes. I’d love to know what font these all are/ have a master list of letters for my own writing.

I was so excited to see this cupboard bed in person, and was really disappointed to see a rope across this side of the room. This was as close as I could get. But I understand: there was a lovely rug too that might get worn.

I really don’t recall ever having seen these delightful portraits of young William Morris before.

Once again, just casually in a back hallway that was like a servant’s stairwell, you had this gorgeous giant tapestry.

And continuing down the hallway, even more stunning details.

I truly love this unfinished Rossetti portrait, and the lighting by this point in the day was just (chef’s kiss).

After we left the manor, we stopped first at the gift shop, where I couldn’t help but buy a handful of mementos. And then to the cafe, which unfortunately had stopped serving (it was 5 or 6 by this point). I bought a cider, and we slowly walked back to our car. It was at this point, the sun getting low in the sky, full of so much beauty from what I had seen, strolling with these gorgeous kindred goblins, sipping on some (delicious) cider, my heart swelled so so big with joy I couldn’t take it, and I had to take a silly little photo to capture that moment I felt so singularly happy.

You might have seen these if you watched my trip haul video, but here’s what I got at Wightwick. A Morris print hare ornament:

We all bought matching Strawberry Thief badges:

Postcards of the fox, hare, and raven/crow sketches.

A Brer Rabbit clay tile:

And my favorite item…a black cat pillow like they used in the manor house, in honor of my beloved Corvin.

I fell asleep like a rock again that night, cradling a hot water bottle. The next day, Bryony would be driving me to Wirral on the coast, where I would meet one of my best friends, Martha, go to the museum, stay at a gothic bothy, and oh, so much more! Stay tuned, dearies!