Wightwick Manor
The second stop on Mark and my road trip recently was to Wightwick Manor in the West Midlands. It’s another National Trust property with a considerable amount of William Morris prints and fabrics that intrigued us.
Wightwick Manor was built in 1887–1893 by Midlands architect Edward Ould for Theodore and Flora Mander. It is filled with objects from Japan and China, designs from William Morris and his British Arts and Crafts contemporaries, and over 8,000 books including hand-pressed ones from Kelmscott Press. Patterns and books… love it already.
Lots of pictures coming up!
I love the black and white parts mixed with the brick.
The entrance
The interiors were really elaborate and so interesting to see how it was originally decorated and used.
The library was stunning with books.
The shelves were packed and it was fun to see how many of them bowed with the weight.
The foyer had this lovely stained glass and a pretty writing table.
The central space was gigantic and overwhelming with pattern and textures.
The painted beams were an interesting addition.
I love inset fireplaces like this. You can barely see the benches tucked in around the hearth. And all the wallpaper and fabrics and rugs….
This book trolley was charming.
In the billiards room, there were large fabric and wallpaper books from William Morris.
I loved these tiles around the fireplace in the billiards room.
I actually loved this combination of wallpaper, fabric, and wood panels.
Such a sad clock face.
This corner seemed cozy and full.
The pool sticks made a fun pattern overlay on the wallpaper.
A chair printed in the Strawberry Thief Morris fabric.
Theodore Mander had quotes painted around the top of many rooms.
A super fun illustrated postcard from a cousin.
A four poster bed
A full hallway. Would be lovely to see it open and light, but they were of course protecting all the fabric and prints from sunlight.
Another bold wallpaper.
A view of the big hall from the upper level.
One of the rooms upstairs contained books from Kelmscott Press.
I loved the wallpaper in here and the books were all gorgeous.
One of my very favorite Morris illustrations and prints.
The Kelmscott Chaucer
A page of the Kelmscott Chaucer
The little library outside the nursery.
Some of the toys and decor in the nursery.
Had to take a picture of this panda for G. And loved the image of the little girl holding it.
So many books in the nursery!
A fun pencil drawing of the little boy who lived here.
Cute little nook of books inside a wardrobe.
Loved this illustrated wallpaper band in another nursery room.
They may have been painted on, but couldn’t touch them to tell.
A picture of the family.
We didn’t get much time in the gardens, but they looked quite dry as most things are in the UK currently.
There was some color though!
Mark grabbed this one as we left.
And one more, just because.
So glad we made the stop at Wightwick Manor. It was a very interesting home with such fantastic prints and patterns. I have always liked William Morris prints and it was really unique to see them in use in a real house from that time. A bit much for my taste, but really great to see.