Editing William Morris (section)

== Early life ==

=== Youth: 1834–1852 ===
Morris was born at Elm House in [[Walthamstow]], [[Essex]], on 24 March 1834.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1p=2|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2pp=1–2|3a1=Thompson|3y=1955|3pp=1–2|4a1=MacCarthy|4y=1994|4pp=1–2|5a1=Rodgers|5y=1996|5p=20}} Raised into a wealthy middle-class family, he was named after his father, a financier who worked as a partner in the Sanderson & Co. firm, bill brokers in the [[City of London]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=2–3|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=1–2, 7}} His mother was Emma Morris (née Shelton), who descended from a wealthy bourgeois family from [[Worcester, England|Worcester]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=3|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=1–2, 10}} Morris was the third of his parents' surviving children; their first child, Charles, had been born in 1827 but died four days later. Charles had been followed by the birth of two girls, Emma in 1829 and Henrietta in 1833, before William's birth. These children were followed by the birth of siblings Stanley in 1837, Rendall in 1839, Arthur in 1840, [[Isabella Gilmore|Isabella]] in 1842, Edgar in 1844, and Alice in 1846.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=4|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=2|3a1=Rodgers|3y=1996|3p=20}} The Morris family were followers of the [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] [[Protestantism|Protestant]] form of Christianity, and William was [[baptism|baptised]] four months after his birth at [[St Mary's Church, Walthamstow]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=10|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2p=2|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3p=11}}

[[File:William Morris Gallery-001 crop.JPG|thumb|upright=1.35|Water House, Morris's childhood home; renovated in 2012, it now houses The [[William Morris Gallery]].]]

As a child, Morris was kept largely housebound at Elm House by his mother; there, he spent much time reading, favouring the novels of [[Walter Scott]].{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=5–6}} Aged 6, Morris moved with his family to the [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] mansion at [[Woodford Hall]], [[Woodford, London|Woodford, Essex]], which was surrounded by 50 acres of land adjacent to [[Epping Forest]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=5|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=6–7|3a1=Rodgers|3y=1996|3p=20}} He took an interest in fishing with his brothers as well as gardening in the Hall's grounds,{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=8–9}} and spent much time exploring the Forest, where he was fascinated both by the Iron Age earthworks at [[Loughton Camp]] and [[Ambresbury Banks]] and by the Early Modern [[Epping Forest#Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge|Hunting Lodge]] at [[Chingford]].{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1pp=2–3|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2p=11|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=14–17|4a1=Rodgers|4y=1996|4pp=21–22}} He also took rides through the Essex countryside on his pony,{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=6–7|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=13|3a1=Rodgers|3y=1996|3p=20}} and visited the various churches and cathedrals throughout the country, marveling at their architecture.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=10|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=4–5|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=17–18}} His father took him on visits outside of the county, for instance to [[Canterbury Cathedral]], the Chiswick Horticultural Gardens, and to the [[Isle of Wight]], where he adored [[Blackgang Chine]].{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=9, 18}} Aged 9, he was then sent to Misses Arundale's Academy for Young Gentlemen, a nearby preparatory school; although initially riding there by pony each day, he later began boarding, intensely disliking the experience.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=11|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=20–21}}

In 1847, Morris's father died unexpectedly. From this point, the family relied upon continued income from the copper mines at [[Devon Great Consols]], and sold Woodford Hall to move into the smaller [[William Morris Gallery|Water House]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=11, 14, 18|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2p=22|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=26–27|4a1=Rodgers|4y=1996|4p=22}} In February 1848 Morris began his studies at [[Marlborough College]] in [[Marlborough, Wiltshire]], where he gained a reputation as an eccentric nicknamed "Crab". He despised his time there, being bullied, bored, and homesick.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=15–16|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=3–5|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=29–34|4a1=Rodgers|4y=1996|4p=22}} He did use the opportunity to visit many of the prehistoric sites of Wiltshire, such as [[Avebury]] and [[Silbury Hill]], which fascinated him.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=16|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2p=5|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=37–40|4a1=Rodgers|4y=1996|4p=22}} The school was [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] in faith and in March 1849 Morris was confirmed by the [[Bishop of Salisbury]] in the college chapel, developing an enthusiastic attraction towards the [[Anglo-Catholic movement]] and its [[Romanticism|Romanticist]] aesthetic.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=17|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=23–24|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=43–44}} At Christmas 1851, Morris was removed from the school and returned to Water House, where he was privately tutored by the Reverend Frederick B. Guy, Assistant Master at the nearby [[Forest School, Walthamstow|Forest School]].{{sfnm|1a1=MacCarthy|1y=1994|1pp=48–50|2a1=Rodgers|2y=1996|2p=23}}

=== Oxford and the Birmingham Set: 1852–1856 ===
[[File:William Morris 23.jpg|thumb|William Morris at 23]]

In June 1852 Morris entered [[Exeter College, Oxford|Exeter College]] at [[Oxford University]], although, since the college was full, he went into residence only in January 1853.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=25–26|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=52–53}} He disliked the college and was bored by the manner in which they taught him [[Classics]].{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=53–55}} Instead he developed a keen interest in medieval history and medieval architecture, inspired by the many medieval buildings in Oxford.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1955|1p=6|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=53–55, 60–61}} This interest was tied to Britain's growing [[Medievalism|Medievalist]] movement, a form of [[Romanticism]] that rejected many of the values of Victorian [[industrial capitalism]].{{sfn|Thompson|1955|pp=9–10}} For Morris, the Middle Ages represented an era with strong [[chivalry|chivalric values]] and an organic, pre-capitalist sense of community, both of which he deemed preferable to his own period.{{sfn|Thompson|1955|p=28}} This attitude was compounded by his reading of [[Thomas Carlyle]]'s book ''[[Past and Present (book)|Past and Present]]'' (1843), in which Carlyle championed medieval values as a corrective to the problems of Victorian society.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1955|1pp=29–32|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=71}} Under this influence, Morris's dislike of contemporary capitalism grew, and he came to be influenced by the work of [[Christian socialism|Christian socialists]] [[Charles Kingsley]] and [[Frederick Denison Maurice]].{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1955|1pp=3, 40|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=64–65}}

At the college, Morris met fellow first-year undergraduate [[Edward Burne-Jones]], who became his lifelong friend and collaborator. Although from very different backgrounds, they found that they had a shared attitude to life, both being keenly interested in Anglo-Catholicism and [[King Arthur|Arthurianism]].{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1pp=10–11|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2pp=34–35|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=52, 56–58}}
Through Burne-Jones, Morris joined a group of undergraduates from [[Birmingham]] who were studying at [[Pembroke College, Oxford|Pembroke College]]: William Fulford (1831–1882), [[Richard Watson Dixon]], [[Charles Joseph Faulkner|Charles Faulkner]], and [[Cormell Price]]. They were known among themselves as the "Brotherhood" and to historians as the [[Birmingham Set]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=35–36, 41–42|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=59–60}} Morris was the most affluent member of the Set, and was generous with his wealth toward the others.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=65}} Like Morris, the Set were fans of the poet [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]], and would meet together to recite the plays of [[William Shakespeare]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=45, 47|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=61–62}}

[[File:William morris self-portrait 1856.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|William Morris self-portrait, 1856; he grew his beard that year, after leaving university.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=112}}]]

Morris was heavily influenced by the writings of the art critic [[John Ruskin]], being particularly inspired by his chapter "On the Nature of Gothic Architecture" in the second volume of ''[[The Stones of Venice (book)|The Stones of Venice]]''; he later described it as "one of the very few necessary and inevitable utterances of the century".{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=38|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=32–35|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=69–71}} Morris adopted Ruskin's philosophy of rejecting the tawdry industrial manufacture of decorative arts and architecture in favour of a return to hand-craftsmanship, raising [[artisan]]s to the status of artists, creating art that should be affordable and hand-made, with no hierarchy of artistic mediums.{{sfn|Thompson|1955|pp=35–38}}<ref name="EB1911" /> Ruskin had achieved attention in Victorian society for championing the art of a group of painters who had emerged in London in 1848 calling themselves the [[Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood]]. The Pre-Raphaelite style was heavily Medievalist and Romanticist, emphasising abundant detail, intense colours and complex compositions; it greatly impressed Morris and the Set.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1p=11|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=73–74}} Influenced both by Ruskin and by [[John Keats]], Morris began to spend more time writing poetry, in a style that was imitative of much of theirs.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=51–53|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=74–77}}

Both he and Burne-Jones were influenced by the Romanticist milieu and the Anglo-Catholic movement, and decided to become clergymen in order to found a monastery where they could live a life of [[chastity]] and dedication to artistic pursuit, akin to that of the contemporary [[Nazarene movement]]. However, as time went on Morris became increasingly critical of Anglican doctrine and the idea faded.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=62–64|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=25–26|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=65–68}} In summer 1854, Morris travelled to Belgium to look at medieval paintings,{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=48|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=82}} and in July 1855 went with Burne-Jones and Fulford across northern France, visiting medieval churches and cathedrals.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=71–78|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=26–27|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=82–94}} It was on this trip that he and Burne-Jones committed themselves to "a life of art".{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=95}} For Morris, this decision resulted in a strained relationship with his family, who believed that he should have entered either commerce or the clergy.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=83|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=96}} On a subsequent visit to Birmingham, Morris discovered [[Thomas Malory]]'s ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]'', which became a core Arthurian text for him and Burne-Jones.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=81|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=96–97}} In January 1856, the Set began publication of ''[[The Oxford and Cambridge Magazine]]'', designed to contain "mainly Tales, Poetry, friendly critiques and social articles". Funded mainly by Morris, who briefly served as editor and heavily contributed to it with his own stories, poems, reviews and articles, the magazine lasted for twelve issues, and garnered praise from Tennyson and Ruskin.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1pp=20–23|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2pp=88, 92|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=98–102}}

=== Apprenticeship, the Pre-Raphaelites, and marriage: 1856–1859 ===
[[File:William Morris 001.jpg|thumb|upright|Morris's 1858 painting ''La belle Iseult'', also inaccurately called ''Queen Guinevere'', is his only surviving easel painting, now in the [[Tate Gallery]]. The model is [[Jane Morris|Jane Burden]], who married Morris in 1859.]]

Having passed his finals and been awarded a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], Morris began an apprenticeship with the Oxford-based [[Gothic Revival architecture|Neo-Gothic]] architect [[G. E. Street|George Edmund Street]] in January 1856. His apprenticeship focused on architectural drawing, and there he was placed under the supervision of the young architect [[Philip Webb]], who became a close friend.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1pp=16–20|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2pp=82, 87, 102|3a1=Thompson|3y=1955|3p=43|4a1=MacCarthy|4y=1994|4pp=102–108}} Morris soon relocated to Street's London office, in August 1856 moving into a flat in [[Bloomsbury]] in [[Central London]] with Burne-Jones, an area perhaps chosen for its avant-garde associations.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=102|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=108–110}} Morris was fascinated by London but dismayed at its pollution and rapid expansion into neighbouring countryside, describing it as "the spreading sore".{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=111–112}}

William Morris became increasingly fascinated with the idyllic Medievalist depictions of rural life which appeared in the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites, and spent large sums of money purchasing such artworks. Burne-Jones shared this interest, but took it further by becoming an apprentice to one of the foremost Pre-Raphaelite painters, [[Dante Gabriel Rossetti]]; the three soon became close friends.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1pp=12–15|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2pp=100–102, 105|3a1=Thompson|3y=1955|3pp=42–44|4a1=MacCarthy|4y=1994|4pp=113–115}} Through Rossetti, Morris came to associate with poet [[Robert Browning]], and the artists [[Arthur Hughes (artist)|Arthur Hughes]], [[Thomas Woolner]], and [[Ford Madox Brown]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=106|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=116}} Tired of architecture, Morris abandoned his apprenticeship, with Rossetti persuading him to take up painting instead, which he chose to do in the Pre-Raphaelite style.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=105, 109|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=44–45|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=115, 122–123}} Morris aided Rossetti and Burne-Jones in painting the [[Oxford Union murals|Arthurian murals]] at the [[Oxford Union]], although his contributions were widely deemed inferior and unskilled compared to those of the others.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=117–126|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=46–47|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=129–134}} At Rossetti's recommendation, Morris and Burne-Jones moved in together to the flat at Bloomsbury's [[Red Lion Square|No. 17 Red Lion Square]] by November 1856. Morris designed and commissioned furniture for the flat in a medieval style, much of which he painted with Arthurian scenes in a direct rejection of mainstream artistic tastes.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1p=20|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2pp=112–114|3a1=Thompson|3y=1955|3p=45|4a1=MacCarthy|4y=1994|4pp=117–122}}

Morris also continued writing poetry and began designing illuminated manuscripts and embroidered hangings.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=123–125}} In March 1857 Bell and Dandy published a book of Morris's poems, ''The Defence of Guenevere'', which was largely self-funded by the author. It did not sell well and garnered few reviews, most of which were unsympathetic. Disconcerted, Morris would not publish again for a further eight years.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=129–135|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=76, 85|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=142–147}} In October 1857 Morris met [[Jane Morris|Jane Burden]], a woman from a poor working-class background, at a theatre performance. Rossetti initially asked her to model for him. Controversially both Rossetti and Morris were smitten with her; Morris, however, began a relationship with her and they were engaged in spring 1858; Burden would later admit that she had never loved Morris.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1955|1pp=48, 74–76|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=135–141}} They were married in a low-key ceremony held at [[St Michael at the North Gate]] church in Oxford on 26 April 1859, before honeymooning in [[Bruges]], Belgium, and settling temporarily at 41 Great Ormond Street, London.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=138–139|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2p=76|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=151–152}}