Editing William Morris (section)

== Later life ==

=== Merton Abbey and the Democratic Federation: 1881–1884 ===
[[File:LL Pocock The Pond at William Morris's Works at Merton.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''The Pond at Merton Abbey'' by [[Lexden Lewis Pocock]] is an idyllic representation of the works in the time of Morris.]]

In summer 1881, Morris took out a lease on the seven-acre former silk weaving factory, the [[Merton Abbey Works]], next to the River Wandle on the High Street at [[Merton, London (parish)|Merton]], Southwest London (not to be confused with the adjacent [[Merton Abbey Mills]], home of the Liberty Print Works.) After he moved his workshops to the site, the premises were used for weaving, dyeing, and creating stained glass; within three years, 100 craftsmen were employed there.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=31–37|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=429–433}} Working conditions at the Abbey were better than at most Victorian factories. However, despite Morris's ideals, there was little opportunity for the workers to display their own individual creativity.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=453}} Morris had initiated a system of [[profit sharing]] among the Firm's upper clerks, however this did not include the majority of workers, who were instead employed on a [[piecework]] basis. Morris was aware that, in retaining the division between employer and employed, the company failed to live up to his own egalitarian ideals, but he defended this, asserting that it was impossible to run a socialist company within a competitive capitalist economy.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=61|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=319–322|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=454–458}} The Firm itself was expanding, opening up a store in [[Manchester]] in 1883 and holding a stand at that year's Foreign Fair in [[Boston]].{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=452}}

Janey's relationship with Rossetti had continued through a correspondence and occasional visits, although she found him extremely paranoid and was upset by his addiction to [[chloral hydrate|chloral]]. She last saw him in 1881, and he died in April the following year.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=438–442}} Morris described his mixed feelings toward his deceased friend by stating that he had "some of the very greatest qualities of genius, most of them indeed; what a great man he would have been but for the arrogant misanthropy which marred his work, and killed him before his time".{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=442}} In August 1883, Janey was introduced to the poet [[Wilfrid Scawen Blunt]], with whom she embarked on a second affair, which Morris might have been aware of.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=447–451}}

In January 1881, Morris was involved in the establishment of the [[Radical Union]], an amalgam of radical working-class groups which hoped to rival the Liberals, and became a member of its executive committee.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=423}} However, he soon rejected [[Radicalism (historical)|liberal radicalism]] completely and moved toward [[socialism]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=351|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=462}} In this period, British socialism was a small, fledgling and vaguely defined movement, with only a few hundred adherents. Britain's first socialist party, the [[Social Democratic Federation|Democratic Federation]] (DF), had been founded in 1881 by [[Henry Hyndman]], an adherent of the socio-political ideology of [[Marxism]], with Morris joining the DF in January 1883.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=82–84|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=269, 292–297|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=462–467}} Morris began to read voraciously on the subject of socialism, including [[Henry George]]'s ''[[Progress and Poverty]]'', [[Alfred Russel Wallace]]'s ''Land Nationalisation'', and [[Karl Marx]]'s ''[[Das Kapital]]'', although admitted that Marx's economic analysis of capitalism gave him "agonies of confusion on the brain". Instead he preferred the writings of [[William Cobbett]] and [[Sergius Stepniak]], although he also read the critique of socialism produced by [[John Stuart Mill]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=89|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=269, 306|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=467–471}}

[[File:David's Charge to Solomon, by Burne-Jones and Morris, Trinity Church, Boston, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|upright=0.8|left|''David's Charge to Solomon'' (1882), a stained-glass window by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris in [[Trinity Church, Boston]], Massachusetts]]

In May 1883, Morris was appointed to the DF's executive committee, and was soon elected to the position of treasurer.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=472}} Devoting himself to the socialist cause, he regularly lectured at meetings across Britain, hoping to gain more converts, although was regularly criticised for doing so by the mainstream press.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=123|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=308–311|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=274–275}} In November 1883 he was invited to speak at [[University College, Oxford]], on the subject of "Democracy and Art" and there began espousing socialism; this shocked and embarrassed many members of staff, earning national press coverage.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=117–120|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=270–271|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=477–479}} With other DF members, he travelled to [[Blackburn, Lancashire]] in February 1884 amid the great cotton strike, where he lectured on socialism to the strikers.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1955|1p=314|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=487}} The following month he marched in a central London demonstration commemorating the first anniversary of Marx's death and the thirteenth anniversary of the [[Paris Commune]].{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=488}}

Morris aided the DF using his artistic and literary talents; he designed the group's membership card,{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=484}} and helped author their manifesto, ''Socialism Made Plain'', in which they demanded improved housing for workers, free [[compulsory education]] for all children, free school meals, an [[Eight-hour day|eight-hour working day]], the abolition of national debt, [[Nationalization|nationalisation]] of land, banks, and railways, and the organisation of agriculture and industry under state control and co-operative principles.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=472}} Some of his DF comrades found it difficult to reconcile his socialist values with his position as proprietor of the Firm, although he was widely admired as a man of integrity.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=471}} The DF began publishing a weekly newspaper, ''[[Justice (newspaper)|Justice]]'', which soon faced financial losses that Morris covered. Morris also regularly contributed articles to the newspaper, in doing so befriending another contributor, [[George Bernard Shaw]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=121|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=313|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=485–497}}

His socialist activism monopolised his time, forcing him to abandon a translation of the Persian ''[[Shahnameh]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=92|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=482}} It also led to him seeing far less of Burne-Jones, with whom he had strong political differences; although once a [[republicanism|republican]], Burne-Jones had become increasingly conservative, and felt that the DF were exploiting Morris for his talents and influence.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=481–482}} While Morris devoted much time to trying to convert his friends to the cause, of Morris's circle of artistic comrades, only Webb and Faulkner fully embraced socialism, while Swinburne expressed his sympathy with it.{{sfn|Thompson|1955|p=274}}

In 1884, the DF renamed itself the [[Social Democratic Federation]] (SDF) and underwent an internal reorganisation. However, the group was facing an internal schism between those (such as Hyndman), who argued for a parliamentary path toward socialism, and those (like Morris) who deemed the [[Houses of Parliament]] intrinsically corrupt and capitalist. Personal issues between Morris and Hyndman were exacerbated by their attitude to British foreign policy; Morris was staunchly [[Anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist]] while Hyndman expressed patriotic sentiment encouraging some foreign intervention.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=125–128|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=331–357|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=493–496}} The division between the two groups developed into open conflict, with the majority of members sharing Morris's position. In December 1884 Morris and his supporters – most notably [[Ernest Belfort Bax]] and [[Edward Aveling]] – left the SDF; the first major schism of the British socialist movement.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1955|1pp=357–365|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=499–503}}

=== Socialist League: 1884–1889 ===
{{multiple image
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| image1 = Socialist League Manifesto 1885.jpg
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| footer = Left: the cover of the Socialist League's manifesto of 1885 featured art by Morris. Right: detail of ''Woodpecker'' tapestry, 1885.
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In December 1884, Morris founded the [[Socialist League (UK, 1885)|Socialist League]] (SL) with other SDF defectors.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=131–132, 140|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2p=366|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3p=504}} He composed the SL's manifesto with Bax, describing their position as that of "Revolutionary International Socialism", advocating [[proletarian internationalism]] and [[world revolution]] while rejecting the concept of [[Socialism in One Country|socialism in one country]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=140|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=504–505}} In this, he committed himself to "making Socialists" by educating, organising, and agitating to establish a strong socialist movement; calling on activists to boycott elections, he hoped that socialists would take part in a [[proletariat revolution]] and help to establish a [[socialism|socialist society]].{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=532}} Bax taught Morris more about [[Marxism]], and introduced him to Marx's collaborator, [[Friedrich Engels]]; Engels thought Morris honest but lacking in practical skills to aid the proletarian revolution.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=506–507, 509}} Morris remained in contact with other sectors of London's leftist community, being a regular at the socialist [[International Club]] in [[Shoreditch]], [[East London]],{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=541}} however he avoided the recently created [[Fabian Society]], deeming it too middle-class.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=510}} Although a Marxist, he befriended prominent anarchist activists Stepniak and [[Peter Kropotkin]],{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=543–545}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Kropotkin |first=P. |title=In Memory of William Morris |magazine=Freedom pamphlets |date=Nov 1896 |volume=10 |number=110}}</ref> and came to be influenced by their anarchist views, to the extent that biographer Fiona MacCarthy described his approach as being "Marxism with visionary libertarianism".{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=509}}
[[File:News From Nowhere.jpg|thumb|340x340px|William Morris, ''News from Nowhere: Or, an Epoch of Rest'' (London: [[Kelmscott Press]], 1892); [[Pequot Library]] Special Collections]]
As the leading figure in the League, Morris embarked on a series of speeches and talks on street corners, in [[working men's club]]s, and in lecture theatres across England and Scotland.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=510, 520}} He also visited [[Dublin]], there offering his support for [[Irish nationalism]],{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=156–157|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=540–541}} and formed a branch of the League at his Hammersmith house.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=217}} By the time of their first conference in July 1885, the League had eight branches across England and had affiliations with several socialist groups in Scotland.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=524}} However, as the British socialist movement grew it faced increased opposition from the establishment, with police frequently arresting and intimidating activists. To combat this, the League joined a Defence Club with other socialist groups, including the SDF, for which Morris was appointed treasurer.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=526–530}} Morris was passionate in denouncing the "bullying and hectoring" that he felt socialists faced from the police, and on one occasion was arrested himself after fighting back against a police officer; a magistrate dismissed the charges.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1p=1|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=527–528}} The [[West End Riots|Black Monday riots of February 1886]] led to increased political repression against left-wing agitators, and in July Morris was again arrested and fined for public obstruction while preaching socialism on the streets.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=151–153, 161, 190–191|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=533–538}}

Morris oversaw production of the League's monthly—soon to become weekly—newspaper, ''[[Commonweal (UK)|Commonweal]]'', serving as its editor for six years, during which time he kept it financially afloat. First published in February 1885, it would contain contributions from such prominent socialists as Engels, Shaw, [[Paul Lafargue]], [[Wilhelm Liebknecht]], and [[Karl Kautsky]], with Morris also regularly writing articles and poems for it.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=139|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=504, 511–514}} In ''Commonweal'' he [[Serial (literature)|serialised]] a 13-episode poem, ''[[The Pilgrims of Hope]]'', which was set in the period of the Paris Commune.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=512}} From November 1886 to January 1887, Morris's novel ''[[A Dream of John Ball]]'' was serialised in ''Commonweal''. Set in Kent during the [[Peasants' Revolt]] of 1381, it contained strong socialist themes, although it proved popular among those of different ideological viewpoints, resulting in its publication in book form by [[Reeves and Turner]] in 1888.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=168, 205|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=546–549}} Shortly after, a collection of Morris's essays, ''Signs of Change'', was published.{{sfn|Mackail|1899|p=205}}

{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=Our business&nbsp;[...] is the making of Socialists, ''i.e.'' convincing people that Socialism is good for them and is possible. When we have enough people of that way of thinking, ''they'' will find out what action is necessary for putting their principles in practice. Therefore, I say, make Socialists. We Socialists can do nothing else that is useful."|source=— William Morris{{sfn|Mackail|1899|p=236}} }}

From January to October 1890, Morris serialised his novel ''[[News from Nowhere]]'' in ''Commonweal'', resulting in improved circulation for the paper. In March 1891 it was published in book form, before being translated into Dutch, French, Swedish, German and Italian by 1900 and becoming a classic among Europe's socialist community.{{sfn|Holland|2015}} Combining [[utopian socialism]] and [[soft science fiction]], the book tells the tale of a contemporary socialist, William Guest, who falls asleep and awakens in the early 21st century, discovering a future society based on [[common ownership]] and democratic control of the [[means of production]]. In this society there is no [[private property]], no big cities, no authority, no monetary system, no divorce, no courts, no prisons, and no class systems; it was a depiction of Morris's ideal socialist society.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=243–244|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=583–588}}

Morris had also continued with his translation work; in April 1887, Reeves and Turner published the first volume of Morris's translation of [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'', with the second following in November.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=164, 180–181 |2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=562–564}} Venturing into new territory, Morris also authored and starred in a play ''The Tables Turned; Or Nupkins Awakened'', which was performed at a League meeting in November 1887. It told the story of socialists who are put on trial in front of a corrupt judge; the tale ends with the prisoners being freed by a proletariat revolution.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=187–190|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=564–566}} In June 1889, Morris travelled to [[Paris]] as the League's delegate to the [[International Workers Congresses of Paris, 1889|International Socialist Working Men's Congress]], where his international standing was recognised by his being chosen as English spokesman by the Congress committee. The [[Second International]] emerged from the Congress, although Morris was distraught at its chaotic and disorganised proceedings.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=223|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=579–580}}

At the League's Fourth Conference in May 1888, factional divisions became increasingly apparent between Morris's anti-parliamentary socialists, the parliamentary socialists, and the [[Anti-statism|anti-statist]] anarchists; the Bloomsbury Branch were expelled for supporting parliamentary action.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=576–577}} Under the leadership of [[Charles Mowbray]], the League's anarchist wing was growing and called on the League to embrace [[Propaganda of the deed|violent action]] in trying to overthrow the capitalist system.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=577–578}} By autumn 1889 the anarchists had taken over the League's executive committee and Morris was stripped of the editorship of ''Commonweal'' in favour of the anarchist [[Frank Kitz]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=230|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=580–581}} This alienated Morris from the League, which had also become a financial burden for him; he had been subsidising its activities with £500 a year, a very large sum of money at the time.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=231|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=581}} By the autumn of 1890, Morris left the Socialist League, with his Hammersmith branch seceding to become the independent Hammersmith Socialist Society in November 1890.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=238–239|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=583}}

=== The Kelmscott Press and Morris's final years: 1889–1896{{anchor|The Kelmscott Press}} ===
[[File:Frederick Hollyer Burne-Jones and Morris 1890.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|Morris (right) with [[Edward Burne-Jones|Burne-Jones]], 1890]]

The work of Morris & Co. continued during Morris's final years, producing an array of stained glass windows designed by Burne-Jones and the six narrative tapestry panels depicting the quest for the [[Holy Grail]] for [[Stanmore Hall]], [[Shropshire]].{{Sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=646–647}} Morris's influence on Britain's artistic community became increasingly apparent as the [[Art Workers' Guild]] was founded in 1884, although at the time he was too preoccupied with his socialist activism to pay it any attention. Although the proposal faced some opposition, Morris was elected to the Guild in 1888, and to the position of master in 1892.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=198–199|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=592–595, 598}} Morris similarly did not offer initial support for the [[Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society]], but changed his opinion after the success of their first exhibit, held in [[Regent Street]] in October 1888. Giving lectures on tapestries for the group, in 1892 he was elected president.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=199–203, 212, 225|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=596–598}} At this time, Morris re-focused his attentions on preservation campaigning; those causes he championed including the structures of [[University Church of St Mary the Virgin|St Mary's Church]] in Oxford, [[Blythburgh Priory|Blythburgh Church]] in Suffolk, [[Peterborough Cathedral]], and [[Rouen Cathedral]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=269–270, 285–286, 313, 315–316|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=598, 653}}

Although his socialist activism had decreased, he remained involved with the Hammersmith Socialist Society, and in October 1891 oversaw the creation of a short-lived newsletter, the ''Hammersmith Socialist Record''.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=640}} Coming to oppose factionalism within the socialist movement, he sought to rebuild his relationship with the SDF, appearing as a guest lecturer at some of their events and supporting SDF candidate [[George Lansbury]] when he stood in the [[Wandsworth]] by-election of February 1894.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=645}} In 1893 the Hammersmith Socialist Society co-founded the Joint Committee of Socialist Bodies with representatives of the SDF and Fabian Society; Morris helped draw up its "Manifesto of English Socialists".{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=288–289|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=645–646}} He offered support for leftist activists on trial, including a number of [[Insurrectionary anarchism|militant anarchists]] whose violent tactics he nevertheless denounced.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=641–642}} He also began using the term "[[communism]]" for the first time, stating that "Communism is in fact the completion of Socialism: when that ceases to be militant and becomes triumphant, it will be communism."{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=642–643}} In December 1895 he gave his final open-air talk at Stepniak's funeral, where he spoke alongside the socialist [[Eleanor Marx]], trade unionist [[Keir Hardie]], and anarchist [[Errico Malatesta]].{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=655–656}} Liberated from internal factional struggles, he retracted his anti-parliamentary position and worked for socialist unity, giving his last public lecture in January 1896 on the subject of "One Socialist Party."<ref name="EB1911" />

In December 1888, the [[Chiswick Press]] published Morris's ''[[The House of the Wolfings]]'', a fantasy story set in Iron Age Europe which provides a reconstructed portrait of the lives of Germanic-speaking [[Goths|Gothic tribes]]. It contained both prose and aspects of poetic verse.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=212–213|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=606–608}} A sequel, ''[[The Roots of the Mountains]]'', followed in 1889.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Bibliography of William Morris |last=LeMire |first=Eugene |year=2006 |publisher=British Library |isbn=978-0-7123-4926-0}}</ref>{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=213–214, 218|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=608}} Over the coming years he would publish a string of other poetic works: ''[[The Story of the Glittering Plain]]'' (1890), ''[[The Wood Beyond the World]]'' (1894), ''[[The Well at the World's End]]'' (1896), ''[[The Water of the Wondrous Isles]]'' (1897) and ''[[The Sundering Flood]]'' (1898).{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=633}} He also embarked on a translation of the Anglo-Saxon tale ''[[Beowulf]]''; because he could not fully understand [[Old English]], his poetic translation was based largely on that already produced by [[Alfred John Wyatt]]. On publication, Morris's archaizing ''Beowulf'' was critically panned.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=648–649}} Following the death of the sitting [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland]], Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in October 1892, Morris was offered the position but turned it down, disliking its associations with the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarchy]] and political establishment; instead the position went to [[Alfred Austin]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=287–288|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=631–633}}

[[File:KelmscottPressColophone.jpg|thumb|left|Morris's design for the Kelmscott Press [[trademark]]]]
{{Main|Kelmscott Press}}

In January 1891, Morris founded the [[Kelmscott Press]], a [[private press]] which would go on to publish the celebrated ''Kelmscott Chaucer''. By the early 1890s, Morris was increasingly ill and living largely as an invalid; aside from his [[gout]], he also exhibited signs of [[epilepsy]].{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=624}} In August 1891, he took his daughter Jenny on a tour of Northern France to visit the medieval churches and cathedrals.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=626–627}} Back in England, he spent an increasing amount of time at Kelmscott Manor.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=627}} Seeking treatment from the prominent doctor [[William Broadbent]], he was prescribed a holiday in the coastal town of [[Folkestone]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=329|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=658–662}} In December 1894 he was devastated upon learning of his 90-year-old mother's death.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=300|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=652}}

In July 1896, Morris went on a cruise to Norway with construction engineer [[John Carruthers (engineer)|John Carruthers]], during which he visited [[Vadsø (town)|Vadsø]] and [[Trondheim (city)|Trondheim]]; during the trip his physical condition deteriorated and he began experiencing hallucinations.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1p=330|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=664–666}} Returning to Kelmscott House, he became a complete invalid, being visited by friends and family, before dying of [[tuberculosis]] on the morning of 3 October 1896.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=331, 335|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=667–670|3a1=Rodgers|3y=1996|3pp=10, 15}} Obituaries appearing throughout the national press reflected that at the time, Morris was widely recognised primarily as a poet. Mainstream press obituaries trivialised or dismissed his involvement in socialism, although the socialist press focused largely on this aspect of his career.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=671}} His funeral was held on 6 October, during which his corpse was carried from Hammersmith to [[Paddington rail station]], where it was transported to Oxford, and from there to Kelmscott, where it was buried in the churchyard of St George's Church.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1899|1pp=347–349|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=673–676|3a1=Rodgers|3y=1996|3pp=10–15}}