Kelmscott Manor and Buscot Park, Oxfordshire by coach

Date/Time
Date(s) - 14/09/2022
8:00 am - 7:00 pm

Location
Coach pick outside Leicester Botanic Gardens


Bring a packed lunch

This visit will be limited to 36 people

Kelmscott Manor, the summer home of William Morris, is a Grade I listed farmhouse, built around 1600 adjacent to the River Thames in Oxfordshire.

William Morris chose it as his summer home, signing a joint lease with the Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the summer of 1871.

Morris loved the house as a work of true craftsmanship, totally unspoilt and unaltered, and in harmony with the village and the surrounding countryside. He considered it so natural in its setting as to be almost organic, it looked to him as if it had “grown up out of the soil”.

The beautiful gardens, with barns, dovecote, a meadow and stream, provided a constant source of inspiration.

The house, perhaps the most evocative of all the houses associated with Morris, contains an outstanding collection of his possessions and the works of his family and his Arts & Crafts associates, including furniture, original textiles, pictures, carpets, ceramics and metalwork.

The house closed in 2019 to undergo a £6 million restoration project and re-opened to the public in April this year.

Martin Levy, a leading expert on Morris and chairman of the Kelmscott campaign, told the Observer: “Kelmscott is so magical. You hear the crows screeching in the trees, the daffodils coming up, the river beside the house. The public is going to see the house brought back to life more authentically.”

“Using inventories, photographs and watercolours, the curator Kathy Haslam has done archaeological research into how the house looked while Morris was there. They’ve been able to place furniture and objects where they were originally. So, you get a feeling of a house that’s lived in rather than a cold, museum-like shrine. The curator has really brought Morris’s ‘heaven on earth’ to life. I’ve been bowled over by the richness of the colours in the rooms.”

Wallpaper has been reinstated to several rooms, with designs individually printed by hand using the original blocks from the Morris & Co archives. Analysis of long-hidden paint-layers offered further clues to his colour schemes. What was always referred to as the Green Room has now been repainted in its original dark green, “Brunswick green”, which was the name given to a blend of Prussian blue and chrome yellow – a colour that Morris found “restful to the eyes”.

Numbers for a visit are limited by Kelmscott to 36, as the house is small, so don’t miss this superb opportunity to get a feeling of the real William Morris.

We are returning to Buscot Park, home of Lord Farringdon, as we loved it last time and it is so close to Kelmscott.

Buscot is a Palladian style house built in 1779, set in parkland and landscaped gardens that include a 20-acre lake. The 20th century water gardens, said to be one of the best in the country, were designed by Harold Peto in 1904 and link the house to the lake. The family continue to develop the estate with its, landscaped gardens, Italianate gardens and a redeveloped walled garden.

8.00am prompt   Depart Glebe Road
10.30am Arrive at Kelmscott for coffee and a short talk
11.15am Tour of the house in small groups
12.45pm Leave Kelmscott for Buscot Park
1.00pm Arrive Buscot picnic area to eat packed lunch (marquee will be available if wet)
2.00pm Time to visit house and gardens with time for tea and cake (not included)
4.45pm  Depart Buscot

Cost:    Friends £41.00      Guests £43.00 (Includes entrance, tour and coffee at Kelmscott)

Download a booking form
*If you are unable to print the booking form send requirements by email.

 Non NT members will need to pay £9.00 grounds only or £12.00 house and grounds (over 65’s £7.00 or £10.00) on arrival at Buscot.This trip is restricted to 36 people, so book early to avoid disappointment. All booking forms should be returned by Friday 26th August 2022