July 2008

Please see  http://www.morrissociety.org/2008uk.html for a full list of Morris related events. Unless otherwise stated, ll lectures are at Kelmscott House and tickets for these cost £4 for WMS members and £5 for non-members. Write for tickets to Ticket Applications, The William Morris Society, Kelmscott House, 26 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, London W6 9TA, enclosing payment (cheques payable to “The William Morris Society”) and a stamped addressed envelope..21 - 24 July Visit to the Lake District There may be a few places available for this trip. If you want to be kept informed of the situation, please write to Kelmscott House with a self-addressed envelope, and mark your envelope “Lake District.”Saturday, 16 August, 2.30 p. m. Arts and Crafts in Chelsea This afternoon’s walk will pass along the eastern edge of Chelsea, redeveloped from the mid-1870s, looking at the tall red brick houses, encrusted with oriels and terracotta sunflowers, in the then novel and cheerful Queen Anne manner. We shall see houses by such noted practitioners of that style as Norman Shaw, A. H. Mackmurdo, C. F. A. Voysey and Earnest George. The walk will end at Sloane Square where we shall visit Holy Trinity Church by J. P. Sedding, well-known for its wealth of Arts and Crafts decoration and its glass by Morris and Christopher Whall. We can then find refreshments in the new food store that occupies the former Peter Jones shop off Sloane Square. Those coming on the walk should meet in Basil Street, behind Harrods, a few moments from Knightsbridge tube station.Tickets from Kelmscott House at £2.Saturday, 6 September, 2.15 p. m. William Morris and the Great Story of the North This lecture, a synopsis of which will appear in the next edition of the UK Newsletter, will be given by Simon Dentith, Professor of English at the University of Reading. He has a lifelong interest in the work of William Morris, especially in Morris as a utopian thinker and as a poet. He lives in Gloucestershire, a county which has fostered his interest in the arts and crafts movement.Saturday, 20 September, 1 - 5 p. m. London Open House DayThis annual event is becoming ever more popular, certainly as far as Kelmscott House is concerned. We have five hundred visitors in the space of four hours. It is therefore evident that we need a team of volunteers to monitor the afternoon, both on and off duty. A detailed knowledge of William Morris’s life is not essential; we have notes to help in this way. We are appealing to the membership to support the stalwarts who already do their duty, to contact our curator, Helen Elletson at Kelmscott House

For the 2nd year running local arts group Antiscrap are holding an exhibition at The Changing Room Gallery, Walthamstow and inviting people to submit work that was inspired by William Morris. See their website for more details: www.antiscrap.co.uk

Fight the Height is campaigning against the hugely unpopular 18+ storey building being built at the top of Walthamstow Market. This week they posted worrying reports about St Modwen’s delaying developments and demanding compensation from other local authorities for the downturn in the property market. Read the news on their site or in the local paper. They also announced some concessions made in the fight against the large TV screen planned for the Town Square. Plus see recent coverage of their campaign on YouTube. 

The only theatre in the borough is due for demolition, 2 local 15 years old have started an active campaign to restore the theatre rather than demolish it. Please see their campaign website and sign their petition here www.walthamforesttheatre.com 

Waltham Forest Council have stopped the Friends of William Morris Gallery from meeting at the gallery! To ask the council why, please email Cllr Geraldine Reardon to ask why cllr.geraldine.reardon@walthamforest.gov.uk 

Peter Cormack and other previous staff of William Morris Gallery and Vestry House Museum worked hard to achieve MLA accreditation, it was finally achieved last month - and the Council have taken credit for it - despite the Council ensuring the exit of the very staff who made this accreditation possible!Read more in the local Guardian. http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/search/display.var.2387142.0.credit_for_gallery_should_go_to_its_former_curator.php