The inaugural exhibition is a selection of highlights from the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, which is currently under renovation. ‘William Morris: Story, Memory, Myth’ takes exquisite prints, textiles, stained glass and sketches by Morris and his associates related to his love for literature. Several of the works were made in collaboration with Edward Burne-Jones and there is even a watercolour on show by his fellow pre-Raphaelite painter, Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Most impressive are Morris and Burne-Jones’ epic embroidered friezes telling the story of the medieval French poem ‘Romance of the Rose’, as translated by Geoffrey Chaucer, whose work they read together in Oxford. This is the first time the rare panels will be seen after their conservation and are worth the visit alone; metallic threads shimmer throughout the galleries and are a testimony to the variety of subtle-coloured dyes available, exquisitely woven into intricate narratives.

Also exhibited are illustrations of Arthurian legends. These perfectly combine the work of both Burne-Jones and Morris; romanticised women, with their long unravelled red hair and draped white robes stand in front of wistful backdrops, composed of Morris’ iconic and infinite patterns of nature. It is amusing to consider why the generation of ‘Fine Art Workmen’ were so fascinated by the legends of King Arthur ­– perhaps they saw themselves as contemporary Knights of the Round Table!

Filling the gaps and crevices of Two Temple Place’s Great Hall, Library and Lower Gallery are examples of Morris’ prints and wallpapers influenced by the Acanthus leaf (see above). Vegetable stems and flowers intertwine with one another from one corner to the other creating repeat patterns that echo the fluidity and colour of the Thames, the river Morris returned to again and again because it ran between his two homes in Oxford and Hammersmith.

‘William Morris: Story, Memory, Myth’ is the perfect exhibition with which to celebrate the opening of Two Temple Place because it complements its late-Victorian interior, which, at the request of it’s original exuberant owner, is ornately decorated throughout with carved scenes and characters from literature. The eccentricity of Two Temple Place adds to the experience and can even be enjoyed with a leisurely afternoon tea in its accompanying café.

Image Credit: Design for Acanthus furnishing fabric by William Morris. Pencil and watercolour on paper, 1879. William Morris Gallery, London. Courtesy of Two Temple Place and William Morris Gallery.

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