Description

KELMSCOTT
SU2499-2599
10/80 Nos.1 and 2, Memorial Cottages
with attached outbuildings and
12.9.55 garden walls
(Formerly listed as Morris
Cottages)
GV II*

Pair of cottages. 1902 by Philip Webb for Jane Morris in memory of William
Morris. Uncoursed limestone rubble with ashlar dressings; stone slate roof with
coped verges to front gable. T-plan; Vernacular Revival style. 2 storeys and
attic. Ground floor has 4 segmental-headed 2-light leaded mullion windows with
small segmental-headed leaded window to right. 3 grouped openings to centre on
first floor, middle with plaque depicting William Morris (see below) and outer
with 2-light leaded mullion windows, all linked by continuous hoodmould. Narrow
rectangular leaded windows to either side. 2 narrow round-headed windows near
top of gable. Internal end stack to gable and similar ridge stack to projecting
rear range; integral stacks to rear left and right corners with diagonal shafts,
all stacks with moulded capping. All gables except front are roughcast to apex
with wooden dripmoulds, rear with twin narrow recessed leaded windows directly
above. This gable also has 2 narrow top-hung leaded casements on first floor and
paired round-headed openings with recessed 3-light leaded mullion windows to
ground floor. Entrances to gable ends; moulded segmental-headed outer arches
with dripstones over recessed plank doors with strap hinges; round-headed
alcoves to sides. Projecting outbuildings in angles to rear are enclosed by
rubblestone walls with rounded coping. Roughly coursed rubblestone garden wall
with rounded coping to front has semi-circular bases for former pumps adjoining
section attached to and dividing cottages. Plaque depicting Morris is by George
Jack based on a drawing by Philip Webb. Morris is depicted seated with a hat,
satchel and stick to his side and facing a cockerel; trees and farmbuildings in
background. Interior. No.2 (left cottage) only inspected: front room has
built-in larder to left forner and folding window shutters with strap hinges.
Dog-leg winder staircase with stick balusters, square and rectangular newels has
sweeping ramped dado similar to those in Nos.1 and 4, Manor Cottages (q.v.)
immediately to east. Inset plank wall cupboards and corner fireplaces
throughout. Ladder staircase from first floor to attic. The farmbuilding's shown
in the Morris plaque are thought to be some of those at nearby Kelmscott Manor
(q.v.). Graded II* as a complete and largely unaltered example of a pair of
farmworkers' cottages built in memory of William Morris, who intermittently
lived at Kelmscott Manor until his death in 1896.
(Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, p667; A.R. Dufty: Kelmscott, An Illustrated
Guide (London, The Society of Antiquaries, 1984), p3iJ)
[2375]

Listing NGR: SU2498699018

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17533238

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)