Welcome to Kelmscott Manor

Kelmscott Manor was the inspirational Cotswold retreat of William Morris, his family, friends and colleagues.

When Morris first saw the Manor in 1871, he was delighted by this 'loveliest haunt of ancient peace'; he signed a joint lease for the property with his friend and colleague Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the Pre-Raphaelite artist.

Visitor Information

Our 2019 Open Season will start on Wednesday 3rd April.

Please note that the Manor will be open to the public from April to August in 2019, the Manor is open every Wednesday and Saturday, 11.00am to 5.00pm. Last admission to the Manor House 4pm. In addition to visiting the Manor house and gardens, you can explore our licensed Tea Room and lovely gift shop.

Download our beautiful map to help you find your way around.

From September 2019, the Manor will not be open to the public. During the Autumn and Winter we plan to commence work on our Heritage Lottery Funded project to restore infrastucture and improve our facilities for visitors. Objects from the Manor are frequently loaned to temporary exhibitions throughout the UK and around the world.

Plan Your Visit >

What's on at Kelmscott Manor

We always have great programme of events for visitors throughout the spring, summer and autumn! Check the 'What's On' page before you visit to learn about special events or workshops that may enhance your trip.

See What's On >

'A Heaven on Earth...'

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"; and with "quaint garrets amongst great timbers of the roof where of old times the tillers and herdsmen slept". Its beautiful gardens, with barns, dovecote, a meadow and stream, provided a constant source of inspiration for Morris until his death in 1896. After his death, his wife Jane purchased the house, and his daughter, May, spent much of her adult life here. The entire family—William and Jane Morris and their children, Jenny and May—are buried in the grounds of nearby St George's church. The village of Kelmscott contains cottages designed by renowned Arts and Craft Architects Philip Webb and Ernest Gimson as well as the Morris Memorial Hall (also designed by Gimson), all of which have associations with the Morris family.

Visitors today can still experience the beauty and seclusion that inspired many of William Morris's most important designs and writings and influenced his ideas on conservation for both the built and natural environments. This seventeenth-century, Grade One listed Manor house by the river Thames—perhaps the most evocative of all the houses associated with Morris—contains an outstanding collection of the possessions and works of Morris, as well as of his family and associates (Benson, Edward Burne-Jones, Rossetti and Webb among them) that includes furniture, original textiles, pictures and paintings, carpets, ceramics and metalwork. The estate also boasts a beautiful garden with easy access to the Thames Pathway.

Awards and Honours

Kelmscott Manor has full Accreditation under the Accreditation Scheme from Arts Council England.

Visit the Society of Antiquaries of London's 'Museum Policies' page to learn more about Accreditation and our collections care policies.

Kelmscott Manor receives more than 20,000 visitors a year. In 2018 it was chosen by Will Gompertz as one of the ten sites in Historic England's Irreplaceable: A History of England in 100 places Art, Architecture and Sculpture section.

Cotswolds Tourism named it the Small Visitor Attraction of the Year - 2014 (Gold Award) 

Kelmscott Manor is owned and managed by the Society of Antiquaries of London. The Society is committed to a sustainable future for Kelmscott Manor.

Download and read our Conservation Management Plan, or visit the Kelmscott Manor 'Past, Present and Legacy' page for more information.