Embroidery detail from the socialist banner at William Morris Gallery

Fighting for a Cause

Morris’s political activism and his fight to create a better world

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There was more to Morris than design. In every stage of life he remained concerned with creating a better world. At almost 50, Morris ‘crossed the river of fire’ and became a radical socialist, focusing tremendous energy towards ‘the cause’ to create a free and fair world where all people are equal.

This space is dedicated to Morris’s political activism, sharing his enthusiasm and the lengths he was willing to go to fight for a better world such as travelling the country to give speeches and even getting arrested. On display is the satchel he used to carry bundles of socialist pamphlets to rallies and demonstrations, and an impressive, hand-made socialist banner. As a pioneer of the preservation of heritage and the environment, Morris’s political legacy remains active today. Visitors can watch a short film on how Morris’s concerns and actions relate to issues our contemporary society faces.

‘A Dream of John Ball’, 1892. Image of open book.
‘A Dream of John Ball’, 1892

Gallery highlights

Socialist Banner, c.1890s
Socialist Banner, c.1890s
William Morris’s Satchel, c.1880
William Morris’s Satchel, c.1880
‘A Dream of John Ball’, 1892. Image of open book.
‘A Dream of John Ball’, 1892
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Socialist Banner, c.1890s

While always politically conscious, at 49 William Morris crossed ‘the river of fire’ and became a revolutionary socialist. Throughout his life he felt uneasy about the disparity between his comfortable lifestyle and the conditions endured by most of the British working classes. In the 1880s Morris began to take action, hoping to overthrow the system that enabled the rich to profit from the labour of others. He attended marches, wrote articles and lectured all over the country. During the rallies Morris and his comrades attended, they carried banners to identify their political allegiance. In this banner, the image of Adam and Eve has been borrowed from Burne-Jones’s illustration to Morris’s socialist novel ‘A Dream of John Ball’. The novel followed the story of a priest who was one of the leaders of the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381. John Ball believed all people were created equal, asking "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?" Morris’s political activities began when he joined the Social Democratic Federation at its inaugural meeting in June 1881. However, the organisation soon became factionalised and Morris broke from the Social Democratic Federation in 1884, disagreeing with its leadership. Morris established his own political group, the Socialist League, a more radical collective that sought a revolutionary overturn by the mobilised working classes. Morris continued to run his business alongside a decade of strenuous political activism. He saw campaigning to be compatible with his design work and deeply regretted that products were not affordable to the working classes. Morris’s aim in his socialist campaigns, as with his designs, was to create a society where everyone lived comfortably in beautiful surroundings.

William Morris’s Satchel, c.1880

After joining the Social Democratic Federation in 1881 and then establishing his own Socialist League in 1884, Morris spent an entire decade involved in strenuous political engagement, all the while continuing to run his business. During this period Morris carried this satchel around with him containing books and political pamphlets as he travelled to and from rallies and lectures. His daughter May described it as his "worn brown satchel used for parcel-carrying". Morris’s Socialist League was a radical group that sought a revolutionary overturn by the mobilised working classes. Morris deeply regretted that his products were so expensive and often unaffordable to the working class.

‘A Dream of John Ball’, 1892

Morris’s novel, ‘A Dream of John Ball’ follows the story of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. Like Morris’s utopian novel ‘News from Nowhere’, the tale involves a time travelling dream narrative where a protagonist from Morris’s time visits medieval England at the height of the revolt. The novel was first published in serial format in the Commonweal journal from 1886.

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