Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level D , Case DR73

North, south and detail elevations

Architectural Drawing
1859 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Red House, designed for his friends William and Jane Morris, was Philip Webb’s first house. Designed in 1859 and completed in 1860, it is located near Upton, now Bexleyheath, Kent. Conceived as a family home and studio, Webb’s design was always intended to be flexible and easily altered to accommodate members of Morris’s circle. In 1864 Webb designed an additional wing, extending Red House to make room for Edward Burne-Jones and his wife Georgie. Webb’s initial proposal was deemed too expensive, so he also designed a second scheme at a reduced cost. Ultimately neither scheme of additions was realised due to both Morris and Georgie Burne-Jones suffering serious illness. Morris increasingly found the long commute to London impossible, and he sold the house in 1865.
The V&A has drawings for the initial design of Red House, and both subsequent projects. Writing in 1915, Lady Burne-Jones, referred to them as follows: ‘October 12, 1915. I am sending by Passenger train (tomorrow) the Plans for Red House (not the Red House as people will call it!) and for the additions to it which were dreamed of. There are seven sheets for each. You will see that Nos. V and VI for details of Red House are drawn on the two sides of the sheet, which is a pity. There is a small sheet belonging to the imaginary House, and I think it is a suggestion of a fresh treatment for the proposed additional House, not further developed. The sheet which divides Red House Plans from those of our Castle in the air has - as you will perceive - a rough jotting upon it of the way Red House stood and the front garden. In one of the Red House plans you will see written the names of flowers that are to be put in beds at the foot of the East wall and to climb up it. I do not know which of the friends wrote these, but remember how successful the laying out of the garden was, and that the house has never looked 'bare' .'
Today Red House belongs to the National Trust.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleNorth, south and detail elevations (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Design for Red House, Upton, Bexleyheath, by Philip Webb, 1859
Physical description
Contract drawing showing elevations for Red House, designed by Philip Webb for William Morris. The sheet includes elevations of the South, East and North fronts, and a section marked 'c-d'. The drawings are shaded with coloured wash in places and show details of the windows: some are circular while others have segmental arches within pointed relieving arches. The drawings also show various gables and Red House's large chimneys. The sheet is signed by Webb in the lower right corner, and by the builder, William Kent, at the upper right.
Dimensions
  • Height: 52.4cm (Note: Taken from the EID Register 1916-1919)
  • Width: 63.5cm (Note: Taken from the EID Register 1916-1919)
Production typeUnique
Gallery label
Philip Speakman Webb (1831-1915) Design for Red House, Bexleyheath, Kent British, 1859 Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour Red House was built in a then rural part of Kent for Webb's friend William Morris. They had met when Morris worked briefly in the office of G E Street, where Webb was Chief Clerk. Morris saw the house as being in "the style of the thirteenth century". In reality the simple brick building, made of local materials, owes much to the austere vicarages being built throughout the 1850s by Street. By contrast the interior was richly decorated, hung with tapestries, filled with painted gothic furniture, and lit with stained glass by Webb and Edward Burne Jones. Plans for extending the house with a half-timbered wing were never carried out. E.60-1916
Credit line
Presented by Lady Burne Jones
Summary
Red House, designed for his friends William and Jane Morris, was Philip Webb’s first house. Designed in 1859 and completed in 1860, it is located near Upton, now Bexleyheath, Kent. Conceived as a family home and studio, Webb’s design was always intended to be flexible and easily altered to accommodate members of Morris’s circle. In 1864 Webb designed an additional wing, extending Red House to make room for Edward Burne-Jones and his wife Georgie. Webb’s initial proposal was deemed too expensive, so he also designed a second scheme at a reduced cost. Ultimately neither scheme of additions was realised due to both Morris and Georgie Burne-Jones suffering serious illness. Morris increasingly found the long commute to London impossible, and he sold the house in 1865.
The V&A has drawings for the initial design of Red House, and both subsequent projects. Writing in 1915, Lady Burne-Jones, referred to them as follows: ‘October 12, 1915. I am sending by Passenger train (tomorrow) the Plans for Red House (not the Red House as people will call it!) and for the additions to it which were dreamed of. There are seven sheets for each. You will see that Nos. V and VI for details of Red House are drawn on the two sides of the sheet, which is a pity. There is a small sheet belonging to the imaginary House, and I think it is a suggestion of a fresh treatment for the proposed additional House, not further developed. The sheet which divides Red House Plans from those of our Castle in the air has - as you will perceive - a rough jotting upon it of the way Red House stood and the front garden. In one of the Red House plans you will see written the names of flowers that are to be put in beds at the foot of the East wall and to climb up it. I do not know which of the friends wrote these, but remember how successful the laying out of the garden was, and that the house has never looked 'bare' .'
Today Red House belongs to the National Trust.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • P.56 Margot Th. Brandlhuber and Michael Buhrs, eds. In the temple of the self : the artist's residence as a total work of art : Europe und America 1800-1948. Munich: Villa Stuck, 2013. ISBN: 9783775735933. ..
  • Karen Livingstone and Linda Parry, eds. International Arts and Crafts London: V&A Publications, 2005. 368p. : ill (chiefly col.). ISBN: 1851774467 (hbk)
  • P. 56 Margot Th. Brandlhuber and Michael Buhrs, eds. In the temple of the self : the artist's residence as a total work of art : Europe und America 1800-1948. Munich: Villa Stuck, 2013. ISBN: 9783775735933.
  • Red House is discussed in detail in Sheila Kirk, 'Philip Webb: Pioneer of Arts and Crafts Architecture', pp.20-35.
  • p. 21 Fiona MacCarthy, Anarchy & beauty : William Morris and his legacy, 1860-1960 London : National Portrait Gallery, [2014], 183 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 27 cm. ISBN: 9781855144842 / 1855144840.
Collection
Accession number
E.60-1916

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest