Greg Jenner

William Morris. He'd love to be Elizabethan. Yeah, he would.

So what do you know? This is where I have a go at guessing what you, our lovely listener, might know about today's subject. And I imagine most people will have heard of the big dog of the arts and crafts movement, William Morris. His floral designs are still printed on curtains, wallpaper, notebooks, pencil cases, even on football kits.

So what do you know? This is where I have a go at guessing what you, our lovely listener, might know about today's subject. And I imagine most people will have heard of the big dog of the arts and crafts movement, William Morris. His floral designs are still printed on curtains, wallpaper, notebooks, pencil cases, even on football kits.

What's more, modern homeware brands like Cathy Kidston owe a huge amount to the arts and crafts movement, and we see the design legacy in TV shows like Grand Designs and Queer Eye. But the wider history of the movement is perhaps more hidden. Beyond the cutesy curtains, what was arts and crafts really about? Why did traditional manufacturing methods have a resurgence in Victorian Britain?

What's more, modern homeware brands like Cathy Kidston owe a huge amount to the arts and crafts movement, and we see the design legacy in TV shows like Grand Designs and Queer Eye. But the wider history of the movement is perhaps more hidden. Beyond the cutesy curtains, what was arts and crafts really about? Why did traditional manufacturing methods have a resurgence in Victorian Britain?

And what is a strawberry thief? Let's find out. Right, Dr. Isabella, where do we start our story?

And what is a strawberry thief? Let's find out. Right, Dr. Isabella, where do we start our story?

Not for Victorians.

Not for Victorians.

What is a movement? Are there rules? Is there a manifesto?

What is a movement? Are there rules? Is there a manifesto?

We're not sure quite when it starts. You said 1860, you went into 1870s, but this is 1887 that it gets its name. So that's not very good branding if you've been going for 27 years. We should really call this something. There is a quote by Morris in an 1877 lecture.

We're not sure quite when it starts. You said 1860, you went into 1870s, but this is 1887 that it gets its name. So that's not very good branding if you've been going for 27 years. We should really call this something. There is a quote by Morris in an 1877 lecture.

But that's also a mean average, which means mostly it's children dying.

But that's also a mean average, which means mostly it's children dying.

We have then a movement that comes along that's reacting to the trauma of the Industrial Revolution. It is a trauma, right?

We have then a movement that comes along that's reacting to the trauma of the Industrial Revolution. It is a trauma, right?

These artists are responding in a way that feels like they're looking for escapism. And they go hunting for escapism in the past. Cariad, what bygone age would you daydream about or do you daydream about?

These artists are responding in a way that feels like they're looking for escapism. And they go hunting for escapism in the past. Cariad, what bygone age would you daydream about or do you daydream about?

Well, you live there half the time.