William Morris minstrel. The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems by William-Morris. Illustrated by Jessie M. King. 1904

'Merry, merry sparrow!

Under leaves so green

A happy blossom

Sees you, swift as arrow,

Seek your cradle narrow,

Near my bosom.

Pretty, pretty robin!

Under leaves so green

A happy blossom

Hears you sobbing, sobbing,

Pretty, pretty robin,

Near my bosom.' - William Blake

William Blake's 'The Blossom' was published in 1789 in 'Songs of Innocence', a poetry collection illustrated with artwork. The poem conjures wonderful images of nature, perfect for this time of year. https://bit.ly/2vFDJ4z

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Anne Elizabeth Amison

The William Morris Appreciation Society

At the moment it's more difficult for us to visit Morris locations in person, but this lovely book is like a virtual tour. I bought it online from the publisher, Fircone Books. It is beautifully illustrated and an absolute delight. (Just to be clear - I'm not connected to the publisher or the church!)

~• Jessie Marion King was born on March 20 in 1875. The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems by William-Morris. Illustrated by Jessie M. King. 1904 ...



























































Minstrel with Cymbals (1880s)
William Morris (1834 - 1896)
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Morris’s company decorated churches as well as houses. Religious reform and flourishing economic growth produced a great upsurge in church building which the Firm was well-placed to take advantage of. They had great success with stained-glass windows.

Morris particularly admired the techniques used to produce medieval stained glass, and wanted his company’s products to be equally impressive. The Firm’s reputation was based on artist-led design, traditional techniques and high-quality materials.

Morris supervised the painting and assembly of all their windows himself, choosing the colours and where to place the lines of lead joining the pieces of glass with particular care. Here, the red pomegranates and fabric look even richer against the green of the leaves and the minstrel’s robe, and his bright yellow hair gleams against the dark background.

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There are two versions of the minstrel design. The original cartoon for the minstrel figure was drawn by William Morris in 1868 for the East window of St.John's church, Dalton, Yorks.; this version, in which the minstrel has wings, was for a series of minstrel angels subsequently re-used in many Morris & Co. windows. [e.g. Jesus College Chapel, Cambridge (south transept south window tracery, 1873), Llandaff Cathedral (nave, south aisle, tracery, 1869), Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk (east window 1882). The winged version of the design was numbered WM 40 in the Morris & Co. Catalogue of Designs. It was also used for the painted organ screen executed by Morris & Co. for Beddington Church, Surrey in 1869. At some point this panel has been altered to fit a new window space, and in doing so, some areas of the border and background appear to have been re-shaped. The lower part of the figure, including the hem of the robe, the ankles and the feet, have been removed along with most of the green base representing grass.

William Morris minstrel

Bensham Grove, Gateshead