Greg Jenner is joined in Victorian England by Dr Isabella Rosner and comedian Cariad Lloyd to learn all about the ethos, practitioners and creations of the Arts and Crafts movement.Most people have heard of William Morris, one of the leaders of the Arts and Crafts movement that came to prominence in England in the last decades of the 19th Century. His abstract, nature-inspired designs still adorn everything from wallpaper and curtains to notebooks and even dog beds. And the company he founded, Morris & Co., is still going strong. But the history of this artistic movement, and the other creatives who were involved, is less well known.Arts and Crafts, which advocated a return to traditional handicrafts like needlework, carpentry and ceramics, was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and included a strong socialist vision: its practitioners wanted everyone to have access to art, and to be able to enjoy homes that were comfortable, functional and beautiful. This episode explores Morris and other creatives both in and outside his circle, including Edward Burne-Jones, May Morris, Gertrude Jekyll and Philip Webb. It looks at the ethos that inspired them, the homes and artworks they created, and asks how radical their political beliefs really were.If you’re a fan of groundbreaking artistic developments, gorgeous interior design, the intersection between art and politics, and Victorian interpersonal drama, you’ll love our episode on the Arts and Crafts movement.If you want more from Cariad Lloyd, check out our episodes on Georgian Courtship and Mary Wollstonecraft. And for more British artistic movements, listen to our episode on the Bloomsbury Group.You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Jon Norman-Mason Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: James Cook
Chapter 1: Who were the key figures in the Arts and Crafts movement?
Obsessed.
Nice hats. Good hats. Pointy hats.
Nice hose.
Good old pointy shoes as well.
Sure. But it's a romantic medieval. I'm a medievalist by training. Oh my God, the pressure is on now. The medieval world was violent and dark and scary. And of course, there was art and beauty and philosophy. But this is not a time necessarily of great joy and pleasantness. But the arts and crafts movement, they see it as a romantic age.
Yes, they really romanticize it and idealize it. And they're interested in the medieval world because they perceive it as having a better run society and a better run system for making goods. So they are kind of idealizing and dreaming about this system where objects were produced in small scale workshops rather than these large, anonymous, brutal factories.
And they're looking for artisan sourdough bread. They literally are. They are the cottagecore folks of the late Victorian era. They would be happy in East London now. They are so obsessed with this medieval world, but they aren't alone in that.
There are loads of people in the 19th century, especially artists who are involved in various art movements, who are really looking to the medieval period as this perfect moment in society. They're not right. but they are looking at it through rose-colored glasses. And they're like, wow, those guys, they had it so correct.
But it wasn't surprising that they were interested in that because that was the artistic world. They were kind of becoming adults in all of these arts and crafts people. There was the Gothic revival in the 19th century, especially in architecture. And it meant that kind of wherever you looked, there were Gothic-style buildings.
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Chapter 2: What was the ethos behind the Arts and Crafts movement?
Yes, very good. Yeah, well done. Thomas Cobden Sanderson. Very good. Well remembered. That was a hard one. Well done. Question two. What economic development was the Arts and Crafts Movement reacting against?
Industrialisation.
Yeah. Question three. Can you name two other arts and crafts practitioners besides William Morris?
Edward Byrne-Jones, May Morris.
Yeah, sure. That's fine, yeah. Dante Rossetti, yeah. Philip Webb, Jane Byrne, yeah. There's lots of people. Question four. What went wrong with the Arthurian mural that Morris and his circle produced for the Oxford Union Debating Chamber?
They didn't put a primer on that baby. They didn't paint it first.
It was just bare brick and then some lovely Othi Rihanna. Question five. What was the name of the house designed for William and Jane Morris to live in by the architect Philip Webb?
That was Red, that one? Yeah, Red House.
Question six. Where did Morris and co hire a number of their employees from? Which school?
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