London's Unknown Museums: 1 Willam Morris Gallery

Number one in an occasional series on museums and galleries in my native London. Unknown may be hyperboly, but they are less well known than the big ones like the British Museum

Willam Morris Gallery, Walthamstow
The first of these is my most local gallery as I as born not too far away from here in sunny Walthamstow. The gallery is fairly small and is unsurprisingly devoted to William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The pieces that I like the most are often the furniture which is unsurprisingly made with excellent craftsmanship as I find some of Morris' textile design in particular to be rather densely patterned for my tastes. There are also various personal belongings of Morris which does help to build a picture of him as a man as well as an artist.

The exhibits include a bequest from Sir Frank Brangwyn RA of paintings, sketches and drawings. This does include some excellent pieces and I probably enjoy these more than most of Morris' work.

My most recent visit was prompted by an exhibition of drawings and paintings of Epping Forest, which runs close to the gallery and at one time extended over much of where Waltham Forest and the other North East London boroughs are.

I'd recommend this gallery to anyone with an interest in Morris and the Arts & Crafts movement or Frank Brangwyn. Otherwise it may not be so high up the list of places to visit, but if you have seen most or all of the major galleries in London it can be worth a visit. Like many local authority supported museums and galleries it is free, but visitors should try and buy postcards or other mementoes to help support these.