DESIGN

The Hammersmith Carpet and the Arts & Crafts Interior

20 March 2026

John Mackie

Among the most ambitious achievements of William Morris and John Henry Dearle for Morris & Company, was the development and production of their “Hammersmith” carpets. Handmade works of art that stand as a powerful expression of the Arts & Crafts ideal: that beauty, craftsmanship, and integrity of design should permeate every surface of the home.

Here we take a look at the role of rugs and carpets in Morris’ vision for the British home with a focus on a particular fine example of a Hammersmith carpet dating from 1890-95 to be offered in the forthcoming Design Since 1860 auction on 15 & 16 April 2026.

DESIGN Since 1860

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Reclaiming the Handmade

William Morris began producing hand-knotted Hammersmith rugs in 1878–79. At that time, no other British manufacturer was working at the scale he envisaged. Morris had planned the initiative for many years and had collected historical Eastern carpets since at least the late 1850s.

Morris’s engagement with carpet weaving began as both an artistic and ideological pursuit. At a time when industrial production dominated British manufacturing, he turned deliberately toward labour-intensive, hand-knotted techniques. Establishing his first loom in an attic at Queen Square in 1878, and later expanding production to Merton Abbey Works, Morris sought nothing less than to revive the dignity of craft.

His aim, as he articulated in 1880, was bold: to make England “independent of the East” for carpets worthy of being considered works of art. Yet this was never a rejection of global influence. Morris had long collected Persian and Anatolian carpets - displaying them at Red House, his home designed with Philip Webb - and studied their structure, materials, and harmony of design. What he resisted was imitation. Instead, he translated these principles into a distinctly Western, contemporary idiom.

The result was the Hammersmith carpet: technically rigorous, visually coherent, and unapologetically handmade.

Design as Structure: Pattern, Clarity, and Balance

The present carpet exemplifies Morris’s mature design philosophy. Its composition, anchored by a central rosette with radiating palmettes, reveals a disciplined symmetry often associated with his work of the 1880s. This clarity of structure reflects his belief that pattern should be legible, ordered, and integrated across the entire surface.

Morris rejected illusionistic shading in favour of flat, outlined forms. Colour variation is achieved through the juxtaposition of distinct tones rather than gradual transitions, giving the design its characteristic crispness and rhythm. Stylised foliage and floral motifs, drawn from close observation of nature yet abstracted into pattern, create a surface that feels both organic and controlled.

The influence of Mughal and Safavid carpets is evident in the medallion format and the use of repeating botanical elements. Yet these references are absorbed into a new visual language: one that balances historical awareness with modern design intent.

WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) AND JOHN HENRY DEARLE (1859-1932)

LARGE ARTS & CRAFTS 'HAMMERSMITH' CARPET

circa 1890-95, hand-tufted wool on a linen and wool warp, with ‘Soumak’ knotted fringe 520cm x 335cm (including fringe)

£30,000 to £50,000 + fees

The Interior as a Unified Whole

Hammersmith carpets were never conceived as isolated objects. They were integral to Morris’s concept of the “total interior,” in which architecture, textiles, furniture, and decoration formed a unified aesthetic environment.

This particular design was first created for Bullerswood House in Kent in 1889, as part of a comprehensive decorative scheme for the client Algernon Newton and likely one of the last interiors personally overseen by Morris. It was later reused at Stanmore Hall, Middlesex, in a major commission that brought together many of the firm’s finest achievements, including the celebrated Holy Grail tapestries designed with Edward Burne-Jones.

Within such interiors, the carpet functioned almost architecturally: anchoring space, guiding movement, and harmonising the surrounding decorative elements. Its scale - over five metres in length - reinforces this role, transforming the floor into a field of pattern that shapes the experience of the room.

JOHN HENRY DEARLE (1859-1932)

ARTS & CRAFTS HAMMERSMITH CARPET

circa 1880, hand-knotted wool 402cm x 389cm

SOLD FOR £18,900 in October 2025

Rarity, Labour, and Legacy

Carpets of this type were among the most expensive and labour-intensive works produced by Morris & Co. Taking days to complete even small sections, they were made only to commission and never held in stock. Their cost and complexity ensured limited production, and today surviving examples are rare, often known by the houses for which they were originally created.

The present carpet is particularly significant in this regard. Its design, associated with major commissions at Bullerswood and Stanmore Hall, appears to be unique, with no other recorded versions.

Yet beyond rarity, its importance lies in what it represents. The Hammersmith carpet encapsulates Morris’s broader project: to restore meaning to making, to align beauty with labour, and to create environments in which art is inseparable from life.

An Enduring Vision

More than a century after its creation, the Hammersmith carpet continues to resonate - not only as a masterpiece of design, but as a statement of values. In an age once again grappling with questions of production, sustainability, and authenticity, Morris’s insistence on craftsmanship and integrity feels strikingly contemporary.

This carpet is not simply a relic of the Arts & Crafts movement. It is a reminder of a radical idea: that the objects we live with should be made with care, designed with thought, and capable of enriching everyday life.

In that sense, its place within the modern interior remains as relevant now as it was in the late 19th century.

Literature

Parry L. Hammersmith Carpets, HALI, October/December 1985, p. 17 and p. 16, pl. 8 where the Bullerswood version of this design is illustrated.
Kirkham P. The Firm: Morris & Company, within Diane Waggoner D. (ed.), The Beauty of Life, William Morris & the Art of Design, (ex. cat.), New York, 2003, p. 54
Parry L. William Morris Textiles, V&A 2013, p. 114

Images of Stanmore Hall taken by Bedford Lemaire in 1891

Specialist

John Mackie

Director, Head of Design