TO CELEBRATE the birthday of aesthetic pioneer William Morris we are showing our lecture on the great man from QI’s John Mitchinson. John’s talk is part of his online course, Eminent Victorians, which is available for purchase from our online Academy.

We all know Morris as a medievalist and founder of the Arts and Crafts movement. What is less well known is that he was a revolutionary socialist, was put in jail more than once, and went on anti-war marches.

Despite his enormous output, we count him as a patron saint of idlers, because he believed that work should be creative and voluntary. He had a sincere wish to elevate ordinary people above the level of a wage slave.

William Morris was born on 24 March 1834  and died on 3 October 1896.

Enjoy the film.