William Morris, the son of a successful businessman, was born in Walthamstow, a quiet village east of London, on 24th March, 1834. After successfully investing in a copper mine, Williams father was able to purchase Woodford Hall, a large estate on the edge of Epping Forest, in 1840.Morris was educated at Marborough and Exeter College, Oxford. At university Morris met Edward BurneJones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The three men were all artists and formed a group called the Brotherhood. During this period their work was inspired by the history, ritual and architecture of the Medieval period. Morris and BurneJones were committed Anglicans and for a time they talked of taking part in a crusade and holy warfare against the art and culture of their own time.

Website: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jmorris.htm