Summer of Creativity at Kelmscott Manor with Poet Robert Seatter and Artist Jessica Palme

Award-winning poet Robert Seater and acclaimed visual artist Jessica Palmer will bring the fascinating stories and compelling atmosphere of Kelmscot Manor to life as part of the Manor’s programme of learning and public engagement alongside an inspirational new exhibition on ‘William Morris and the Book’ (5 June – 25 October).

In mid-June, Jessica will create a large 3-D model of the Manor out of recycled materials, enabling visitors – and especially families and children – to experience the house writing poems, stories and love leters to the house and its objects and posting these through its cardboard doors and windows.

Inside the Manor, visitors will be led on a special audio trail of 10 short poems by Robert Seater directly inspired by spaces and objects in the house. These will range from William Morris’s famous Strawberry Thief wallpaper to Rosseti’s beguiling portrait of Jane Morris, Mrs William Morris Wearing a Blue Silk Dress, and the hand-crafted furnishings that fill the rooms. Visitors will discover too Jessica Palmer’s new papercut, an homage to May Morris’s embroidered cot cover, The Homestead and the Forest, poignantly made for the child she never had.

A wider collection of poems will be published in The House of Words, (poems by Robert Seater and illustrations by Jessica Palmer) exploring Kelmscot Manor in its many different guises, as a house of expectation and creativity, as well as a house of love and desire. The book also asks the universal question of what houses mean to all of us and reflects on Morris’s significance for us now. Published in a limited hand-printed edition by Paekakariki Press, The House of Words will be launched on 13 June as part of the special exhibition at Kelmscot Manor, in conjunction with the unveiling of Jessicas 3-D model on the 14 June.

For visitors who would like to explore their own creative talents, there’s an opportunity to atend two master classes. ‘Writing Kelmscot – creating your own house of words’ with Robert Seater, Tuesday 24 June, will be a stimulating workshop of writing activities and storytelling. The second workshop, ‘Creative Kelmscot – making papercut designs inspired by William Morris’s art and garden’ with Jessica Palmer, Tuesday 1 July, will offer a hands-on workshop in paper cutting and design. More information on both workshops and how to book can be found on kelmscotmanor.org.uk.

The summer of creativity will round off with a Community Poem for Kelmscot Manor, inspired by visitors’ comments and visuals, and curated jointly by Robert and Jessica, to be unveiled on Saturday 4 October 2025, following National Poetry Day.

Robert Seater said: I have always loved Kelmscott Manor, and it has been a joy working here as its first ever poet in residence. Inspired by its spirit of making, I can’t wait to bring its unique atmosphere to life for visitors this summer and help them explore in words what the house means to them.

Jessica Palmer said: It is the quiet domestic sense of the presence of Morris and his daughter May living at Kelmscott that moves me. The feeling of how the house and garden stimulated beauty and comfort. I am delighted to be Kelmscott’s Visiting Artist this summer and help deliver some sparks for creativity to visitors.