Cake and culture courtesy of the National Trust

We had a lovely few hours out yesterday visiting a local National Trust property, Wightwick Manor

The house is a treasure trove of Arts and Crafts decorative arts and interior design.

Even the grand rooms are on a domestic scale and feel cosy - I could move right in here given half a chance!

It's all a bit Downton and knowing my luck I'd probably be one of the women in the kitchen rather than with the ladies in the drawing room.

The main reason we visit this house regularly is to enjoy the Pre Raphaelite paintings and drawings. I've not cropped this Dante Gabriel Rossetti so that you can see the original William Morris wallpaper that adorns most of the rooms.

Here's a detail of Edward Burne Jones' Love Among the Ruins. He made this oil copy after the original watercolour was severely damaged. After restoration by the artist the watercolour recently sold for 14.8 million pounds!

I'm sorry about the poor quality of the picture above - it was a very sunny day and the glare on the glass was unavoidable. This amazing watercolour by Phillip Webb was one of four designs he produced for William Morris. You can see much better images of all of them here.

Evelyn De Morgan's Flora was a bonus as although there are works by her and her husband in the permanent collection, this is only on temporary loan from the De Morgan Foundation.

I love this very well known photograph of Edward Burne Jones and William Morris with their incredibly photogenic, although somewhat sulky, womenfolk! 

And as every NT member knows, no visit is complete without cake in the tea-room!

Thanks for dropping by - talk to you again soon, Linda x