London
The National Trust has succeeded in making its second great acquisition of the year. After Tintesfield, the neo-Gothic mansion in Somerset, last month it bought the Red House, the former home of William Morris. Built in 1859 in what is now a suburb of London, Bexleyheath, it was designed for Morris by his friend, Philip Webb. It contains many of the original furnishings, including paintings by Burne-Jones and Rossetti, has been lovingly looked after since 1952 by the architect, Edward Hollamby, who died in 1999. A private donor has offered land which can be sold to raise the £2 million needed for the purchase and the endowment.