It was commissioned by Morris when he was only 25, and newly married to Jane Burden, model and muse to the Pre-Raphaelite artists. It was the first commission for the young architect Philip Webb, who then helped Morris and friends such as the artists Rossetti and Burne-Jones to decorate it in medieval style. Morris and his wife lived there for five years.

The house, built in red brick with a steep red-tiled roof, was described by the painter Rossetti as "more a poem than a house". The National Trust plans to restore the garden, which still has some of the original fruit trees. As well as tours of the house and garden, and the provision of a study centre, the trust plans to serve teas on the lawn, and there will be a holiday apartment.

Some original built-in furniture is still in place: many of the furnishings are now displayed at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and at Kelmscott Manor, near Lechlade, Gloucestershire - the Tudor farmhouse which was Morris's home from 1871 until his death in 1896. (Kelmscott is open to the public on Wednesdays from April to September, and on certain Saturdays. Tel: 01367 252486.) Websites: www.nationaltrust.org.uk, www.kelmscottmanor.co.uk.