Curtains, wellies, nuclear subs and a tsar’s palace: how William Morris mania swept the world

His unmistakable floral patterns – awash with willow, blackthorn and pimpernel – are now on everything from walking sticks to the seats submariners sit on. We go behind the scenes of a dazzling new showHe has papered our walls and carpeted our floors, enlivened our curtains, coats and cups, and even infiltrated Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet. Almost 130 years after his death, the Victorian arts and crafts designer William Morris has blanketed the world with his unmistakable