In Chapter 16 of The Ink Black Heart, Robin follows Groomer and Legs in Strike’s BMW to the William Morris Gallery.

The gallery is located in a Georgian house that was built in the 1740s in Lloyd Park in Walthamstow, northeast London, only a few minutes from the flat Robin buys and moves into later in the book. The building was Morris’ family home from 1848 to 1856, and the gallery reopened in August 2012 following a major redevelopment.

It is the only public gallery devoted to Morris, who was not only a designer and craftsman, but also a writer, retailer and political activist.

Robin stands with her back to Groomer and Legs and pretends to be interested in a “stained-glass panel showing a naked Adam naming the animals. He sat round-shouldered on a grassy tussock, pointing at a tiger, while a bearded angel beside him recorded the chosen name in a book. Two tropical birds seemed to be poking out of the angel’s halo. Adam’s expression was vacant, even clueless.” (The Ink Black Heart, Chapter 16)

Adam Naming the Animals, Christopher Whall, 1880.

Legs and Groomer discuss the symbolism of the pelican in a design by Edward Burne-Jones.

Pelican in her Piety, Edward Burne-Jones, 1880

Legs and Groomer then retire to the tearoom for coffee, followed by Robin, who buys herself a cappuccino and takes a call from Strike.

You can find out more about the gallery at their website: https://www.wmgallery.org.uk/ 

Find the William Morris Gallery on the map below: