William Morris House Re-Opens After Refurbishment

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Tessa Jowell performs opening ceremony

"I had to carry my disabled daughter up the steps on my back when I came here before," said Agatha Akyigyina - Mayor of Merton celebrating the installation of a lift access to William Morris Meeting Rooms in Wimbledon.

The event was also attended by Former Olympics Minister Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP who spoke about the importance of making buildings accessible for people with disabilities.

Mayor Agatha spoke about how she had had to carry her disabled daughter Susannah on her back, when previously visiting William Morris House on The Broadway. She added how delighted she now was to see the house had now installed a lift.

At a packed event, attended by more than 70 local residents and councillors, presided over by the Chair of William Morris House Councillor Peter Walker, Tessa Jowell spoke of the great strides made possible for disabled people due to the Olympic effect.

She said: "While the 2008 Beijing Paralympics games sold only 5,000 tickets for their games, the 2012 London Paralympics sold over 2 million tickets. That is a measure of how the London Olympics advanced the status of disabled people.”

She went on to congratulate the venue, William Morris House on spending more than £150,000 to make the meeting rooms disabled accessible.

Councillor Walker also pointed out how pleased he was that the House had also taken the opportunity to display some of the treasures that it had relating to William Morris. These include two stained glass windows (one is pictured right) designed by Edward Burne-Jones, the celebrated pre-Raphaelite artist, manufactured at Morris & Co works in south Wimbledon in the 1880's, and presented by William Morris to a local suffragette.

December 4, 2014