History of Wightwick Manor

Expert curated

South front at Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton, West Midlands — South front at Wightwick Manor | © National Trust Images/Andrew Butler

Wightwick Manor, near Wolverhampton, is a remarkable late Victorian house that embodies the Aesthetic and Arts and Crafts movements. It was built between 1887–93 for Flora and Theodore Mander, a paint and varnish manufacturer with artistic tastes and strong social consciousness. In the 20th century, Geoffrey and Rosalie Mander hosted international leaders at Wightwick. They enriched the William Morris interiors and built a preeminent collection of Pre-Raphaelite art, with works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, Elizabeth Siddall and Marie Spartali Stillman.

Origins

The Wightwick family owned the manor of Wightwick – called ‘Wisteuuic’ in Domesday book of 1086 – from at least the 13th century. The Old Manor House was built around the turn of the 17th century, incorporating elements of a medieval house. The family sold the estate in 1815. It exchanged hands until 1887 when it was purchased by Theodore (1853–1900) and Flora Mander (1857–1905), the creators of the house we know today.

The Manders – industry, art and society

Wightwick was the perfect location for Theodore Mander and his growing family. Mander Brothers, the family firm, had a factory in Wolverhampton. One of the oldest manufacturers of paint, varnishes and printing inks in Britain, Mander Brothers were, by the 19th century, global leaders in the industry, with branches across Europe, Asia and the British Empire. Theodore joined the company as a director in 1879. The same year he married Flora St Clair Paint, the daughter of a Canadian MP.

A new ‘Old English’ home

Theodore and Flora Mander’s new home was designed by Edward Ould (1852–1909), a Cheshire architect renowned for his work in in the ‘Old English’ revival style, which blended Tudor, Elizabethan and Jacobean elements. The family wing (1887–9) was completed first, followed by a formal east wing (1892–3) with large reception rooms and guest suites.

The exterior, adorned with Ould’s signature timber framing, patterned chimneys and traditional oak carvings, gives the impression of a much older house. Inside, the oak panelling and decorative plasterwork maintain this historic feel, while modern comforts such as electric lighting and central heating brought the home into the 20th century. The Old Manor House was repurposed as servants’ accommodation.

The East Wing at Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton, West Midlands. The Victorian Manor is one of the few surviving examples of a house built under the influence of the Arts and Crafts Movement. — The East Wing at Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton, West Midlands | © National Trust Images/Andrew Butler

‘The House Beautiful’

The Manders’ interior design choices reflected their strong interest in art, artists and their role in society. They were inspired by John Ruskin, who stressed the importance of craftsmanship, quality materials, and history as sources of inspiration. They also embraced the Aesthetic Movement, which celebrated beauty and artistry in all aspects of life. These ideals were seen as a counter to the negative effects of industrialisation.

In 1884 Theodore attended a lecture given by the author Oscar Wilde, a great promoter of Aestheticism. In ‘The House Beautiful’, Wilde argued that harmonious colours and natural motifs, coordinated with beautiful and useful objects, elevated the home. The Manders decorated Wightwick in line with these principles. They bought wallpaper, fabrics and furniture from Morris & Co, stained glass from Charles Kempe and hand-painted tiles from William De Morgan. Textiles from Central Asia and Iran and displays of Chinese and Japanese porcelain show how global art and design were incorporated into the Aesthetic interior.

Outward looking perspectives

Theodore Mander was deeply religious and politically progressive. He took an active role in public life, serving as a Liberal councilor, Wolverhampton Mayor and magistrate and Secretary of the Wolverhampton School of Art. He supported libraries, schools and colleges. Flora was also active in local charities and hosted fundraiser bazaars and luncheons at Wightwick. The couple travelled extensively and invited international guests to Wightwick – a tradition continued by their son, Geoffrey Mander.

The next generation

Theodore died suddenly in 1900, at just 47 years old. Newspapers paid tribute to his kindness, generosity and skill as a speaker ‘on art, education and social subjects.’ Flora died five years later, also 47. Their initials are inscribed above the front door – a testament to their close involvement and pride in the creation of Wightwick. Geoffrey, the eldest of the Manders’ five children, inherited the house upon his father’s death at the age of sixteen.

The art of politics

Geoffrey Mander (1882–1962) served as the Liberal MP for Wolverhampton East from 1929 to 1945 before joining the Labour Party. A lifelong advocate for workers' rights, he worked closely with Ernest Bevin to put his beliefs into action at Mander Brothers. Under his leadership, the company became the first in Britain to implement the 40-hour workweek. He also introduced pension schemes, sickness benefits, and established a Works Council and Welfare Club.

Wightwick became the venue for rich intellectual and cultural exchange, thanks to the efforts of Geoffrey, his first wife Florence Caverhill (1886–1956) and second wife Rosalie Glynn Grylls (1905–88). The house was a meeting point for international figures, including Sir Seretse Khama, the first President of Botswana, Prince Chula Chakrabongse of Thailand, as well as the British statesmen Clement Attlee and Herbert Asquith and the influential feminist and pacifist, Vera Brittain.

The Great Parlour, looking towards the Minstrels' Gallery, at Wightwick Manor, gives the impression of a fifteenth-century great hall converted to a late Victorian living room. The panelling is oak, some of it Jacobean, and the roof timbers and fireplace are richly carved and picked out in red, green, gold and black. — The Great Parlour, looking towards the Minstrels' Gallery, at Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton, West Midlands | © National Trust Images/Andreas von Einsiedel

Indian connections

Lionel (1888–1946) and Alan (1891–1967) Mander married Prativa (1891–1923) and Sudhira (1894–1968) Devi, the daughters of Sunity Devi, a pioneering women’s rights campaigner, and Nripendra Narayan, the Maharaja of Cooch Behar (West Bengal). The princesses were educated in England and moved in high circles. Both spoke candidly about the complexities of Anglo-Indian marriage and colonial attitudes toward Indian women at this time.

Following his divorce from Prativa, Lionel remade himself as the Hollywood actor Miles Mander.

Pre-Raphaelite Art

A Liberal politician, biographer and expert in the Pre-Raphaelites, Geoffrey’s second wife Rosalie Mander (1905–88) was instrumental in creating at Wightwick one of Britain’s most significant collections of Pre-Raphaelite art.

The Manders’ first acquisition was a portrait of Jane Morris by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ford Madox Brown. The collection grew from there, to include G. F. Watt’s vivid portrait of Jane Nassau Senior, drawings and sketchbooks by Edward Burne-Jones, and works by Pre-Raphaelite women artists. Works by Elizabeth Siddal, Marie Spartali Stillman and Evelyn de Morgan show the pivotal role women played in the movement, both as artists and muses.
Rosalie built personal connections with descendants of Pre-Raphaelite artists, gaining unique access to artworks, stories and provenance information that deepened the collection’s significance. Rare painted furniture in the Oak Room, for example, came from The Pines, home of Rossetti’s friends Theodore Watts-Dunton and Algernon Charles Swinburne.

A garden of associations

Flora Mander transformed the garden into the one we see today. She employed Thomas Mawson, author of the ‘Art and Craft of Garden Making’ (1900), to design it in harmony with house. Clipped yew hedges, traditional flower beds and terraces create ‘rooms’ that soften into informal areas further away from the house.

Reflecting his interest in history and the arts, Geoffrey Mander planted flowers and herbs inspired by Shakespeare. Later, he and Rosalie collected plants from the gardens at Kelmscott Manor, William Morris’s Oxfordshire summer home, and Gads Hill, Charles Dickens’s country house in Kent. They also invited Clement Atlee to plant a hornbeam for its association with William Morris.

The painting Love among the Ruins, by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833-1898), 1894, hangs against the oak panelling of the Great Parlour at Wightwick Manor — Love Among the Ruins by Burne-Jones, 1894, against the oak panelling of the Great Parlour at Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton, West Midlands | © National Trust Images/Paul Raeside

Pioneering preservation

In 1937 Geoffrey Mander gave Wightwick, its contents and a financial endowment to the National Trust. The donation of a Victorian house, and the Trust’s acceptance of it, was considered pioneering. Then just 50 years old, Wightwick was thought of as relatively modern. The gift set a precedent for the preservation of Victorian and Arts and Crafts heritage for decades to come.

During the Second World War the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force occupied part of Wightwick. Geoffrey worked as a Private Secretary to the Minister for Air and Rosalie took up war work. They lived in and managed Wightwick on behalf of the National Trust. When Geoffrey died in 1962, Rosalie continued to host open days and give guided tours, supported by volunteers. The last Mander to live permanently at Wightwick, Rosalie died in 1988.

Wightwick Today

The National Trust continues to preserve and enhance the Manor’s artistic and architectural heritage. In 1997 it accepted a bequest of De Morgan pictures and ceramics from Phyllis Pickering, Evelyn de Morgan’s niece.

Wilhelmina Stirling, younger sister of Evelyn de Morgan, created her own collection which formed the De Morgan Foundation. In 2016 the De Morgan Gallery opened in the Malthouse. Created in partnership with the Foundation, and with generous support from the Mander Trust, this modern gallery showcases the work and philosophies of William and Evelyn De Morgan. Over 400 of William’s unique decorative tiles can now be viewed in the William De Morgan Tile Library.

Major conservation efforts include the restoration of the historic Mathematical Bridge in the garden, commissioned by Geoffrey Mander based on the original example in Cambridge, and the multi-year ‘Big MEND’ project to repair the Manor’s intricate exterior, supported by Arts Council England. Wightwick has also partnered with the charity Sense through the 'Internal Garden' project, using soundscapes and tactile technology to engage visitors with complex disabilities.