Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton, National Trust.

This was the most interesting National Trust property that I have ever been to!  It is an Arts & Crafts house, built by a Victorian paint manufacturer, and inherited by his son, Geoffrey Mander.  (Interestingly Mander senior died at 47, from an abcess on his liver, that spread to his lung - which makes me wonder whether it was caused by the toxins in Victorian paint, that his liver was unable to deal with?).

Geoffrey Mander was a Liberal politician who was very forward thinking in his views.  He was the first company boss to introduce the 40 hour week for his employees (50-60 was the norm), introduced annual leave, worked to achieve equal rights for workers (not sure how).  He was a strong supporter of female suffrage and, according to Hansard - the record of speakers at the Houses of Parliament - spoke 80 times about female equality.

Mander and his wife donated the house and contents to the National Trust in 1937 - for the benefit of the public to see Arts & Crafts.  The house is absolutely stuffed with Arts & Crafts objects and decoration. They had opened the house prior to this, while they still lived in it, for the public to see the truly astonishing interior.  For the next 20 years they continued to collect Pre-Raphaelite Art - when it was out of vogue - so they acquired a considerable collection comparatively cheaply, including many of women. The female artists in the collection are:

Evelyn de Morgan, Persephone and Hesperus, 1881
Courtesy of Wightwick Manor

Marie Spartalli-Stillman
Evelyn de Morgan (2nd wave Pre-Raphaelite, gay?)
May Morris (gay?)
Lizzie Siddle
Lucy Maddox Brown
Emma Sandys
Gertrudy Spencer Stanhope
Eleanor Brayholt.

Many of the people represented are of relatively unknown people -many women - who were socialists and who used their money for the benefit of others.  Often supported war victims; children; the widowed.

Wightwick Manor has a major exhibition planned for 2018, about Women and Suffrage, using their own collection.

This is worth going back to take a second look.