London’s William Morris Gallery, which reopened August 2 following a more than $15 million renovation, celebrates the life and work of the radical Arts and Crafts movement figurehead, who has influenced everything from J.R.R. Tolkien to modern-day chintz patterns. Surrounded by the romantic Epping Forest in northeast London that Morris explored as a child, the grand Georgian mansion turned museum showcases a stunningly diverse artisan oeuvre developed on the cusp of the industrial age.

Morris’s bio is extraordinary: He was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, an artist, a socialist activist, Victorian craftsman nonpareil, a printer, and, perhaps most significantly, a thinker. The textiles and damasks still being produced by Morris & Co. on Oxford Street have come to define quintessential British style.

Opportunities to draw connections between the Victorian’s life and art abound on the verdant estate. Reclaimed ornamental gardens found their way into dense floral textiles, and the medieval moat near the 18th-century manor, which served as the Morris family home for nearly a decade in the mid-nineteenth century, helped inspire some of his most iconic designs. More than 600 items have been curated according to theme in a dozen galleries, alongside a library, research area, and a scenic tearoom.

In 1877, Morris remarked, “I do not want art for a few, any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.” What’s equally fitting: Access to this monument to creativity for the Everyman is free to the public.

William Morris Gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, pre-booked group visits on Tuesdays; Forest Rd., Lloyd Park, London, 011-44-20-8496-4390, wmgallery.org.uk