Page "William Morris" Paragraph 28

Although Morris never became a practising architect, his interest in architecture continued throughout his life.

In 1877 he founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings ( SPAB, sometimes also known as " Anti-Scrape "), which sprang into being as a practical protest against a scheme for restoring and reviving Tewkesbury Abbey.

His preservation work resulted indirectly in the founding of the National Trust.

Combined with the inspiration of John Ruskin — in particular his essay " The Nature of Gothic " — architecture played an important symbolic part in Morris's approach to socialism.