Wightwick Manor & Gardens

Wightwick Manor & Gardens Built in 1887 by Theodore Mander Wightwick has become one of the outstanding examples of a Victorian house furnished in the Aesthetic style.
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House, Gallery, Shop, Tearoom and Gardens are open 7 days per week. The legacy of a family's passion for Victorian art and design. In 1937 Geoffrey Mander MP did something remarkable - he persuaded the National Trust to accept a house that was just 50 years old. The local paint manufacturer and Liberal MP had been left the timber-framed house by his father Theodore. Taking inspiration from a lectu

re on 'the House Beautiful' by Oscar Wilde, Theodore and his wife Flora had decorated its interiors with the designs of William Morris and his Arts and Crafts contemporaries. This house of the Aesthetic Movement was, by 1937, a relic of an out of fashion era. Yet, so complete was the design that it was worthy of preservation. Having given the house to the Trust, Geoffrey and his second wife Rosalie became its live-in curators, opening the house to the public and adding to its contents. In particular they added a remarkable collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Rossetti, Burne-Jones and their followers. So take a step back in time and visit the ever-changing family home that’s also the world’s most unlikely art gallery. Wightwick Manor - haven of a romantic industrialist.

Happy birthday to Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais. Born 8th June 1829, he would be nearly 200 years old today...
08/06/2026

Happy birthday to Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais. Born 8th June 1829, he would be nearly 200 years old today.

We have a number of artworks in the collection created by Millais, including this really early oil painting, painting by Millais when he was in his fourteenth year.

Depicting the jealousy and rage of Othello towards Desdemona, Millais added a note later to the back of the picture dated 17 June, 1888, saying: “Dear Sir, This sketch of Othello and Desdemona is a very very early performance of yours truly. J. Millais.”

Millais, in 1840, aged eleven, became the youngest ever student at the Royal Academy Schools, and still holds the record for youngest academician. He won the silver medal for drawing from the antique (i.e. casts of classical sculpture) in 1843, the same year this was painted, and exhibited his first major painting a few years later, in 1846.

🦋 Happy Butterfly Education and Awareness Day! 🦋Did you know we have this pair of exquisite red moon flasks in our colle...
07/06/2026

🦋 Happy Butterfly Education and Awareness Day! 🦋

Did you know we have this pair of exquisite red moon flasks in our collection that depict butterflies, along with other creatures; such as a frog, dragonfly and grasshopper.

Wightwick is a house of the Aesthetic Movement - which was in part inspired by Japanese design. Royal Worcester, who created these moon flasks, gained recognition for their Japanese-inspired designs, which formed part of ‘Japonisme’, a fascination with Japan that took place in Europe after the opening of Japanese markets to the West in the 1850s.

Asian art and design were showcased at the 1862 International Exhibition in London and the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867, inspiring European artists and designers with a new aesthetic.

The moon flask was one of the most popular forms of art pottery during the Aesthetic era in the late 19th century. Originally, the full moon porcelain surface was used to hand-paint symbolic designs for Chinese imperial palaces. Chinese porcelain moon flasks are known as Baoyueping, meaning ‘embracing the moon’, and were adopted later by Japanese artists.

Our amazing volunteers are not just essential to everything we do at Wightwick Manor and Gardens - they also make brilli...
05/06/2026

Our amazing volunteers are not just essential to everything we do at Wightwick Manor and Gardens - they also make brilliant cakes and biscuits🌼 This beautiful ‘ginger daisy’ was baked by a garden volunteer😇 (we think it should be added to the menu in the tea rooms😋)

In 1937, the same year Geoffrey and Rosalie gave their home, Wightwick Manor, to the National Trust, they also began col...
04/06/2026

In 1937, the same year Geoffrey and Rosalie gave their home, Wightwick Manor, to the National Trust, they also began collecting Pre-Raphaelite art. That is why we call our art collection, a public collection, it was created by the Manders for everyone to see.

The first artwork the Manders bought in 1937 was this artwork by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (finished after his death by Ford Madox Brown) a portrait of Jane Morris- currently on show next to other Rossetti artworks of women’s beauty in the Oak Room.

For the rest of their lives Geoffrey and Rosalie Mander continued to buy and collect art, in consultation with the National Trust. They bought art predominantly by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, his circle and followers.

For example, the year before his death, in 1961, Geoffrey Mander paid a record sum for Elizabeth Siddal’s art at auction. Honouring the tenacity of their collecting, all 12 Siddal artworks are on display in our current exhibition, ‘The Rossettis : Siblings and Spouses’.

Lady Mander also continued to collect, in collaboration with the National Trust up until her death in 1988. She was friends with many of the descendants of the artists, including Helen Rossetti Angeli, who lent and donated pieces to the collection and helped Lady Mander in her art historical research.

The Manders moved objects and artworks around as they acquired more - very few things have a fixed place at Wightwick, as Mander family photos attest too.

Wightwick is still an open collection today. Following Lady Mander’s guidelines, we continue to collect artworks and objects in keeping with Wightwick. Including four Phillip Webb Forest Tapestry animal drawings, that were acquired for the collection in 2013, and a portrait of a mourning, 46 year old Christina Rossetti, created by her brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, which is newly on display, and came into the collection most recently, in 2025. We believe this portrait of Christina is one of the artworks that was loaned to Wightwick in the 1940s (consulting a list of objects on loan at this time) and it’s lovely to see it return.

Whatever the weather, time of year or mood, it is always a good idea to have a scone. Just butter? Or cream and jam? Cla...
03/06/2026

Whatever the weather, time of year or mood, it is always a good idea to have a scone. Just butter? Or cream and jam?
Classic with tea? Or a fancy coffee?
There’s no wrong way as long as you’re sitting in a National Trust tearoom. ❤️





It's 2026!On this National Volunteer's Week 2026, here at Wightwick Manor & Gardens we have showcased the dedication a...
01/06/2026

It's 2026!

On this National Volunteer's Week 2026, here at Wightwick Manor & Gardens we have showcased the dedication and hard work completed across the property and grounds during the last year.

Our volunteers are inspirations to us all, they truly bring our sites alive, telling the stories and preserving heritage for generations to come.

The National Trust was founded in 1895, and with the support from volunteers we continue to keep history alive.

If you would like to volunteer with us, please visit the link and type the property of interest into the search bar to view our available opportunities here at Wightwick Manor & Gardens. https://myvolunteering.nationaltrust.org.uk/opportunity-search

If you would wish to volunteer with us in a particular area, but cannot see a role advertised, please make sure to revisit regularly to stay up to date with new added opportunities. It is also helpful to note that we have neighbouring properties across the Midlands, which are available to view on our National Trust Map.

Thank you once more to our volunteers, this week is all about celebrating you!

If you love our Wightwick Manor & Gardens, as much as we do, please feel free to give our volunteers a bit of appreciation in our comments.

National Trust in the Midlands National Trust

Remind you of anything? Our new Ceramic Cat is said to be a Watering Can, but here at The Old Manor Shop, we think it wo...
31/05/2026

Remind you of anything? Our new Ceramic Cat is said to be a Watering Can, but here at The Old Manor Shop, we think it would make a great vase or display piece! It comes boxed, making it a fantastic gift for the Cat Lovers in your life! It looks just like our Cat Silhouette Cushions seen across the Manor House. Whilst Stock Lasts. The Old Manor Shop is open daily, 10:30am - 5pm.

‘A flower blossoms for its own joy. We gain a moment of joy by looking at it.’ Oscar Wilde, 1891.Thanks to our wonderful...
30/05/2026

‘A flower blossoms for its own joy. We gain a moment of joy by looking at it.’ Oscar Wilde, 1891.

Thanks to our wonderful flower arranging volunteers for the most magnificent arrangements around the manor, they enhance and complement the interiors. And thanks to our fabulous garden team of staff and volunteers who grow these beautiful plants in our cutting garden.

Nature is such an important inspiration in our domestic interiors, and flowers can be found in our paintings, stained glass, carpets, carvings, fireplaces, wallpapers, embroideries, wall-hangings, tiles, book covers and many other aspects of our collection. So to have also have fresh flowers from the garden in the house is an added delight.

29/05/2026

Update: Our tills are now working as normal. Thank you to everyone for your patience.

⚠️Please note: Due to an issue with our tills, we can only take cash payments at the moment.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused and hope to get this issue resolved as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

National Trust in the Midlands National Trust

Happy Wedding Anniversary to Flora and Theodore Mander, who were married on this day in 1879 in Canada, nearly 150 years...
29/05/2026

Happy Wedding Anniversary to Flora and Theodore Mander, who were married on this day in 1879 in Canada, nearly 150 years ago. We fly the Mander flag today to honour their special day.

Flora St. Clair Paint came from Halifax, Nova Scotia, where her father was a member of the Canadian Parliament. Flora came to England to study and met Theodore’s sisters. In his diary for December 1873, Theodore Mander called Flora, a “very merry girl”, and describes a trip to Birmingham with her and his sisters to an art gallery.

Eight years after they were married, in 1887, they commissioned the architect Edward Ould to design Wightwick Manor as a family home for their growing family. They already had two children, Geoffrey and Marjorie, and their younger sons Lionel and Alan would be born later at Wightwick.

Address

Wightwick Manor And Gardens, Bridgnorth Road
Wolverhampton
WV68BN

Telephone

+441902761400

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