The pattern on this wallpaper was designed by John Henry Dearle, William Morris’s apprentice. Dearle originally started at Morris & Co in the tapestry department but Morris noticed his talent for pattern design and he eventually became the Art Director of Morris & Co. following Morris’s death in 1896.
‘Golden Lily’ became one of the firm's more popular designs and has rarely been out of print. This piece came from the wall of a room in St. Ives House, near Ringwood, Hampshire which was decorated with the wallpaper in 1899.