Sightseeing in Wolverhampton is simple. There is but one outstanding attraction, Wightwick Manor and gardens.

The house was built in 1887 as a comfortable family home. It contained the most modern amenities of its time featuring central heating and electric lighting throughout.

Edward Ould designed the building in the arts & crafts style. There are Morris & Co wallpapers and carpets, William de Morgan ceramics and stained glass by C E Kempe. My favourites, however, are the copperware and the light fittings made by W A S Benson.

The house was built by one of the owners of Wolverhampton’s pre-eminent company, Mander Brothers. The firm was a successful manufacturer and exporter of inks, varnishes and paints, and in 1932 became the first employer in the country to introduce the 40-hour week for its staff.

In another first, Wightwick Manor was the first house given to the National Trust under the Country House Scheme in 1937. Geoffrey and Rosalie Mander continued to live there until their deaths. They collected pre-Raphaelite art at a time when the style was entirely out of fashion. Many of the paintings are exhibited in the house.

This picture of Jane Morris, the poster girl of the pre-Raphaelites, hangs in the drawing room. It was painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti but left unfinished. Later, the red hair was added by Ford Maddox Brown.

A photo of the house as seen from the garden, all ‘Old English’ with oak beams and barley twist chimney pots. I am building up quite a collection of arts & crafts destinations – this is the third after the Red House and Standen.