The Coomber House local authority development is on an old factory site. The factory had once been that of a great ceramist and potter William Frend de Morgan (1839-1917) who set up a works here in 1888 in association with the architect Halsey Ricardo. The business was not very successful and when de Morgan's health deteriorated in 1908 he closed it down and sold to a metal polish manufacturer. However whilst it was in operation a major commission was the tiling for a famed feature of Leighton House in Kensington which was the home of Frederic, First Baron Leighton of Stretton, (1830-96) an artist and sculptor. He had been made very wealthy because of his popularity at court and the photogravure reproduction of his paintings. The feature of the house is the Arab Room which is tiled across the ceiling, walls and floor. De Morgan and Leighton were prominent members of the Pre-Raphaelite artistic movement.

O/S Co-ords:2592.7583
Source(s):

A History of Fulham

Chambers Biographical Dictionary