History of Nuffield Place

Oil painting on canvas by John Wheatley of William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield in a brown suit reading a book, 1949/50 — Oil painting of Lord Nuffield by John Wheatley, 1949/50 | © National Trust Images

Lord Nuffield built the Morris Motor Company from the ground up. He became incredibly successful and celebrated, yet remained a modest man. Alongside his incredible generosity through philanthropy, Lord Nuffield was a complex man who donated to a wide-range of causes, including some seen as controversial. Nuffield Place was his home for the last 30 years of his life – discover his fascinating story.

A young entrepreneur

William Morris was born in October 1877 in Worcester and moved to Oxford with his family at the age of three. At the age of 14 William left school and became an apprentice at an Oxford bicycle shop to help support his family.

After a year, William asked for a pay rise, which was denied, so he promptly set up his own business, a bicycle repair company, with just £4 capital. Morris’ boundless nervous energy and keen business sense saw him make rapid success, and formed the basis for his continued fortunes.

From bicycle to car

The bicycle repair business was a success, and in 1901 he acquired a shop on Oxford's High Street. He began manufacturing motorcycles in 1903 and before long Morris had set up a garage on Longwall Street, where he started hiring, selling and repairing cars.

A blue Morris Minor car parked outside the front of Nuffield Place — Morris Minor parked outside Nuffield Place | © National Trust Images/Alex Prain

The Morris Motor Company

A practical man with a passion for engineering, Morris was fascinated by how things were made, and it was a natural move from repairing, hiring and selling cars to manufacturing them. In August 1912 he registered a new company, WRM Motors Ltd, for the manufacturing of motor cars and the first Morris car, the Bullnose, was created the following year.

A celebrated man

The contributions made throughout his life by William Morris, later Lord Nuffield, in the fields of motoring, education and health did not go unnoticed and he was awarded several titles.

Nuffield the philanthropist

At the height of Lord Nuffield's career, he was reputedly earning £2,000 a day. However, he was never extravagant with his money. Questioned about his riches, he replied: ‘Well, you can only wear one suit at a time.’ Naturally frugal, Lord Nuffield gave away much of his vast fortune. In total he donated £30 million to good causes, the equivalent of £700 million in today's money.

A controversial legacy

It has been suggested that Lord Nuffield was a Fascist supporter and anti-semitic, but this does not seem to be supported by the available evidence.

In 1930, Lord Nuffield provided funding for Oswald Mosley to launch ‘The New Party’ with a plan to rebuild Britain’s prosperity after the Wall Street Crash. This party was unsuccessful and Morris did not offer any further support to Mosley. Mosley subsequently went on a European tour which opened his eyes to Fascism and Lord Nuffield did not support Mosley’s British Union of Fascists when it was formed in 1932 or thereafter.

It has been suggested that Lord Nuffield read the nationalist paper The Patriot. On the other hand, his donations book reveals that he privately donated to several Jewish charities.

Lord Nuffield prevented his employees from Unionising in the 1920s and 30s. He argued that the wages he paid were higher than Union rates and he expected fewer hours. In the 1930s his managers introduced new worker benefits such as paid holiday, sick pay and pensions before they were mandatory. During the Second World War, Unions did become established at Lord Nuffield’s factories.

Inside the Drawing Room at Nuffield Place, Oxfordshire. The room has large windows with long green curtains and is filled with furniture including several floral-patterned armchairs and decorative wooden chairs. — The Drawing Room at Nuffield Place | © National Trust Images/Cristian Barnett

Nuffield Place: a modest home

Nuffield Place was Lord Nuffield’s home from 1933 until his death in 1963. Originally named Merrow Mount, the house was designed by Oswald Partridge Milne in 1914 for Sir John Bowring Wimble, a shipping tycoon. When Sir John Wimble died, his widow sold the house to William Morris. Having just been raised to peerage, Morris took his title from the local village and renamed the house. Nuffield Place came into the care of the National Trust in 2012.