ANTIQUE furniture at Kelmscott Manor was rescued as water levels rose around the Grade I-listed building.

The house, the home of writer, designer and Arts & Crafts pioneer William Morris from 1871 to 1896, is next to the River Thames and has a history of flood damage.

In July 2007, water got inside the house, which meant floorboards had to be ripped up and replaced.

Water levels on the river rose over Christmas and things took a turn for the worse last Monday.

House administrator Sarah Parker said: “It was a worrying time. The river burst its banks and the water table was rising and we all remembered what happened in 2007 when it flooded before. It was getting to the stage where we were like an island and you had to wade through water to get here.”

When water started creeping into the cellar, Crown Fine Art, which specialises in transporting and storing works of art and museum pieces, was called in to move some of the items from the ground floor of the manor.

Michael Festenstein, of Crown Fine Art, said: “The Manor House includes many museum pieces, including Jacobean furniture, and it was important to get them on to wooden blocks or move them to a higher floor as soon as possible.”

Kelmscott Manor, which won a gold award as the best small visitor attraction in the Cotswold Tourism awards, reopens to the public on April 2.