 Hollamby himself left the Communist Party following the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 . He remained committed to leftist ideals and involved himself in a number of local socio @-@ political groups , including the local branch of the Labour Party and with his wife was a founding member of Bexley Civic Society . After his retirement in 1985 , Hollamby decided to open the Red House up to visitors , offering guided tours on one Sunday per month . As the number of those attending such tours grew , especially in the 1996 centenary of Morris ' death , Hollamby began to search for a way of securing future public access . In 1998 , he helped to establish the Friends of Red House , a group of individuals who were largely members of the Bexley Civic Society , and who helped to maintain the House and its gardens as well as give tours to visitors . Hollamby also authored two books on Red House ; the first , Red House , Bexleyheath : The Home Of William Morris , was published by Phaidon Press in 1991 as part of its series on " Architecture in Detail " , and the second was a short guide book for visitors co @-@ written with Doris and published by the William Morris Society in 1993 . 
