Vernon Lushington Thomas Hughes, and Richard Buckley Litchfield, became a unifying force at the College. He was a friend to artists, authors and activists, particularly those of The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the Arts and Crafts Movement who gravitated to the Working Men's College. In 1856, it was he who first introduced Edward Burne-Jones to Dante Gabriel Rossetti in his college rooms. Rossetti used Lushington’s wife, Jane, as a model in 1865. Lushington, friend of William Morris, was a frequent visitor to Kelmscott Manor. He was a close friend of Leslie Stephen and his family; Stephen’s daughter Virginia (later Woolf) based her character
Dante Gabriel Rossetti subject of two BBC period dramas. The first, "The Love School", (1975) features Ben Kingsley as Rossetti. The second was "Desperate Romantics", in which Rossetti is played by Aidan Turner. It was broadcast on BBC Two on Tuesday, 21 July 2009. Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) appears in an episode of "Cheers" as Dante Gabriel Rossetti for his Hallowe'en costume. His wife Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane appears as Rosetti's sister, Christina. Their son Frederick is dressed as Spiderman. Rossetti's poem "The Blessed Damozel" was the inspiration for Claude Debussy's cantata "La Damoiselle élue" (1888). John Ireland (18791962) set to music as