This
half-timbered building was the Shakespeare family home, where William Shakespeare
spent his childhood days and which remained in the ownership of the Shakespeare
family and their relations until 1806. STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
Upon the banks of the River Avon lies one of the most famous towns in the world, Stratford-upon-Avon. The town's honours board lists 17 places to see and those who have time to stand and stare will find many more. The five Shakespeare Houses are on the list: Shakespeare's birthplace, Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Mary Arden's House (the home of Shakespeare's mother before she married John Shakespeare), Hall's Croft and Nash's house and New Place. They all shed light on Shakespeare's life and time and those of his family.
Although Stratford-upon-Avon welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world every year, its gardens and waterways and its historic houses retain a distinctive and leisured atmosphere.
Shakespeare's’s Birthplace
Henley St., Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, UK
This
half-timbered building was the Shakespeare family home, where William Shakespeare
spent his childhood days and which remained in the ownership of the Shakespeare
family and their relations until 1806.
Upstairs is the famous room, furnished in period style, where Shakespeare is traditionally said to have been born in 1564. Scratched on a window are the signatures of some distinguished nineteenth-century visitors who paid homage to the great dramatist by coming to see his house.
Other rooms are now displayed with rare examples of furnishings dated from Shakespeare’s period. The parlour, which was the most important room in the house, retains what is believed to be the original stone floor and fireplace, and leads into the hall with its massive open hearth. Beyond is a room which John Shakespeare probably used in connection with his trade as a glovemaker and wool dealer. Upstairs, in addition to the ‘Birthroom’, are three rooms which would have been used as bedchambers, one of which contains an exhibition about the house.
On entry to the Birthplace at the Visitors’ Centre in Henley Street, visitors are led into the recently opened exhibition William Shakespeare: His Life and Background. This exhibition provides a lively and comprehensive introduction to the life and work of the Bard, using sound effects, original artefacts and books, specially constructed scenes, a scale model of the Globe theatre, an early desk from the Grammar School where Shakespeare is thought to have studied, and a re-creation of Shakespeare at work in his study. The exhibition follows Shakespeare’s life and work, from his birth in 1564 through to his death in 1616 and culminates in a copy of the First Folio edition of his works published in 1623.
The approach to the Birthplace is through a beautiful, traditional English garden which is laid out and planted with trees, plants, herbs and flowers mentioned in the poet’s works.
Anne Hathaway's Cottage
Shottery, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, UK
Anne
Hathaway grew up in this thatched house, in the village of Shottery, just over
a mile from Stratford-upon-Avon. She married William Shakespeare in 1582, when
she was twenty-six and he was eighteen. The dramatist must often have visited
the house, both during his courting days and after his marriage.
In Shakespeare’s time the Hathaways were well-established farmers and the cottage was originally a farmhouse known as ‘Hewlands’. It was lived in by descendants of the family until the nineteenth century, and was purchased by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1892.
The furniture in the house ranges in date from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century and features several pieces owned by the family, including the famous Hathaway bed, dating from Anne’s time.
The picturesque appearance and setting of the cottage has inspired many artists. The entrance to the house is via a typical traditional English cottage garden which leads to an orchard. Beyond is the Shakespeare Tree Garden, opened in 1988, which is planted with trees mentioned in the plays. Visitors can also enjoy the peace and country ambience of nearby Shottery Brook and Jubilee Walks.
Mary Arden's House
Wilmcote, Nr. Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, UK
This
farmhouse, named in the eighteenth century after William Shakespeare’s mother,
Mary Arden, is believed to have been her home before her marriage to John Shakespeare
and her subsequent move to Stratford-upon Avon. Situated three miles from the
town, it is a fine example of a Tudor farmstead, built of oak from the nearby
Forest of Arden and local stone. It continued as a working farm into the twentieth
century and was purchased by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1930.
The farm buildings comprise the Shakespeare Countryside Museum and include a dovecote, barns, a second farmhouse (Glebe Farm) and a working blacksmith’s forge. Visitors see a wide range of displays illustrating life and work in the countryside around Stratford from Shakespeare’s time to the twentieth century. Also to be enjoyed are daily displays of falconry (a popular pastime of the Tudor period), a field walk, and prize-winning Cotswold sheep and Longhorn cows.
Special events are held at Mary Arden’s House during the year to mark key times in the farming calendar, for example, Sheep Shearing, Harvest and Apple Day and the Education Department organizes schools programmes focusing on Tudor rural life.