Stratford-upon-Avon, Day 2

Tuesday, June 24

Today was Shakespeare "immersion" day, as we headed into town to visit some of the properties relating to the bard. Stratford upon Avon really is his town, even though he spent a lot of his life in London to further his career as a actor, playwright, theatre owner and entrepreneur. He was certainly born here, christened as a baby and then buried in the local church as they still have the records to prove it.

Will Shakespeare's birthplace

First up was his birthplace, which is celebrating the 450th anniversary of his birth, and the exhibition they had for him was great. The Trust which administers his properties and everything else related to him has a treasure trove of items relating to Will, and many of these were on display. There was also a multi-media presentation of how many of his plays and writings have been adapted to the times over the years, for example there's a Doctor Who and Star Wars "translation", a hip-hop Shakespeare company, and even The Simpsons have "done" Shakespeare! We liked the display showing how many of the sayings we use today actually come from him.

Everyday sayings from plays by Shakespeare

The guides in this house (as well as the others we visited) were fabulous and gave us a great understanding of life in Tudor times and, of course, the history of Shakespeare and his family. The lady in the room where Will and his siblings were born was a scream and she covered all the nitty gritty, including the fact that the children slept in the trundle bed next to the parents, and then the servants would sleep on the floor, so it would have been a crowded bedroom with no privacy!

The room Will was born in

Although the house Will lived in was demolished in the late 1700s and is now a vacant block with a beautiful garden, the house next door was a great example of a Tudor house like his would have been.

Nash's house and the vacant block where Will's house used to stand

The next property was called Hall's Croft and was the home of Will's daughter and her husband, a doctor called John Hall. They were very well off plus Will gave the house to them as a wedding present. He bought it for £120 at a time when a worker earned £5 a year! It was a big house for the time - it even had glass in the windows, which would have been hand made in Germany and therefore only the very rich could afford it. The walled garden was planted with herbs and vegetables used by Dr. Hall in some of his remedies - a book on display was a record of how he treated some of his patients, and today it looked like it wasn't far removed from quackery!

Hall's Croft

Finally we reached the Holy Trinity Church where Will was baptised when he was 3 days old, and where his funeral was held 52 years later (he actually died on his birthday). The present building dates from 1210 but the Chancel where Will and his family's graves are was added in the late 1400s. The church still has the baptismal font that was used when Will was baptised (although it served as a cattle feeding trough for a couple of hundred years before being returned to the church), first edition King James Bible from 1611 that would have been used when Will attended church and the original records of his birth and funeral.

Holy Trinity Church

Will and Anne's graves

(On the wall is a bust erected in 1623 by Anne and some of his friends)

Our impression of Stratford upon Avon was that it has obviously always been a place that attracted wealthy people, and over the years, as it has expanded, it has continued to do this. We felt it had a great atmosphere with lots of history and culture, beautiful homes and lovely scenery. Definitely worth a return visit.

 

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