STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON – BIRTHPLACE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Going to Stratford-Upon-Avon – arises my enthusiasm – as I really want to know how the birthplace of writer looks like and is it inspirational to reside, here??

I will always remember Shakespeare – as he is the key person in most of the English Literature books. Unlike others, I took English Literature in Form 4,5,6 – as one of the core subject for SPM and STPM.

For the first time, my brother took us by car – to Stratford Upon Avon – on August 18, 2007, as he knew I have a passion of visiting the birthplace of writers.

Upon reaching Stratford-Upon-Avon, the weather was not so encouraging – as there are drops of drizzle for the whole day.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHPLACE HOUSE

Anyhow, we still have to go on with our one-day tour – by visiting the five major houses of Shakespeare's time – his birthplace, Nash, New Place, Anne Hathaway and Mary Aden's House. A visit to Stratford – Upon – Avon is incomplete without visiting the four houses connected with Shakespeare.

Apart from the houses, a worth while visits are made to see – Holy Trinity Church, The Garrick, Harvard House, Old Bank, Guild Chapel, Avon Canal, Butterfly Farm, Bancroft Gardens, Stratford Armouries and the Hotel Shakespeare.

MOVIE SHOOTING OUTSIDE SHAKEPEARE'S BIRTHPLACE HOUSE

Stratford-Upon-Avon had established itself as one of Warwickshire's most important market towns and it already had appreciable contacts with the outside world. Originating as a river-crossing settlement, the site of Roman and Saxon occupation, Stratford was from early times a meeting-place of roads and under the influence of the Guild of the Holy Cross it progressed during the Middle Ages from a small agricultural community to what Camden described in 1586 as ' a proper little market town'. In 1553, the young King Edward VI granted to its inhabitants self-governing borough status.

The town comprised a compact street plan, 'well-builded of timber', as one visitor said, but with an abundance of trees, orchards and closes interspersed among the houses and shops. Apart from the Parish Church and the Guild Chapel all the buildings are half-timbered, the Forest of Arden used by Shakespeare as the setting for As You Like It, nearby providing the necessary timber.

The town was a centre for schooling and varied business activity. Corn and malt particularly were sold at its market and fairs, together with agricultural produce, cattle, horse and sheep. Country crafts and trades also flourished, not the least prosperous being that of the glovers to which the poet's father, John Shakespeare, belonged.

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON TOWN CENTRE

The Shakespeare Houses comprise five historic buildings situated in or near Stratford-Upon-Avon that are directly associated with William Shakespeare and his family. Three are in the town itself, Shakespeare's birthplace, in Henley Street, where the dramatist was born in 1564, and he grew up in Nash's House/New Place in Chapel Street – a house acquired by Thomas Nash, the husband of Shakespeare's granddaughter which overlooks the site where Shakespeare's retirement home once stood; and Hall's Croft, a hose in Old Town, near Holy Trinity Church, in which the dramatist's son-in-law and eldest daughter are believed to have lived before moving to New Place.

SHAKESPEARE HOTEL

The other two Shakespeare's Houses are located in Stratford's outlying country side called Anne Hathaway's Cottage, in the village of Shottery, the farmhouse where Shakespeare's wife lived before her marriage in 1582; and Mary Arden's House, the farmstead in the village of Wilmcote, which was the girlhood home of Shakespeare's mother before she married John Shakespeare in 1557.

Shakespeare's Birthplace in Henley Street – is not only that he grew up in this building but was associated with it all his life – it is quite likely that he and his wife lived there for some time after they married. It is believed that Henley street is one of the town's oldest streets, underwent substantial architectural change between the 16^th - 19^th centuries. Before the tour began, visitor is ushered to a Visitor's Centre where an exhibition tells the story of Shakespeare's life and background – showcasing original items used by the dramatist – a desk in used at the Stratford grammar school and a first edition of Shakespeare's collection plays, as well as specially constructed scenes and a scale model of the Globe Theatre. Here, visitors enter the building through a small room that was once part of a separate house occupied in the first part of the 17^th century by Shakespeare's sister Joan Hart and her family. The areas in the house are divided into – The Parlour (used for domestic purpose), The Hall (family gathered), The Glover's Workshop, Upstairs Rooms, Shakespeare's Birthroom, Rear Wing, Kitchen & Buttery and the Gardens. 

SHAKEPEARE'S BIRTH PLACE HOUSE AT HENLEY STREET

Obviously, I am impressed not only with the Birthplace which for 250 years has been a place of homage for admirers of Shakespeare, I also enlightened with the Shakespeare's Birthroom – made up of a bedchamber – the textiles reflects the 16^th century examples – woolen bed, curtains and the painted wall-cloths with floral motifs. Stored under the bed is a replica wheeled 'truckle bed' used by children or servants. The cradle, washing-tub, baby clothes and toys are exact copies of the original dating from Shakespeare's time.

NASH & NEW PLACE

Nash 's House adjoins the site of New Place, Shakespeare's Stratford home for the last 18 years of his life, which was pulled down in the 18^th century. A tour of Nash House – which is located on its ground floor, gives a good idea of the kind of furnishings that would have filled the rooms of New Place next door when the Shakespeares, Halls and Nashs lived there during the reign of James I and Charles I. Visitor can have a look at the entrance hall, parlour and kitchen and the upstairs rooms. 

SCULPTURE AT THE GREAT GARDEN

The site of New Place – a passengeway beyond the entrance hall leads to the site and gardens of New Place. Shakespeare purchased the house, probably from his London theatre earnings, in 1597, when he was 33, and eventually retired to it and died under the roof. Described in 1540, as a 'pretty house of brick, and timber', it was also one of the largest residence in town. New Place was pulled down, and rebuilt in 1702, and the new house erected it ints place was itself demolished in 1759. The only parts of the original structure to survive are small portions of foundation walls, some brickwork and a couple of wells. Fragmentary though these remains are, the site has a special significance because Shakespeare owned it for over a third of his life. Immediately to the south is the Guild Chapel, the appearance of which is essentially unchanged since Shakespeare looked in that direction from his house and garden.

GREAT GARDEN & SCULPTURES

The Gardens – Knot Garden and Great Garden. When Shakespeare bought New Place it stood in extensive grounds his property deeds mentioned two gardens and two orchards. The whole of his original estate is now preserved as garden space. An Elizabethan-style knot garden created in 1919-1920 – the four beds or knots interweaving design created from dwarf herbs, is closed based on illustrations in the garden books of Shakespeare;s time.

GREAT GARDEN & SCULPTURES

A trellis-work tunnel leads from the Knot Garden to a terrace overlooking the Great Garden which can also be reached from Chapel Lane. With its box and yew hedges, expanse of lawn and its flower beds and borders, the garden is an attractive haven close to the centre of Stratford. Shakespeare must have valued the beauty and quiet of his own garden, situated in this very place, especially when he retreated to New Place to escape the pressures of his theatre career in the capital.

Other worth visiting houses include – Hall's Croft, Anne Hathaway's cottage and Mary Arden's House and Palmer's Farm.

HALL'S CROFT

Hall's Croft – must is known about John Hall, a physician who married Shakespeare's eldest daughter Susanna. In particular, as some of the displays shows information that about his medical practice in Stratford makes him one of the best-documented provincial doctors of early modern England. A tour of Hall's Croft – entrance hall and parlour, passageway, consulting room, back hall, kitchen, staircase and landing, principal bedroom, exhibition room, servant's bedchamber and the garden.

ANNE HATHAWAY'S COTTAGE IN SHOTTERY VILLAGE

Anne Hathaway's Cottage – is situated in the village of Shottery, a mile from Stratford, the cottage was the home of Wlliam Shakespeare's wife before the married in 1582, when she was 26 and he was 18. He father, Richard Hathaway, was a farmer, and the family home was known as Hewlands. The house remained a working farm until 19^th century, and was lived in by Hathaways and descendants of the family for 300 years. The building was attracting occasional visitors in the second half of the 18^th century and by the 1820s had assumed the name of Anne Hathaway;s cottage. A tour of the house – furnishings, hall, buttery and cold room, upstairs room, kitchen, museum room and gardens.

MARY ARDEN'S HOUSE

Mary Arden's House is situated in the village of Wilmcote – 3miles north of Stratford-Upon-Avon, comprises two 16^th century farmhouses, with outbuildings and adjoining land - Mary Arden's House itself and Palmer's Farm. Mary was the daughter of Robert Arden, a substantial farmer whose family home, now called after her, was where she grew up, prior to her marriage to John Shakespeare in 1557, and the subsequent birth of their son William. Many of the old barns and other outbuildings associated with the two farms are used to display the Trust's Shakespeare Countryside Museum collections, which illustrate life and work on the land around Stratford-Upon-Avon from 16^th century to the early 20^th century. At the Palmer's Farm – one can view the - kitchen, hall, dairy, parlour, upstairs rooms, stable and Great Barn. Meanwhile, at Mary Arden's House, one get to see the living room, dairy, parlour and cold store, upstairs rooms, kitchen/scullery, farmyard, garden, wildlife-farm animals and the Field Walk.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

Holy Trinity Church - William Shakespeare, had a lifelong connection with Stratford and with Holy Trinity Church. The Holy Trinity Church is considered as the Shakespeare's Church. He was baptized here on April 26, 1564 and educated in the town. Shakespeare's entitlement to be buried in Holy Trinity is nothing to do with his celebrity as a playwright. It stems from the fact that he was a 'lay rector' of this church.

GUILDHALL CHAPEL

The Guild Chapel, located at the intersection of Church Street and Chapel Lane, had a long association with Shakespeare's family – the chapel offers a view of fine paintings from early 1500s which had been covered up during the Reformation to save them from destruction.

HARVARD HOUSE

Harvard House is located at 26 High Street - this town house has survived its present state since the late 16^th century (although some of the stained glass windows date back to the 14^th century) is now the property of Harvard University. Only known as the Ancient House, it was built in 1596 by Thomas Rogers, grandfather of the benefactor of Harvard University, John Harvard. About 60 years old when the house was built, Roger was a successful butcher and also a corn and cattle merchant. 

AVON CANAL

HISTORY

Stratford-Upon-Avon commonly known as jut Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-Upon-Avon District, in the count of Warwickshire, England, on the River Avon.

Stratford was originally inhabited by Anglo-Saxon and remained a village before the lord of the manor, John of Coutances, set out plans to develop it into a town in 1196. In that same year, Stratford was granted a charter from King Richard I to hold a weekly market in the town, giving it it status as a market town.

Today, the town is popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of English playwright and poet William Shakespeare, and received about 2.5 million visitors a year. The Royal Shakespeare Company resides in Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

AUGUST 18, 2007