5/11 Stratford-on-Avon & a Lot of Shakespeare's Homes

Stratford-on-Avon is a very pleasant small town, and I was lucky to have chosen a B&B within walking distance of most of the Shakespeare historic buildings.  So, this morning, out I went after breakfast, walking past the Friday town market. 

Hall's Croft

This is is the home of Shakespeare's daughter and her husband.  Her husband was a doctor and a fairly wealthy man in his own right, but Susanna also received money from her father, who was quite wealthy himself by this time. 

I got a real deal on entrance to all the historic sites around Stratford--£14.50 for a season pass because I was a senior and also had a pass for the National Trust that I bought in London.

Most of these 16th Century homes have undergone a lot of repair and remodeling, but they have brought these back to where they would have been in the time of Shakespeare.  So look at the floors and the wooden beams, especially. 

This shows the additions that were made over time, but you can see what part of the house was original to the time of Shakespeare.  

Most of the beams here are original, but the floors have probably been mostly replaced. Notice how small the window panes were in those days when glass was very expensive and made only in smaller pieces.  Also, notice that most of the beams are not the sawmill-cut nice and even wood we are used to.  If the tree was bent, so was the beam!

This is the back hall and location of Dr. Hall's pharmacy.  We were told that he was famous for discovering that blood circulated in the body. He was also a very successful doctor with famous and royal patients. 

Slate floor in a kitchen with an open fire makes sense.  This kitchen was not the original, but still it was built in the 1700s.  The original kitchen would have been detached and burned, as was common in those days, hence the reason for them being detached from the main house. 

The garden.  

And, of course, every historic property anywhere in England has a tea room and cafe, plus a gift shop!  

Many Tudor houses had the top floor slightly hanging over the bottom floor, so notice the three braces that they have used on this corner.

New Place - Home of Shakespeare and his Family

This empty lot is where the home that Shakespeare built and lived in for his wife and family used to be.  It was torn down in 1759 by the owner who did not want to pay taxes on it.  However, they have preserved the space and also the house next door where his granddaughter, Elizabeth Nash, lived.  There is a small museum in the Nash house.b

It is likely that both houses were originally connected.

These are shards of pottery dug up during an archeological dig of this property.

This obviously is the home next door, owned by 

A brief walk through the main street of Stratford gets you to Shakespeare's birthplace. 

John and Mary Shakespeares Home -- Birthplace of William Shakespeare

This is the third property I visited today--the home of Shakespeare's parents and where he was born and spent his childhood. 

Shakespeare's father was a glovemaker, so this room was set up with tanned leather and glove-making tools. 

More really old boards.  Notice how the Tudors used every piece of lumber they had available.  This patch shows using boards or a patch that had probably been used elsewhere. 

This is the oldest floorboard in the house.  Notice how it is patched and banded with metal to keep it from splitting in a very old repair.  

This bedroom is probably the room where the Bard was born, although certainly he did not use this cradle. 

Tomorrow, I will visit the farm where Mary Arden, Shakespeare's mother was born and grew up.  I am looking forward to it because this farm is run as much as possible as a 16th Century working farm.