From the age of 7 to about 14, he attended Stratford Grammar School receiving an excellent well rounded education. At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who was seven years his senior and three months pregnant. She was of "yeoman" stock - her family owned a farm one mile west of Stratford in Shottery. He endured her until he could stand it no longer and fled to London to become an actor (not a very nice description of their marriage, but there you are). He then became actor-manager and part-owner in the Blackfriars and afterwards the Globe Theaters. He was a first-rate actor, but it is as a writer of plays that he has achieved lasting world-wide fame. His plays are thought to be the finest ever written in any language.
His 37 plays vary in type: historical romances, light, comedies, tragedies. He was a shrewd business man, amassing quite a fortune in his time. He returned to Stratford for his latter years where he died at the age of 52 and now lies at rest in his special grave at Holy Trinity Church.
[This is Mary Arden's Farm: a real working tudor farm, as is evident from the pig sty. D was particularly taken with this lot. The aromatic offering was a but much for me. That may be part of what is making D smile so much...]
Mary Arden's House: Three and a half miles outside Stratford and still retaining its country setting in Wilmcote, this timbered Tudor farmhouse is the house that Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, grew up in before marrying John Shakespeare and moving to Henley Street. [The gardens here are really exceptional. It was difficult to capture them on film - well planned, laid out, maintained, all of it.]
Our favorite attraction at this house was the falconry display. It was a very informative but relaxed event that talked about the bird and his place in English falconry history. What made it different than anything that we have even heard of stateside was that the handler gave everyone an opportunity to feed the bird that was interested. That consisted of putting on the heavily fortified leather glove, turning your back to the bird, accepting the bit of raw chicken from the trainer (a bit gross, especially when he gave the woman before me the chicken's head) and then the bird just magically came and ate. We have some cool video of it. The owl is remarkably light and we considered ourselves privileged for having gotten the chance to "hold" him.
Anne Hathaway's cottage is the most picturesque of all the Shakespeare cottages (there are 5 included in the trust - his mother's house (Mary Arden), Anne's house (his wife), his birthplace, Hall's Croft (where his eldest daughter Susanna lived) and New Place-Nash House). Before marrying Shakespeare in 1582, Anne Hathaway lived in what is justifiably described as one of England's most famous buildings. The cottage was known as Newlands Farm in Shakespeare's day and had more than 90 acres of land attached to it. As in many houses of the period, it has multiple chimneys to spread the heat evenly throughout the house during winter. The largest chimney was used for cooking. It also has visible timber framing, a trademark of vernacular Tudor style architecture. Again, the gardens are amazing and we were there at the perfect time to see them in bloom. This was my favorite house. I could just look at it for hours.
This half-timbered house is where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and is Stratford's most cherished historical place, and it has been a place of pilgrimage for over 250 years. Interestingly, descendants of the dramatist lived here until the 19th century. The house was divided in two parts, so that part could act as a store front for Will's dad in his glove making and wool trade. They had period dressed craftsmen in the home making gloves with tools from the era. We enjoyed talking with them and learning about commerce in the period as well as the greater Shakespeare family.
New Place, Shakespeare's home from 1597 until his death in 1616, was pulled down in the 18th century. Only the foundations remain and it is really just a sad story in which the new owner basically got tired of visitors the house attracted and finally tore it down over a disagreement with the tax man (no house, no taxes. Drastic solution if I do say...) There isn't much to see there, so I left the pictures out. This picture is of Hall's Croft. Apparently, Will's eldest daughter married a medical genius and lived here with him. The interior is dedicated to the medicine of his time. The exterior also reflects this theme in that the herb garden contains the plants that Dr. Hall would have used to cure his patients.
The grounds of this property (Hall's Croft) were the biggest and most enjoyable. I knew that the English are known for loving their gardens and having beautiful yards, but this really brought home why they do. On a beautiful day, there is no more peaceful place to be than surrounded by these gorgeous trees and hedges and flowers. Again, the lilacs and roses and other flowers were in full bloom, so it smelled as beautiful as it looked.
This is Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried along with his immediate family. It is small and beautifully maintained and on the very edge of town (which means a 10-15 minute walk.) We walked all of these sites and it made for the most pleasant day. I have the increasing desire to read more Shakespeare's plays, now that I feel like I have stepped a small foot into his world.
The Avon river - it didn't seem right not to include a picture of this lovely waterway.
1 comment:
Those pictures are beautiful. I love the houses and the one of you with the owl.
Your blog is always an education! Thanks.
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