| Shakespeare's Birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon |
This house in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, was identified as the birthplace of Shakespeare before 1759 when it was marked on the first street plan of the town. This engraving was published in 1769, celebrating David Garrick’s Shakespeare Jubilee, the event which marked the real beginning of Shakespeare-related tourism. It was the first house in the UK to be associated with any creative artist, and became the first literary shrine. In 1847 the house came up for auction, being described in the sale poster as “a truly heart-stirring relic”, and “the most honoured monument of the greatest genius that ever lived”. Shakespeare himself was described as “England’s Immortal Bard”. The house was purchased by public subscription for the then enormous sum of £3000 for preservation as a national memorial to the dramatist, and the organisation which became the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created to administer it. By 1853-4 visitor numbers had reached 2878 people. It now welcomes many thousands of visitors from all over the world every year. The house and its exhibition on the Life and Background of Shakespeare are still essential stops on any Shakespeare-lover’s tour of England. Institute: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Your Comments (2)
Mari-Colette Undritz
said:
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Show/Hide comments| Shakespeare's Birthplace is wonderfully presented and includes both original and replica items similar to those which would have adorned the property when Shakespeare was a boy. New for 2007 - Period Interpreters dressed in replica Tudor clothing welcome visitors to the house as part of 'Living History', recently introduced at Palmer's Farm, Mary Arden's. Glove-making, the trade of Shakespeare's father, will also be demonstrated in the workshop periodically throughout the week. |
Paul Flockhart
said:
| Shakespeare's father owned two properties in Stratford at the time of his sons birth, no one knows which one Shakespeare was born in. John Shakespeare bought the part of the house now claimed as the birthplace eleven years after his sons birth. "Shakespeare's birthplace" was described by visitors in 1769 as a most decrepit and foul hovel. Photographs of the building prior to "restoration" show a squalid dilapidated wreck. The house on Henley street was a derelict ruin before it was raised to the ground prior to the building of the "Birthplace", modeled as it is on a drawing that seems to be 100% wishful thinking. There never were any pictures of the original houses on Henley St, all of which were described as having thatched roofs. They may have been destroyed in the fire which swept through 54 houses in Stratford 2 years before W S died. Oh! and Mary Ardens cottage has recently been discovered to have been built years after her death:) Still its a great story and good fun. |
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