Shakespeare
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”
Stratford-upon-Avon
Debbie and Nathan about to enter the house where William Shakespeare was born. He grew up here with his parents and siblings. He also spent the first five years of his marriage living here with his wife Anne Hathaway.
William’s father John Shakespeare lived and worked in this house for fifty years. John was a glove maker. When he married Mary Arden she came to live with him and they had a total of eight children, William was the third to be born.
John and Mary Shakespeare were wealthy enough to own the largest house on Henley Street. In 1568 John became the Mayor of Stratford, which was the highest elective office in the town. On Sunday, dressed in his fine red robes, he would have been escorted to Holy Trinity Church to attend mass. It was because of his father’s status as Mayor that William was privileged enough to have attended the local grammar school to begin his education.
John Shakespeare died in 1601 and as the eldest surviving child, William inherited the house. He leased part of the property and it became an inn called the Maidenhead (and later the Swan and Maidenhead). The inn remained until 1847. When William died he left the house to his eldest daughter Susanna, and when she died she left it to her only child, Elizabeth.
Debbie, Nathan, & the Bard.
William with his birthplace home in the background.
Just a small sample of the amazing Tudor architecture found throughout Stratford-upon-Avon.
Check out this one, especially the back. Crazy!
On the way to the church where William was baptized and buried, we passed this building. Partly founded on Shakespeare’s success, his daughter Susanna and her husband, physician John Hall, lived in Hall’s Croft. The inside of the house is as old and quirky as it looks on the outside, and the walled garden is beautiful. Unfortunately, the museum was closed so we had to settle for the street view only. 😔
Holy Trinity is the church where William Shakespeare was baptized, where he worshipped, and where he is buried.
The beautiful stained glass window above the chancel (the part of a church near the altar).
On the closure of the College by Henry VIII, the tithe income privileges were sold off. The duty of employing a priest and looking after went with the privileges. A share in them was purchased in 1605 for £440 ($2 million in today’s money) by the son of a local glove maker, one William Shakespeare.
This, and not his ability as a poet and playwright, gave him the right of burial in the chancel.
“Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.”
Until the 1790s there stood a charnel house to the south of the chancel. Here the bones of those dug up to make room for new graves were laid to rest. Shakespeare obviously didn't like this idea and had a curse put on his grave slab—not at all uncommon at the time.
The right of burial was inherited by Shakespeare's family. His wife, Ann Hathaway, daughter Suzanna, son-in-law Dr John Hall, and Thomas Nash (first husband of Shakespeare's Grand-daughter Elizabeth) are buried in the chancel alongside him.
It has to be said that William Shakespeare probably didn't do a very good job of looking after the chancel. A few years after his death it was reported to be in ruinous condition. However, he has more than made up for it since. The contributions of hundreds of visitors allow for the upkeep and maintenance of the church.
No records of births and deaths were made in those days. We do, however, have records of his baptism and of his burial—both of which took place in Holy Trinity Church.
On the left, a copy of the record of William’s baptism on April 26, 1564, in Latin “Gulielimus, filius Johannes Shakspeare.”
On the right his burial on April 25, 1616, as “Will Shakspeare, Gent.”
This medieval font was in all probability the font where William Shakespeare was baptized. It was removed from the church and found in the garden of the parish clerk where is was being used as a water cistern. In 1861, it was purchased and restored to the church.
This new font is a replica of the medieval original, which was beyond repair.
The organ is truly something to behold!
From the center of town, we walked about a mile to visit Anne Hathaway's Cottage, the family home of Anne Hathaway, William Shakespeare’s wife-to-be. It is here that Anne was born and raised and where the young Shakespeare would have visited her during the early part of their relationship.
Inside the cottage is this chair, known as Shakespeare's Courting Chair. It was said that William and Anne sat on the chair during their courtship.
After leaving Anne Hathaway's Cottage, we walked to the nearby The Bell pub and had linner.
Stow-on-the-Wold
On Tuesday we visited the local village of Stow-on-the-Wold. The town was originally named Stow St. Edward or Edwardstow, after a Saxon missionary who lived as a hermit at the town’s well. The word “wold” as in Cotswold means hills, so Stow-on-the-Wold simply means Holy Place on the Hill.
In Stow-on-the-Wold Debbie and Nathan took the obligatory photo with a red telephone kiosk.
In the city center, near this cross, Sir Jacob Ashley surrendered to Parliamentary forces following defeat at the Battle of Stow. Some 200 Royalists were slaughtered in the square and 1,500 imprisoned in the church overnight. This was the final battle of the first English Civil War (1642-1646) leading to the end of the Royalist occupation of Oxford.
This memorial to the Battle of Stow is at St Edward’s Church, with an insignia representing the Royalists (left) and the Parliamentarians (right).
At St Edward’s Church is this mystical doorway flanked by ancient yew trees and an old oil lamp.
It’s a famous spot to have your photo taken.
Absolutely amazing spot!
The original penal stocks still stand on the green.
This is claimed to be the oldest pub in England with timbers carbon dated to the 10th century, so we had to stop for a pint!
Lower Slaughter
What sounds like a macabre name actually comes from the Old English that simply means “muddy place.”
The Old Mill with a working water wheel.
