Visiting William Shakespeare

Hi there,

Now that I'm done with student life, I can finally update my travel stories here. Especially the places that I visited in the last two months when my cousin and my dad came for a visit.

I'll start with a place that is quite close to Coventry, where people from all over the world come to visit. The place is called Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. This is actually my third time visiting this place (The first time I was here was when I visited UK back in 2009. I came here again last winter with my mum and my sister) but it's the first time I entered the birthplace and other houses related to Shakespeare's life.

Welcome to Stratford

Map of the town and the various places of interest

First of all, you need a ticket to enter historic buildings. You can buy the ticket online or at the Birthplace Trust. I would really recommend to buy it online as you'll get additional 10% discount with online ticket. There's also a few types of tickets, so you can choose the ticket that suits your need. More information on the type of tickets and the prices can be found here. The ticket is also valid for one year, so you can come again using the same ticket (I've used my ticket 3 times since I bought it, it was definitely worth it). 

The first place that we visited was the Shakespeare's Birthplace itself. The house was actually his parents house and it is made up of four individual houses. As you enter the house, you'll be in Joan Hart's house; the house of William's sister. It was believed that Joan lived here with her husband and kids. The house is a bit too small for a family to live here. But with the lack of heating system in the past, I guess it makes sense to have a small space so that it will be warm during the cold season. 

Shakespeare's birthplace

Inside Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust

Shakespeare's work inside the Birthplace Trust

Shakespeare's family tree

The next room that you'll enter will be the parlor, which is the living room of the modern day. In this room, you'll see a four poster bed near the window. This was the sign of status in the olden days, more like a Porsche in the porch today. When the neighbours pass by the  window, they will see this bed and know that someone wealthy is living in this house. As you go along the corridor, you'll pass the kitchen and finally the last room on the ground floor, which is William father's workshop. 

The symbol of status inside the living room

William father's workshop

One of the workers who explained the function of each rooms

This workshop is where William's father made a living my making glove, pockets, belts and etc. He was trained to produced certain goods and he can only made the goods that he was certified and nothing else. There's a counter at the window facing the streets that was used for people to buy the goods. William's father also made custom gloves and he went to his client's house to get their measurement. He would quote the price of the glove based on the interior design of his client's home. The richer his client's are, the more he will charge them. Kinda smart right?

On the second floor, you'll come across the boy's bedroom on top of the stairs; where William used to stay with his brother as he was a bit older. On the left hand side is the girl's bedroom. On top of the girl's bedroom, you can also see the attic where the workers of William father's workshop used to stay. On the right side of the boy's room is the room that was believed where William was born. There's also a cradle that used to belong to William. This room was part of the original structure as the room connected to the birth room was an extension of the original house when the house was converted into a pub. 

The boy's bedroom from the girl's bedroom. You can also see the attic where the workers at John's workshop used to stay

In the extension, you can also see the signboard of the original signboard of the pub that used to be here after William moved to New Place. This building was a pub for 250 years before it was converted to the place that it was today. The kitchen of the pub and the staircase leading to the wine cellar can also be seen. At the garden at the back of the building, you can request some snippets of Shakespeare's work and it will be performed by the performers there.

The original signboard of the pub that used to exist here

Illustration of the house and its extension

The pub's kitchen

Shakespeare's house from the garden 

The next place on our list was Harvard's house. This house was not actually related to Shakespeare, but it is looked after by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. The house got its name by the original owner's grandson who was the founder of Harvard University in America. To be honest there was nothing much here compared to the Birthplace itself. 

Old buildings that are still preserved in Stratford

A short walk from the Harvard House is Hall's Croft; the home of William's first daughter, Susanna and her husband Dr John Hall. It was built in 1610 and was lived in until 1945 before it was bought over by Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Here you can see some of the equipment that was used by Dr John Hall to treat his patients and a complaint letter by a patient to Dr John Hall. 

Letter from a patient to Dr John Hall, William's son-in-law

The main bedroom at Hall's Croft

Hall's Croft, the home of Susanna and her husband Dr John Hall

The last place that we visited that was included in the ticket was Shakespeare's grave inside Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-Upon-Avon. Here you can also find the graves of William's wide, his daughter Susanna and her husband Dr John Hall. 

The graves of Susanna and Dr John Hall inside Holy trinity Church

The graves of Shakespeare and his wife

Once we finish touring the tourist places, we walked along River Avon and had lunch near the river while enjoying the music of a busker. I really enjoyed my day out here at Stratford-Upon-Avon. Half a day to explore all the houses should be enough but you can spend one day here if you want. 

River Avon

Till then~

P/S: Out of the three time that I went there, the time where I went on weekday was the best as there's workers in every room to explain the stories in each room.