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Shakespeare's Birthplace, Warwickshire

In Shakespeare's England there were no tourists. The closest analogy would be young noblemen going on tours of Europe as part of their education, or pilgrims taking journeys to various religious shrines. When tourism did begin to take a shape we would recognise in the mid eighteenth century, visits to Stratford represented one of the earliest forms of tourism. It is surprising to note the parallels between a visit to Stratford and a pilgrimage visit to the Holy Land. For modern pilgrims the essential elements were there: a great man begins his journey in a dwelling that appears humble - although at the time it represented rather a fine residence. On the walls are listed wise men who have come to pay homage at the shrine, since David Garrick first organised a Shakespeare festival in Stratford in 1769. The house even spent some of its history as an inn.

You enter the house via a visitors' centre which has a display illustrating Shakespeare's life. Once inside you follow a route around the rooms, through the living room, kitchen, and workshop where John Shakespeare made gloves, and then upstairs to the bedrooms. There is a guide in the "birth room" who gives a short talk. He sits by a rough and ready four poster bed. We think of this kind of bed as being glamorous these days, but the reality of a four poster was very different. To stop insects falling on a bed's sleeping occupants, a covering was erected using a frame. This frame became rather elaborate, eventually giving the four poster.

 

 

 

 

This bed sums up Shakespeare's birthplace for me. Shakespeare wrote plays that were watched almost as football matches are today. There was an earthy realism to them, which somehow contributed to their universal qualities. Shakespeare's plays are like a rough and ready four poster used to keep bugs off sleeping people, those same beds which evolved into the glamorous four posters in today's smart hotels.

 

 

Address: Shakespeare's Birthplace, Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6QW

Directions: Shakespeare's Birthplace is in Henley Street. Click here for an interactive map centred on Shakespeare's Birthplace.

Opening Times: Open from April to October 9am - 5pm daily, and from November to March 10am - 4pm daily. During July and August open until 6pm.

Open 24th December 10am - 3pm and 1st January 11am - 4pm but closed 25th and 26th December.

Access: The ground floor is generally accessible to those in wheelchairs, although the floor is uneven in places. Electric and wide-wheeled chairs cannot be accommodated. In the first room you enter when visiting the house there is a virtual reality tour available. The garden is fully accessible, and there are adapted toilet facilities

Contact:

telephone: 01789 204016

fax: 01789 296083

web site: http://houses.shakespeare.org.uk/shakespeares-birthplace.html

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