WALKING STRATFORD
Stratford-Upon-Avon Shakespeare Houses and Walks
Stratford-Upon-Avon
has a long history before its favorite son, William Shakespeare. A
settlement
as early
as Roman Times - the city’s
name comes from Latin meaning “road to the river crossing” and
has been market town since 1196. Stratford’s earliest standing
old town comes from the 1500’s after its great stone bridge across
the Avon was built in 1490. Roman sandals crossing the Avon River over
the Clopton Bridge have been replaced by cars and trucks crossing
the
bridge which has withstood the test of time and
traffic for 500 years. Tourists have been flocking to Stratford-Upon-Avon
ever since a monument
to William Shakespeare as England’s greatest playwright appeared
at his burial site in Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church, arms resting
on a pillow with feather quill. Stratford’s place as a touring
destination is mostly based on the Shakespeare lore, though the strolling
environs along the gentle Avon provide a pleasant landscape.
Shakespeare Houses
In
Stratford, are five official sights connected to the the bard,
the Shakespeare Houses all cared
for by
the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Three of the Shakespeare sites are in the city center and two a few miles
walk outside of town. The Shakespeare Birthplace House on Henley Street
is the 16th Century half-timbered home where William Shakespeare was
born and grew up. Though all original furniture is gone, it’s been
recreated as accurately as possible as anything with Shakespeare. Across
the street from the Birthplace is the Shakespeare Bookshop where you
can
pick up play texts and criticism
as well as 
books
on the theatre and Tudor times. Three blocks from the Birthplace House,
toward the river and south, New Place, the house Shakespeare
purchased late in his life, once the second largest house in Stratford,
is gone, except for some foundations, demolished in the 1800’s,
before Shakespeare of Avon gained his legendary status. The New Place
grounds are combined with Nash’s House. The entrance is
through the Nash House, where a detailed an exhibit examines
the life and career
of the bard of Avon, including a copy of the first published folio. The
Nash house was owned by Shakespeare’s grand-daughter’s first
husband, Thomas Nash. 
The
Nash House is a bit of a re-creation, furnished in a style reflecting
what Shakespeare’s New Place might have been
like. Behind the houses are beautiful gardens. The Great Garden behind
the Nash House is free to enter, the houses require admission. A block
farther south is Hall’s Croft, a 17th Century half-wood house owned
by Stratford doctor John Hall who married Shakespeare’s daughter
Susanna. The house is furnished in the style of a man of wealth and prominence
of the period and John Hall’s practice as a provincial doctor in
Elizabethan England is particularly well documented. Hall’s Croft
is licensed for civil weddings, so if you’re in a romantic mood
while in town get married in Tudor style.
A
mile and three miles from town, respectively, are Anne Hathaway’s
Cottage, the family home of the local girl William Shakespeare married,
a beautiful thatched roof English Cottage with original Hathaway family
furnishings and gardens inspired by Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets,
and the Mary Arden House, childhood house of Shakespeare’s mother,
combined with a Tudor farmhouse of Adam Palmer, housing the Shakespeare
Countryside Museum where kids can have fun with the sheep and chickens
of an English country farm. There is also a falconry show.
Unconnected to Shakespeare, but near the Nash House is the Museum of British Pewter in the Harvard House, a narrow three story Elizabethan era townhouse was owned by the mother of John Harvard who first endowed the famed Boston University. There are hands on kids activities at the Harvard House pewter exhibit.
Just down Chapel Street from Nash’s House and New Place next to the Avon River is the tree shaded park is the Royal Shakespeare Theater and Swan Theater rebuilt from a Victorian era structure. The Royal Shakespeare Company performs the works of the Bard of Avon on a rotating season with its home base in London. The restaurant of the theatres overlooks the green tree lined banks of the river. A short distance south along the riverside from the theatres is the Holy Trinity Church which dates from the 13th Century, a lovely parish church fitting a thriving market town where William Shakespeare of Stratford-Upon-Avon is buried, with a curse for anyone who might disturb his bones, or reveal his secrets (see Shakespeare Hoax or Hero).
A combined ticket can be had to visit the famous houses of Stratford-Upon-Avon which are open all year except four days just before to after Christmas. You can certainly see Stratford from the city sightseeing tour busses that rumble around with double decks, combining on-off sightseeing with tickets to the houses, but Stratford’s old town is easily seen by walking afoot - or - apedal (see Stratford Biking).
Stratford Town Walks
If
finding you way around on your own isn’t enough, for guided
walking tours Stratford Town Walk provides enthusiastic local guides
to show the town with the knowledge of personal experience. Stratford
has much to offer beyond the historic sites, tea rooms, taverns and shops,
antiques and art and discounts at local merchants and services are offered
to walks customers. They also have entertaining Ghost Walks three evenings
a week, telling the stories of witches, ghosts and murder, as well as
a Ghost Cruise on the Avon in connection with local river cruise company,
Bancroft Cruisers. © Bargain
Travel Europe
Find
the best deals in Stratford
Upon Avon at TripAdvisor
Web Info
Shakespeare
Houses Trust
Stratford
Town Walk
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See Also:
ROWING AND REVOLUTION AT HENLEY-ON-THAMES
ETTINGTON
PARK MANOR HOTEL
BLENHEIM
PALACE
SHAKESPEARE FIRST FOLIO BRITISH LIBRARY
