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Contents  The Life and Times of William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's Birthplace

Possibly the most famous and most visited literary landmark in Britain, this is the house where it is thought that Shakespeare was born and spent his formative years. The house originally belonged to William Shakespeare's father John, who became a successful Stratford businessman. John and Mary Shakespeare moved from nearby Snitterfield to Stratford in 1529, shortly after getting married. It is known from Stratford records that the Shakespeare family were residing in Henley street by 1552 and that William Shakespeare was born in 1564. It is assumed from this collection of dates that this building in Henley Street was William Shakespeare's Birthplace. The Birthplace remained in the hands of Shakespeare's descendants until the 19th century after which it had a somewhat chequered existence.

The house before renovation

The Shakespeare Birthday Committee  obtained the Henley Street house in 1847, with the financial and moral support of the public. An extensive project of restoration then took place to restore the house to its former glory. The Birthplace was originally made of local materials: oak timber from the nearby Arden Forest and blue stone from Wilmcote. Much of the original stone, oak beams and fireplaces are still in place, and care has been taken to furnish the house with contemporary Elizabethan furniture.

The house is approached via a Visitors' Centre which holds a comprehensive exhibition about Shakespeare's life. The Birthplace is then reached via meticulously tended gardens which contains many trees, flowers and herbs mentioned in Shakespeare's works.

Two of the country's most notable Shakespearean actors, Dame Judi Dench and Michael Williams formally reopened Shakespeare's Birthplace on Friday 28 April 2000 at noon before an invited audience of guests. The Reopening celebrated the completion of a six-month programme of refurbishment that has transformed the inside of this world-famous house.
Much of the work on the Birthplace was carried out by the maintenance team of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust supported by specialist craftsmen and women from around the UK.

The total cost of the refurbishment was in the region of £300,000 with £230,000 raised by the Birthplace Trust.

The renovated bedchamber
The main aim of the refurbishment was to present the interior of the house as closely as possible to how it would have looked when William Shakespeare grew up there. The rooms have been refurnished with meticulous attention to historical evidence as detailed in 16th-century household inventories and books about domestic life, from archaeological excavations, and pictures dating from the period.

Part of the refurbishment has included reinstating 16th-century architectural features lost in the past. These include reconstructing the original entrance passageway that separated the main part of the house from the area believed to have been the workshop of John Shakespeare, William's father, who was a glover. The recreation of the workshop itself, showing some of the processes of glove-making, again is based on extensive research and is a significant feature of the refurbishment.

The Birthplace had intimate connections with Shakespeare throughout his life - apart from growing up there, he inherited the house when his father died and bequeathed it in turn on his own death to one of his daughters.

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