Online Shakespeare

Contents  The Life and Times of William Shakespeare

Hall's Croft - Home to Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna

This former residence of Shakespeare's daughter Susanna, is situated in the Old Town area of Stratford, just a few metres away from Shakespeare's burial place at Holy Trinity Church. Susanna and her husband John Hall probably lived there after their marriage in 1607. John Hall (after whom the house is named) was a well-respected local family doctor. He ran a large medical practice treating many patients in the town and its vicinity, both rich and poor. The Tudor building is of interest other than its Shakespearian connections. The oldest section of the house dates from the early part of the 16th century. It was originally a small building with outhouses and was later enlarged to provide an imposing residence for the doctor. Indications of the Hall family's wealth are evident in the generous use of wood on the exterior of the house. (In Shakespeare's lifetime most houses were made from comparably fragile 'wattle and daub' - woven wooden sticks cemented with horsehair and cow manure. Wealthier families added wood to the frames of their houses, to achieve greater security from thieves).

The building now houses a collection of 16th and 17th century paintings and furniture, typical of a middle class family such as that of John and Susanna Hall. One of the rooms is presented as a doctor’s consulting room of the period together with obscure medical practices of the time. The property includes a dramatic walled garden which contains a variety of plants, trees and herbs that the doctor may have used in his treatments. John and Susanna Hall later moved to New Place which was left to Susanna after her father's death.

The Life and Times of William Shakespeare

Contents