MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS ANNE HATHAWAY'S COTTAGE...

 

The first Shakespeare-themed tourist attraction we visited was Anne Hathaway's Cottage, so it's ironic that this is the last of my six Stratford-upon-Avon blogs!  I've mentioned this before, but the best and most cost-effective way to visit four of the Shakespeare attractions (Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Shakespeare's Birthplace, Shakespeare's Schoolroom and Guildhall, and Shakespeare's New Place) is by buying a four-way ticket, which costs £40 per adult (child, concession and family rates available).

When travelling anywhere, I've always said that the journey can be as important as the destination.  This is especially true in a historical town such as Stratford-upon-Avon.  We passed this statue- called simply Jester- and I thought this photo looked so quintessentially English, what with the red double decker bus running past behind it (yes, I know it's a tourist bus!)

Here's the statue by itself, and to give you some perspective, Shakespeare's Birthplace is just behind me, to the right.

The jester features in several of Shakespeare's plays, and quotes from Hamlet, As You Like It and Twelfth Night are etched onto the plinth.

The Old Thatch Tavern dates back to 1470 and claims to be the oldest pub in Stratford (the town's name is often abbreviated to Stratford- but don't confuse it with the place of the same name in London!)  I have to say, several pubs in this town claim to be the oldest!

Nearby is the Shakespeare Memorial Fountain, which is also referred to as the American Fountain.  It incorporates horse troughs and a drinking fountain and dates from 1886-7.

This wonky building is called Masons Court.  It dates from 1482 and claims to be the oldest building in Stratford (it certainly looks it!)  It is used as luxury holiday accommodation.

Firs Gardens contain the Peony Pavilion, which is a cultural exchange pagoda gifted to the town by China.  It references their playwright Xianzu Tang, and the link between him and Shakespeare.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage sits in the pretty hamlet of Shottery (hamlet being a very appropriate Shakespearean name in this instance!)  This delightful wisteria cottage on the way is named "Bard's Wood." 

As you enter you find yourself in an orchard, and can choose to visit the house or the gardens first- we chose the house...

You can just see the cottage peeping over the trees...

This is possibly my favourite photo of the 400+ I took in Stratford-upon-Avon.😊 

It's sculpture called The Moon Seat and you can pose for a selfie but, Vain-Old-Tart that I am, I am a mass of contradictions, because I still prefer to be on the other side of the camera!

Anne Hathaway (1556-1623) was born at the cottage, and married William Shakespeare in 1582.  She was 26 (and pregnant!) and he was 18.  It was normal in those days for a woman to marry around that age, but Shakespeare was considered young.

Vegetables are planted in this part of the garden...

Many of the plants here today were mentioned in Shakespeare's plays- he references 175 varieties.

This section is labelled Tudor medicinal garden...

The gardens and orchards complement the building, and were designed by renowned horticulturalist Ellen Willmott in 1920.  In Anne Hathaway's day, this area would have been more like a farmyard, with livestock. 

Warley Place Nature Reserve, in Essex,  once belonged to Ellen Willmott, and I've blogged about it here:-

https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2024/09/miss-elaineous-visits-warley-place.html

...And vlogged about it here:-

https://youtu.be/nY7zCtIm3Zw

Inside we go, and the earliest parts of the house date from 1463.  This is the Parlour, and is one of only two rooms (the original cottage was comprised of three rooms) that exist today.

The cottage was originally a farmhouse...

This room has been set up to resemble a traditional kitchen, and to call the house a "cottage" is a misnomer...

...It is actually a very substantial farmhouse...

Taking a look at how the walls are made up.  This part has seen better days, and it looks like a temporary repair has taken place!

Wash-house, and the Hathaways were successful sheep farmers...

The family was known to the Shakespeare's, with Anne's father having sold fleeces to John Shakespeare; William's father.

Upstairs, and the higher level was added in the 17th century...

When the site was a farm, the house was known as "Hewlands."

This is The Hathaway Bed.  It was taken by the Shakespeare's to New Place (their later home) and returned to the Hathaway family by William and Elizabeth's granddaughter, Elizabeth.

Could this have been the Shakespeare's marriage bed?  In the house, this would have been known as "the second-best bed."  The best bed in any house in those days was reserved for guests. 

A mock-up of a writing desk, in the Bedchamber.  The house was acquired by Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust in 1892 and some original items of furniture (such as the bed) came with the property.

This chair was first recorded as being in the house in 1792, and is known as "Shakespeare's Courting Chair," having passed down through Shakespeare's sister's side of the family (William Shakespeare's direct line died out with the death of his grandchildren.)  It was purchased at auction by the Birthplace Trust in 2002.

The chair dates from the early 17th century, so was not in existence when Shakespeare was alive.  On the back are elements from Shakespeare's coat of arms, plus the initials W.A.S.  They may have been carved by William Henry Ireland, who was a know forger of Shakespeare documents.

After Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust acquired the building, descendants of the Hathaway family were allowed to stay on as custodians; which they did until 1911.

In 1969 the cottage was badly damaged in a fire, and later restored.

Looking down onto the garden, and this was my favourite Shakespeare-related Stratford-upon-Avon tourist attraction.😊

The area between the timbers is constructed using the wattle and daub technique (woven hazel covered in a mixture of mud, chopped straw and dung).

You can just about make out the infill, despite the glare (this section is preserved beneath glass).

Visiting the cottage shouldn't take up more than an hour of your time, and is certainly worth it...

Down into the Kitchen, which is the other surviving room in the house.  This is the large dresser in one corner...

You can see a bread oven set into the wall...

This chest was used for storing grain.  It is marked with apotropaic symbols, designed to protect contents from witches and evil spirits!

I did take this close-up, but couldn't use a flash, so you can't really make much out...

The floor in the kitchen is original, and you can see my trusty hoof contaminating the bottom of the shot...

Some information as you leave the house, and we know that Anne Hathaway was pregnant on her wedding day.  But some say that Anne and William "plighted their troth" in a hand-fasting ceremony (it sounds like the modern equivalent of getting engaged), making it acceptable for the couple to bed at this stage.

I have read that before- back in those days an engagement was considered as binding as the actual marriage.  Shakespeare's play Measure to Measure is partly about a hand-fasting.

A nook in which to sit awhile...

...And take in this fantastic view of the cottage...😊

Into the orchards, and this view reminded me of a van Gogh painting...

The White Orchard, 1888, by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).

Apple tree, and in Anne Hathaway's day the mile walk from Stratford would have taken you through cornfields...

Next to the orchard is the Tree Garden, with its sculpture trail.  Shakespeare-related sculptures/ statues/ busts are something you see a lot of in Stratford-upon-Avon!

Hamlet: What Wilt Thou Do For Her?

Falstaff

Brutus

Titania and Bottom

King Lear

Jan  Kochanowski (1530-1584).

His masterpieces are regarded as Poland's equivalent to Shakespeare's sonnets.

History Play

You have a circular garden, and apparently plays are not held here (although other cultural activities take place).  That's a shame, and a bit of a missed opportunity.

Pretty pink cherry blossom, and I didn't see any of Shakespeare's plays whilst I was in Stratford-upon-Avon, although I did pop my head into the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) building...

Looking down the Tree Garden, and I have been to Shakespeare's Globe in London several times.  I've seen Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, Othello and A Midsummer Night's Dream there.  I've also seen a couple of modern interpretations of Romeo and Juliet at other venues.

Standing where we entered the property, and there was one final field to explore.  Mary Arden's Farm is walking distance from Anne Hathaway's Cottage.  She was Shakespeare's mother, and we didn't visit that tourist attraction during this break.

This area looks more rustic, and buzzards, foxes and several types of deer have been spotted at the property...

Through the gate the area's a veritable wilderness, and rare Silver Cloud moths have been seen living in the orchard...

Retreating back through Shottery, and he was in someone's garden- I'm not sure what he is, but he appears to be some kind of goblin' gargoyle/ troll.  Either way, I thought he was cute!

Anne Hathaway's Cottage, I will return (and perhaps I'll also visit Mary Arden's Farm next time).

Until then,

TTFN (ta ta for now)

The Miss Elaineous

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MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHPLACE...

Shakespeare's Birthplace is a restored 16th century house in Stratford-upon-Avon.  It is half-timbered, which means parts of the load-bearing structure are visible from the outside, which creates a rather decorative effect.

The best way to visit Shakespeare's Birthplace is by a four-way-ticket, which gains you access to this attraction as well as Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Shakespeare's Schoolroom and Guildhall, and Shakespeare's New Place.  This type of ticket costs £40 per adult (children's tickets, concessions and family rates are also available), whereas otherwise it's £27 to enter Shakespeare's Birthplace alone (£25 if booked online in advance), which is a bit of an ouch to the pocket for just one attraction!

   

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is regarded as Britain's finest ever playwright and poet, and here's a statue of him,  standing sentinel outside his birthplace.

You enter via the Shakespeare Centre next door, which is a multi-functional study/ exhibition/ office space.

You learn about life in general during Shakespeare's day, and this cabinet instructs you about storytelling, music and play...

The Shakespeare Centre opened in 1964, and this current exhibition is called "Becoming Shakespeare."  It delves into the sparks of creativity occurring around Stratford-upon-Avon at the time, and this cabinet features a class of what looks like future architects studying their craft...

Audio-visual storytelling, and the exhibition is filled with Shakespeare's words and quotes...

Paintings of Stratford-upon-Avon, and Shakespeare would have been influenced by what was going on around the town...

There are some genuine artefacts in here, although Shakespeare's Birthplace next door contains no original furnishings- just items produced contemporaneously or modern reproductions.

This is a medieval church font...

A storage cupboard known as a "Cubborde of boxes."

It dates from 1594, and this photo shows you how it unfolds to reveal hidden spaces...

John Shakespeare- William's father- was a leatherworker and glovemaker...

This is the 1431 High Cross base, and it is under that market cross that John Shakespeare would have sold his gloves (as well as from his house).

John was also elected to several municipal offices including, in 1568, mayor of Stratford.

Into the garden of Shakespeare's Birthplace, which features many plants mentioned in Shakespeare's plays...

The garden as we see it nowadays dates from the mid 19th century...

In John Shakespeare's day the garden would have served practical purposes; such as the growing of vegetables and medicinal plants.  It also would have contained outbuildings pertaining to his glovemaking business... 

Beautiful flowers, but back in Tudor times there would also have been a stable for a horse, and they probably would have kept pigs and hens.

This statue represents Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), who wrote a poem commemorating the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, entitled  In Honour of William Shakespeare.

The house was most likely built in the mid 16th century.  

As John Shakespeare first rented the property for 10 years before buying it in 1564,  it's pretty certain that William  was born and brought up here. 

In we go, and the building we see today was restored in the 1860s.  But many original features- such as the hearths and rear window positions- remain intact.

 The Parlour, and John Shakespeare was affluent- at the time this house was one of the more significant properties down Henley Street.

The Parlour was the "best room" on the ground floor, and used for receiving visitors... 

 It would have been the warmest room, and so guests would have slept in the "best bed," which was luxurious and displayed the family's wealth and status.  John Shakespeare was considered to be middle class; although he was comforatably off, he was not overtly wealthy.

John Shakespeare married Mary Arden around 1557, and she would have played an important part in supporting him throughout his social climbing, as described here next to what looks like a bowl of rising dough.

The Hall table is set for a family meal...

William Shakespeare is widely thought to have been born on 23rd April 1564.  He was definitely christened on 26th April,  and back then babies were generally christened before they were a week old.

The Glover's Workshop, and this room tells us about glove making.  We learnt that as well as lime, alum and egg, urine and dog faeces were used to process the the deer, lamb and dog(!) skins used to make fine leather. 

Up the stairs and into one of the children's bedrooms, there being two- this one for boys and another for girls- with the children sharing the same bed in each.  It was common practise for people to sleep sitting up, propped up by pillows!

At the time, in the house there would have been two adult Shakespeares- John and Mary- and five children (two had died in infancy before William was born, and one was yet to be born).

This room had a fire, so would have been warmer than the Birthroom. 

There would also have been servants and possibly an apprentice living in the house as well, so it would have been a busy dwelling!

The are fitting artefacts up here, and the house was retained in family ownership until the late 18th century...

...But by the middle of the 19th century it had fallen into decay.  The Shakespeare Birthplace Committee (later the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust) bought the house for the nation in 1847.

The Birthroom Window was formerly in the birthroom at Shakespeare's Birthplace.  Pilgrims etched their names onto the walls and windows to signify their visit, with the earliest recorded date being 1806.  Famous figures such as Charles Dickens, Walter Scott and John Keats visited here.

The walls were cleared of graffiti in the mid 20th century, but etchings on the glass panes exist here for you to see...

The room where William Shakespeare was born has been decorated to what it might have looked like in 1575; when he was 11.

This was his parents bedroom and, at that time, it was common for children to sleep with their parents until they were five; first swaddled in the cradle, then on a pull-out truckle bed stored under the main bed.

Looking over the garden, and in Shakespeare's time there would only have been shutters, as glass wasn't put into the windows until the 1670s.

Charles Dickens was a prominent member of the Shakespeare Birthplace Committee, and he organised amateur performances featuring noted performers in an attempt to fund the purchase of the house.

The house was restored in the 1860s; its appearance influenced by a 1762 Richard Greene sketch, as well as surviving architectural evidence.

The Window, and John Shakespeare's home was also his place of business- as well as making the gloves here, he sold them through the window to the right...

The full outside view of Shakespeare's Birthplace...

The Bard statue at night...

And we'll finish with a close-up...

I would love to return to Stratford-upon-Avon; but until I do...

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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