A History of Stratford-upon-Avon

Medieval Stratford

From archaeological finds we know that the area now known as Stratford-upon-Avon was inhabited in the bronze age, although nothing precise is known of these inhabitants. The name of the town is of Saxon origin and means the area where a road crosses a river (Avon) by a ford (Strat-ford). Presumably this refers to a Roman road crossing the river near which there must have been a Roman settlement but again no documents have survived to confirm this. This area was dependent on Worcester Cathedral and part of the Saxon kingdom of Hwicce, later to become part of the more powerful Kingdom of Mercia. By AD 691 there was a monastery either on or very near the site of the present day parish of Holy Trinity. In fact the first documented reference to a place of worship in the area is in the charter of 845 granting privileges to a small existing minster church. However, nothing remained of this monastery at the time of the Norman conquest in 1066.

The town was spared the devastation of the Norman Conquest, mainly because the Saxon Bishop of Worcester, Wulfstan, supported the invaders. With the increase in agriculture following the clearing of the nearby Forest of Arden in 1196 a charter was obtained from King Richard I for a weekly market for the produce. It was around this market that the new town came into existence. This would explain the distance from the original old town to the present-day town center. The two different settlements grew independently but not without local hostility. One inconvenience was that the new townspeople had to worship in the old parish church.

By the 14th century Stratford had become a center of trade for the region. Although the relatively tranquil and prosperous existence of both communities was temporarily interrupted by the Black Death in the mid- 14th century, the new settlement continued to prosper as is evident from the growth of Guilds. These Guilds had both religious and secular duties which included, among other things, supporting chaplains, maintaining altars in churches and seeing to the needs of the poor. They also financed a school and almshouses. The most important of these Guilds was the Gild or fraternity of the Holy Cross which was made up of the more influential people of the town.

The administration of the new town was effectively in the hands of the Guild operating from the Guildhall in Church Street. The Gild of the Holy Cross continued to administer the town undisturbed until the dissolution of religious institutions during the reign of Henry VIII. The Gild came to an end in 1547, although the school was allowed to continue.

Tudor and Stuart Stratford

At the time of Shakespeare's birth Stratford-upon-Avon was a prosperous market town with a population of around 2,000. This environment was soon to be disrupted by the Plague that claimed about 250 victims among the Stratford folk. Towards the end of the 16th century the town's economic prosperity declined with the crisis of the wool trade. Again, towards the end of the 16th century, and precisely 22 September 1594, a fire destroyed many of the timber-framed houses in High Street, Chapel Street and Henley Street. In 1612 a third fire broke out destroying more than 50 other buildings. Yet another fire in 1641 destroyed much of Bridge Street.

During the English Civil War, in 1643, Parliamentary soldiers occupied Stratford-upon-Avon and the explosion of three barrels of gunpowder almost destroyed the Town Hall and damaged surrounding buildings. More than 60 people died in another plague in 1645.

Modern Stratford

A temporary economic recovery came in the second half of the 17th century but it was only in the 1760s that the direction of economic recovery was firmly established. The major exponent of the revival of Shakespearean drama, the actor David Garrick, went to Stratford-upon-Avon and a three-day celebration of Shakespeare was organized centering on his historic visit. However, it was only when improvements in transport in the early 19th century, making the town more easily accessible, did a steady flux of visitors arrive to boost the almost static economy of Stratford. Since then tourism has become the main source of income for the town

Shakespeare’s Birthplace

The half-timbered house where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 is Stratford's most cherished historic place. It is the most frequently visited of all the tourist places in the area. Descendants of the great playwright lived there until the 19th century, and it has been a place of pilgrimage for all lovers of theater for over 250 years.

The outside of the building is mainly a Victorian reconstruction carried out between the years 1857 and 1864. The inside is much earlier but no precise date of construction has been suggested. There are divergent views about the origin. Some have maintained that it dates back to the 15th century but a more probable period is the mid-sixteenth century. The western part of the building, on the ground-floor level, consists of a parlor and kitchen with large fireplaces and stone-flagged floors. Access to the first floor and the bedchamber where William is thought to have been born is by the original staircase. The house is furnished in Tudor period style with many historic manuscripts and books. There is a modern visitors’ center and a garden attached.

New Place – Nash House

New Place, Shakespeare's home from 1597 until his death in 1616, was torn down in the 18th century, but its foundations and grounds can still be seen, including a beautiful Elizabethan-style knott garden created eighty years ago. The sunken garden is divided into four Knotts by a path, filled with an intense tapestry of colored flowers, box hedge and Shakespearian herbs. The site is approached through Nash's House adjoining, which contains exceptional furnishings of Shakespeare's period. The rooms on the lower level include some early seventeenth century oak furniture. Upstairs, there is an exhibition dealing with the history of Stratford-upon-Avon before and after Shakespeare.

Hall’s Croft

This impressive house is where Shakespeare's eldest daughter Susanna lived with her physician husband, Dr. John Hall. It is near to Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried. On display are outstanding sixteenth and seventeenth-century furniture and paintings, and an exhibition about Dr Hall and the medicine of his time. It has an enchanting garden. Herbs and perennials are for sale here and refreshments can be enjoyed on secluded seats and in the intimate tea room.

Ann Hathaway’s Cottage

This Tudor period home is exquisitely picturesque and is the second favorite Shakespearian property. Before marrying William Shakespeare in 1582, Anne Hathaway lived in what is justifiably described as one of England's most famous buildings. Part of the building dates from the mid-fifteenth century, and some of the furniture belonged to the Hathaways and their descendants. The garden is outstanding. The Thatch Restaurant and the Cottage Tea Garden are located nearby

Although referred to as a cottage, it is actually a substantial, twelve-roomed, Elizabethan farmhouse. Externally the building with its low thatched roof, timbered walls and lattice windows has changed very little since Anne Hathaway's time. Parts of the building structure date back further than the 15th century, using some of the earliest English house-building techniques. The cottage was built on a slope, and parts of the building consequently sit at different levels.

Inside, the structure of the house has changed a little. There are many 16th century fireplaces still in place and the remains of the original Great Hall are still clearly visible. The bedroom upstairs contains an Elizabethan wooden bedstead, with a mattress of rush cords threaded onto the wooden frame. It is said that this is the bed that Anne Hathaway was born upon.

Mary Arden’s House

Three and a half miles outside Stratford and still retaining its country setting in Wilmcote, this timbered Tudor farmhouse is the house where Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, grew up in before marrying John Shakespeare and moving to Henley Street. It is also home to the Shakespeare countryside museum, two historic farms, displays of farm implements, daily demonstrations by the Heart of England falconry, a blacksmith's forge and a duck pond.

The striking timbered frontage is framed by drystone walls and curious box hedges. Until recently the oak half-timbered structure was hidden under a cladding of stucco, which inadvertently kept the fabric in remarkably good condition. The building is appropriately constructed using oak from the nearby Arden forest and stone from Wilmcote itself. The house has an intriguing, fairytale atmosphere with uneven walls, irregular handmade tiles and tiny dormer windows.

Holy Trinity Church

It is here that both Shakespeare and his wife, Ann Hathaway are buried. A Church on the banks of the Avon in Stratford is first mentioned in the charter of 845, signed by Beorhtwulf, King of Mercia. This would have been a wooden construction. It is very likely that the Normans replaced this with a stone building but no trace of either remains. The present limestone building was begun in 1210 and was built in the shape of a cross.

Visiting Stratford-upon-Avon

Stratford is accessible by rail or road from most places in England. The Birmingham International Airport is about twenty miles away. Stratford is the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company and so any visitor to the town should check in advance to see what plays are being presented in any of the three theaters in the area.

External Links:

• The Royal Shakespeare Company -