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.