What to See in England
By Gordon Home

Presented by

Public Domain Books

Stratford-On-Avon

THE BIRTHPLACE OF SHAKESPEARE

=How to get there.=–Train from Paddington. Great Western Railway. =Nearest Station.=–Stratford-on-Avon. =Distance from London.=–121-1/2 miles. =Average Time.=–Varies between 3 to 4-3/4 hours.

                     1st       2nd       3rd
=Fares.=–Single  16s. 0d.  10s. 6d.   8s.  5d.
          Return  29s. 3d.  18s. 6d.  16s. 10d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=–"Red Horse Hotel,” “Shakespeare Hotel,” “Golden Lion Hotel,” “Red Lion,” etc. =Alternative Route.=–Train from Euston. L. and N.W. Railway.

Stratford-on-Avon, a picturesque town situated on the river Avon, in Warwickshire, is visited yearly by thousands of people desirous of seeing the birthplace of William Shakespeare. John Shakespeare, the father of William, bought the two half-timbered houses in Henley Street, where he practised his trade of wool-stapler, and it was in one of these houses that William Shakespeare was born in 1564. These houses are now practically in their original condition, although at one time the wool-shop was turned into an inn. The desk, said to have been used by Shakespeare when at school, is to be seen in the former wool-shop, now converted into a museum. The King Edward VI. Grammar School, to which Shakespeare went, occupies the first floor of the old Guildhall, built in the thirteenth century, but much altered in the fifteenth century. It was in this Guildhall that Shakespeare saw for the first time a theatrical performance given by travelling players. Close to the Guildhall is the site of New Place, which was bought by Shakespeare. Only the foundations of this house remain, as in 1753 the owner, the Rev. Francis Gastrell, being angry at having to pay some rates, was not content with cutting down the famous mulberry tree planted by the poet, but caused the whole house to be razed and the materials sold.

The Church of Holy Trinity, most beautifully situated on the river Avon, is cruciform in plan. In the chancel is Shakespeare’s grave, with the stone slab having the well-known lines:–

  GOOD FREND, FOR IESVS SAKE FORBEARE,
  TO DIGG THE DUST ENCLOASED HEARE;
  BLESTE BE YE MAN YT SPARES THES STONES,
  AND CVRST BE HE YT MOVES MY BONES.

At Shottery, one mile from Stratford, is the half-timbered cottage where Anne Hathaway, the wife of Shakespeare, was born.

[Illustration: Valentine & Sons, Ltd. TRINITY CHURCH, STRATFORD-ON-AVON.

From the river. In the chancel is Shakespeare’s grave.]

Continue...

Preface  •  Ham House and Petersham  •  Walton-On-Thames (scold’s Bridle)  •  Harrow  •  Holwood House, Keston  •  Chigwell, Essex  •  Waltham Abbey and Cross  •  Downe  •  Epsom: Its Races and Its Salts  •  Epping Forest  •  Hampton Court  •  Rye House, Broxbourne  •  Hatfield House, Herts  •  Runnymead, the Signing of Magna Charta  •  The Oldest Brass in England  •  St. Albans  •  Stoke Poges Church, Bucks  •  Windsor  •  Jordans and William Penn  •  Knole House and Sevenoaks  •  Greenstead Church  •  Chalfont St. Giles  •  Westerham  •  Guildford, Surrey  •  Gad’s Hill  •  Ightham Mote, Kent  •  Penshurst  •  St. Michael’s Mount and Marazion  •  Rochester Cathedral  •  Tunbridge Wells  •  The Quintain Post At Offham and Malling Abbey  •  Eversley  •  Farnham, Surrey  •  Hindhead, Surrey  •  Shottermill  •  Penn’s Chapel At Thakeham, Sussex  •  Chawton the Home of Jane Austen  •  Selborne  •  Elstow  •  Lewes, Sussex  •  Bodiam Castle, Sussex  •  Colchester, Essex  •  Layer Marney  •  Battle Abbey  •  Cambridge  •  Arundel Castle  •  Olney, Bucks  •  Wantage and the Country of Alfred the Great  •  Canterbury and Its Cathedral  •  Reculvers  •  Oxford  •  Midhurst  •  Pevensey Castle  •  Savernake Forest  •  Ely Cathedral  •  St. Ives, Huntingdonshire  •  Winchelsea and Rye  •  Blenheim Palace  •  Peterborough Cathedral and Crowland  •  Peterborough  •  Southampton  •  Helmingham Hall  •  Stonehenge, Wiltshire  •  Netley Abbey  •  Salisbury and Its Cathedral  •  Sandwich, Kent  •  New Forest, Hampshire  •  Osborne House  •  Carisbrooke Castle  •  Lutterworth  •  Compton Wynyates  •  Kenilworth Castle  •  Belvoir Castle  •  Bath  •  Boston and the Pilgrim Fathers  •  Warwick  •  Gloucester and Its Cathedral  •  Norfolk Broads  •  Norwich Cathedral  •  Lichfield  •  Sherborne and Its Abbey Church  •  Newark  •  Wells and Its Cathedral  •  Stratford-On-Avon  •  Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk  •  Lulworth Cove, Dorsetshire  •  Corfe Castle  •  Lincoln and Its Cathedral  •  Somerset, the Birthplace of Tennyson  •  Glastonbury Abbey  •  Walsingham, Norfolk  •  Cheddar Caves, Cheddar, Somerset  •  Newstead Abbey  •  The Wessex of Thomas Hardy’s Romances  •  Tintern Abbey  •  Chesterfield, Derbyshire  •  Dukeries  •  Haddon Hall, Derbyshire  •  The Isle of Athelney, and Sedgemoor  •  Raglan Castle  •  Dovedale  •  Wellington and the Wrekin, Shropshire  •  Wroxeter and the Roman City of Uriconium, Salop  •  Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire  •  Ludlow and Its Castle  •  Shrewsbury  •  Buxton and the Peak District  •  Tewkesbury  •  Exeter and Its Cathedral  •  Market Drayton, Salop  •  Chester  •  Exmoor  •  Knutsford  •  Torr Steps On the Barle, Somerset  •  Cleeve Abbey, Somerset  •  Hawarden  •  York Minster  •  Coxwold, Yorkshire  •  Llangollen and Valle Crucis Abbey  •  Knaresborough, Dripping Well  •  Fountains Abbey  •  Ripon Cathedral  •  Dartmoor  •  Haworth  •  Rievaulx Abbey  •  Brixham, Devon  •  Conway Castle  •  The Doone Valley, Exmoor  •  Llandovery, South Wales  •  Dartmouth, Devon  •  Richmond, Yorkshire  •  Tintagel  •  Whitby  •  Carnarvon Castle  •  Plymouth  •  Durham and Its Cathedral  •  Raby Castle, Durham  •  Snowdon  •  Harlech Castle  •  Grasmere and Rydal Mount  •  The Lake District  •  St. Davids Cathedral  •  Furness Abbey, Lancashire  •  Monkwearmouth, Near Jarrow  •  The Isle of Man  •  Brantwood  •  Fowey  •  Hexham and Hadrian’s Wall  •  The Lake District  •  Keswick  •  Alnwick Castle  •  Lanercost Priory, Cumberland  •  Lanercost Priory and Stepping-Stones.]  •  St. Ives, Cornwall  •  Bamborough Castle, Northumberland

[Buy at Amazon]
What to see in England;: A guide to places of historic interest, natural beauty or literary association,
By Gordon Home
At Amazon