Shakespeare's Birthplace
Stratford-upon-Avon · UK
Shakespeare's Birthplace on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon is the half-timbered Tudor house where England's greatest playwright was born in April 1564. Owned continuously since 1847 by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, it has been a place of literary pilgrimage for over two centuries — Keats, Dickens, and Tolstoy all made the journey. The house presents a recreation of a prosperous Elizabethan family home of the merchant class.
The birthplace is particularly notable for the survival of the room believed to be Shakespeare's birth room, where visitors have been leaving inscriptions on the window panes since the eighteenth century. The influence of Elizabethan domestic life — the furniture, the herb garden, the glove-making workshop — is conveyed with considerable care. A modern visitor centre tells the story of the playwright's life and times.
Visiting Shakespeare's Birthplace is the natural starting point for any exploration of Stratford. It can be combined with the other Shakespeare properties in the town. Allow ninety minutes to two hours.
Reviews
The atmosphere in the birth room is genuinely extraordinary. Seeing the window panes covered in signatures from 200 years of visitors — Dickens, Keats and countless others — brings history alive.
Well presented and informative. The costumed guides are excellent and the herb garden is a lovely touch. Can be crowded in summer but the experience is worth it.
A moving visit despite the crowds. The rooms feel genuinely Elizabethan and the context provided is excellent. The new visitor centre is a worthy complement to the original house.
The atmosphere in the birth room is genuinely extraordinary. Seeing the window panes covered in signatures from 200 years of visitors — Dickens, Keats and countless others — brings history alive.
