Shakespeare and Stratford

The guide David was friendly and welcoming and our group was quite small. He told us the walk would last about two hours. It turned out to be a magic and inspiring time in which we were transported back into the village where William Shakespeare was born and raised. The tourists, cars and noise vanished and were replaced by a market town where oil, fish, corn and different meats and vegetables were sold.



This is the building, a replica where William Shakespeare was born and raised.

We found out about William's family. He was married to Anne and they had three children, the eldest, a daughter Susannah, who apparently had the words and wit of her father. The second two children - twins were less well known. The boy died during infancy and the daughter, Judith, married poorly, whereas Susannah married John Hall, a well known puritan, who was also a well known doctor who had patients up to forty miles away.

William Shakespeare left his home village for London where he became part owner of a theatre where the plays that he wrote were shown. They were enormously successful and by the age of thirty three he was wealthy enough to buy the second largest house in Stratford where he settled his wife and family.



This is the e land that William bought. It is now a vacant block of land with a beautifully maintained garden at the back filled with mulberry trees and flowers. It would be a lovely spot to take a picnic lunch - it is quiet, luscious and set apart from the bustle of today's Stratford. By the time of his death he was the wealthiest man in the village and bought a place to be buried in the Holy Trinity Church.



At the front of this church is a copy of some of the original records pertaining to William Shakespeare. His birth certificate is written in latin, his birth certificate in english - "Will Shakespeare, gent". This possibly demonstrates the shift that occurred during his lifetime, when english, the common language became more heavily used. It was during his lifetime, that the bible was translated from latin into english. There has been some supposition that Shakespeare was involved in the translation of the revised version. The bible in the church is open at Psalm 46. The revised version of the bible was published in 1611, the 46th year of Shakespeare's life. If you look at Psalm 46, the 46th word from the beginning is "shake", the 46th word from the end is "spear". Whether he did or didn't this is a fairly remarkable coincidence and makes for a great story!

He left most of his wealth to Susannah - as opposed to his son in law. It would be interesting to find out what she did with this money and what her relationship was like with her father and her husband. This would be a fun thing to explore, if it hasn't already been investigated by some scholar. This is a picture of her tomb and the house she lived in with her husband John Hall. They had a magnificent garden where he grew most of the herbs he used to treat his patients.





William Shakespeare left a more lasting legacy than wealth however. His writings are still read and his plays continue to enthrall. He has contributed an enormous number of words and expressions to the english language that are still in use today. Our guide recited a wonderful poem called "Shakespeare's Words" that consisted of a number of "Shakespeare-isms" - a truly remarkable contribution. We were all inspired to become more acquainted with his plays and sonnets.