Shakespeares Birthplace (Stratford-upon-Avon)
Shakespeare's Birthplace is situated in the much visited old town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire.
Located in Henley Street, in the town centre of this atractive old market town, it is where the world famous playwright William Shakespeare was born in 1564, and where he spent his early years.
It was built in the early 16th century, and was the home of Shakespeare's father, a well-to-do glover and wool dealer. Part of the house was used as a workshop and warehouse.
The timber for the house's construction came from the nearby Forest of Arden, while the stone was from Wilmcote, the village where Mary Arden, Shakespeare's mother, had lived before she married.
The Birthplace Trust acquired the building in 1847, and it has been open to the public ever since. One of the Trust's early acts was to demolish some adjoining timber framed buildings, as they were deemed to be a fire risk.
The living room has an oak raftered ceiling, and a broken stone floor.
Above the living room is Shakespeare's own bedroom. On a window, various early visitors, including Sir Walter Scott, Thomas Carlyle and Isaac watts, left their signatures.
The Birthplace Trust owns several other houses connected with Shakespeare and his family in and around Stratford.