Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
Encyclopedia
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
, Warwickshire, England, that came into existence in 1847 following the purchase of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's birthplace for preservation as a national memorial. It can also lay claim to be the oldest conservation society in Britain. Receiving no government funding or public subsidies, it is totally dependent upon the public for support, and relies on donations and the income generated from visitors.
The SBT is considered the most significant Shakespeare charity in the world, and endeavours to internationally promote the appreciation and study of the plays and other works of William Shakespeare, and general advancements of Shakespearian knowledge. The Trust maintains and preserves the Shakespeare Birthplace properties, a museum, library of books, manuscripts, records of historic interest, pictures, photographs and objects of antiquity with particular reference to the life and times of William Shakespeare, and is also home to the headquarters of the International Shakespeare Association.
Origins of the Trust
For more than 200 years after the Bard's death, his birthplace was occupied by the descendants of his recently-widowed sister, Joan HartJoan Shakespeare
Joan Shakespeare was the sister of William Shakespeare.Joan was Shakespeare's younger sister, named after her parents' deceased first-born child...
. Under the terms of Shakespeare's will, the ownership of the whole property (the inn and Joan Hart's cottage) passed to his elder daughter, Susanna
Susanna Hall
Susanna Hall , née Shakespeare, was the eldest child of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, and the older sister of Judith Quiney and Hamnet Shakespeare...
; and then on her death in 1649, to her only child, Elizabeth. Elizabeth died in 1670, bequeathing it to Thomas Hart, the descendant of Shakespeare's sister, Joan, whose family had continued as tenants of the cottage after her death in 1646. The Harts remained owners of the whole property until 1806, when it was sold to a butcher, Thomas Court. When it was again put up for sale in 1846 on the death of Court's widow, the American showman P. T. Barnum
P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, businessman, scam artist and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus....
proposed to buy the home and ship it "brick-by-brick" to the US. To purchase the property for the Nation, the Shakespeare Birthday Committee was formed, and such luminaries as Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
helped the Committee raise £3,000 and bought it the following year. Incorporated by a private Act of Parliament, the Birthday Committee became the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Properties
The headquarters of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is the Shakespeare Centre, a glass and concrete structure next to the Birthplace. The driving force behind its construction and opening in 1964 was Dr Levi FoxLevi Fox
Dr. Levi Fox OBE, DL, MA, FSA, FRHistS, FRSL , was the son of a Leicestershire smallholder. He became Archivist for the city of Coventry and then Director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and was a conservationist, local historian, and author.-Early life:After attending Ashby-de-la-Zouch...
, OBE, Director of the Trust from 1945 to 1989, with a view to properly housing its library, documents and collections which attract scholars from all over the world.
The Trust currently owns and cares for a number of houses relating to Shakespeare in and around the town of Stratford-upon-Avon as well as for Harvard House:
- Shakespeare's BirthplaceShakespeare's BirthplaceShakespeare's Birthplace is a carefully restored 16th century half-timbered house situated in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, where it is believed that William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and spent his childhood years. It is now a small museum open to the public and is a...
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- William Shakespeare's birthplace and childhood home. The building currently recreates a picture of family life at the time of Shakespeare complete with period domestic furnishings, as well as John Shakespeare's glove making workshop ready for work. Other exhibitions illustrate the changing occupancy and functions of the Birthplace (from Shakespeare's time onwards): as a home, workshop, inn, butcher's shop, literary shrine and visitor attraction.
- Hall's CroftHall's CroftHall's Croft, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, was owned by William Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna Hall, and her husband Dr John Hall whom she married in 1607....
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- Hall's Croft is believed to be the house of Shakespeare's daughter SusannaSusanna HallSusanna Hall , née Shakespeare, was the eldest child of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, and the older sister of Judith Quiney and Hamnet Shakespeare...
, and son-in-law, Dr. John HallJohn Hall (physician)John Hall was a physician and son-in-law of William Shakespeare.-Life:He was born at Carlton, Bedfordshire and studied at Queens' College, Cambridge from 1589, receiving a B.A. in 1593 and a M.A. in 1597...
, c. 1613–1616. It now contains a collection of 16th and 17th century paintings and furniture, as well as an exhibition about Dr. Hall and the obscure medical practices of the period.
- Hall's Croft is believed to be the house of Shakespeare's daughter Susanna
- Anne Hathaway's CottageAnne Hathaway's CottageAnne Hathaway's Cottage is the former childhood home of Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare. The house is situated in village of Shottery, Warwickshire, England, and about west of Stratford-upon-Avon....
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- Although called a cottage, the childhood home of Shakespeare's wife AnneAnne Hathaway (Shakespeare)Anne Hathaway was the wife of William Shakespeare. They were married in 1582. She outlived her husband by seven years...
is, in fact, a spacious twelve-roomed farmhouse with several bedrooms. In Shakespeare's day it was known as Newlands Farm, and remained in the Hathaway family for many generations. It was acquired by the Trust in 1892, and is open to public visitors as a museum.
- Although called a cottage, the childhood home of Shakespeare's wife Anne
- Nash's HouseNash's HouseNash's House, Chapel Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England is the house next door to the ruins and gardens of William Shakespeare's final residence, New Place. It has been converted into a museum. The museum traces the history of Stratford-upon-Avon from the earliest settlers in the...
and New PlaceNew PlaceNew Place is the name of William Shakespeare's final place of residence in Stratford-upon-Avon. He died there in 1616. Though the house no longer exists, the land is owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust....
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- Nash's House belonged to the first husband of Shakespeare's granddaughter, and is now a museum that traces the history of Stratford-upon-Avon from the earliest settlers in the Avon Valley to Shakespeare's time. William Shakespeare owned the former large neighbouring house called New Place, which was burnt down in 1759 and only the foundations and gardens remain. It was Shakespeares final residence, and passed to his daughter Susanna Hall after his death in 1616. The Trust acquired New Place and Nash's House in 1891.
- Palmer's Farm
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- Situated in the hamlet of WilmcoteWilmcoteWilmcote is a village and since 2004 a separate civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire, about north of Stratford-upon-Avon. Prior to 2004, it was part of the same parish as Aston Cantlow and the 2001 population for the whole being 1,674....
, the 16th century farmhouse known as Palmer's Farm was thought to be the childhood home of Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, and was purchased by the Trust in 1930. It was called Mary Arden's House until 2000 when it was discovered that in the 1570s and '80s it belonged to a friend and neighbour Adam Palmer instead, and the house was consequently renamed Palmer's Farm. Palmer's Farm together with Glebe Farm form the Shakespeare Countryside Museum.
- Situated in the hamlet of Wilmcote
- Glebe Farm
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- To the west of neighbouring Palmer's Farm and part of the Shakespeare Countryside Museum lies Glebe Farm, which dates from 1514 and was acquired by the Trust in 1968 when it was threatened by developers. In 2000 it was discovered that it had belonged to the Arden family and was in fact the true childhood home of Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, and the name Mary Arden's House was transferred to it.
- Harvard HouseHarvard HouseHarvard House is situated in High Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England; and is owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust . It was built in 1596 by Thomas Rogers, grandfather of the benefactor of Harvard University, John Harvard, and was the home of Harvard's mother.Harvard House...
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- Situated in High Street, Stratford-upon-Avon; Harvard House was built by Thomas Rogers, grandfather of the benefactor of Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, John HarvardJohn Harvard (clergyman)John Harvard was an English minister in America whose deathbed bequest to the Massachusetts Bay Colony's fledgling New College was so gratefully received that the school was renamed Harvard College in his honor.-Biography:Harvard was born and raised in Southwark, England, the fourth of nine...
, and home of Harvard's mother. Since 1995 it has housed the Museum of British Pewter.
- Situated in High Street, Stratford-upon-Avon; Harvard House was built by Thomas Rogers, grandfather of the benefactor of Harvard University
Library and archive
The Library and Records Office, now amalgamated to form the Shakespeare Centre Library and Archive, house the Shakespeare and Local Collections:- The Shakespeare Collections:
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- consists of the combined printed book collections of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
(RSC), as well as the archive of the Shakespeare Memorial TheatreRoyal Shakespeare TheatreThe Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon...
1879–1960 and of the RSC from 1961 onwards. The Trust maintains one of the world's most important Shakespeare libraries, the collections of which include translations of Shakespeare in over 70 languages, and many unique documents relating to Shakespeare and his family, second only in number to those in The National Archives in London.- The Local Collections:
- includes many thousands of archival records, books, photographs and maps relating to Stratford-upon-Avon and the surrounding area, as well as historical documents concerning Shakespeare and his family.
- consists of the combined printed book collections of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Royal Shakespeare Company
Museums department
The Museums Department is responsible for the care and display of all the historic museum items that the trust owns, principally items that relate to Shakespeare's life and times, which encompass a wide range of material. Other collections include items that represent the social and economic life of Stratford-upon-Avon, and a special collection of pewterPewter
Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and lead. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. It has a low melting point, around 170–230 °C ,...
, dating from Roman times until the present day. The Trust has a Museums Conservation Department based at Mary Arden's House.
The Trust owns various extensive collections:
- Archaeology
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- Roman and Anglo-SaxonAnglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
artefacts from local sites including jewellery, weapons and ceramics. Also local fossils and prehistoric items.
- Roman and Anglo-Saxon
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- Works of art relating to Shakespeare and to the history of Stratford-upon-Avon.
- Furniture and Furnishings
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- Domestic items dating from the 15th to the 19th century, particularly furniture dating from the 16th and 17th centuries.
- Numismatics
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- Coins and tokens found in Stratford and relating to Shakespeare. The collection also covers a period extending back to pre-Roman Celtic Britain.
- Pewter
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- The first Museum of British pewter based at Harvard House includes items ranging from Roman times to the 1930s, but has a strong core of 16th- and 17th-century pewter.
- Shakespeariana
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- Items linked to William Shakespeare himself.
- Social History
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- A wide range of objects illustrate the civic, social and working life of Stratford-upon-Avon through the ages.
- Textiles
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- Examples of Elizabethan embroidery and 17th-century painted cloths.
Education and activities
The Trust hosts a variety of events and provides talks, lectures and courses related to Shakespeare for the general public, and for students at all levels ranging from primary school pupils (with the Heritage Education team) to university students. Through its education department, the Trust also runs international programmes throughout the year on Shakespeare's writings.The SBT runs the Stratford-upon-Avon Poetry Festival, the oldest in the UK, and rears prize-winning livestock including Cotswold sheep
Cotswold sheep
Cotswold sheep are a breed of domestic sheep originating in the Cotswold hills of the southern midlands of England. It is a dual-use breed providing both meat and wool...
and Longhorn cattle
Longhorn cattle
Longhorn cattle are a long-horned brown and white breed of beef cattle originating from Craven in the north of England. They have a white patch along the line of their spine and under their bellies....
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