Shakespeare's Stratford

Advanced search

Select by category Cultural Natural Mixed all

Select by State Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic People's Republic of Korea Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia (Federated States of) Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of Korea Republic of Moldova Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Tajikistan Thailand the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United Republic of Tanzania United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Viet Nam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

Select by Theme Additional Cultural Categories Additional Natural Categories Archaeology Cities Climate Change Conservation of Cultural Sites Conservation of Natural Sites Convention Cross-Cutting Cultural Cultural landscapes Cultural Routes Earthen Architecture Education & Training Emergency action Forests Industrial Marine & coastal Modern Heritage Museum Natural Restoration Rock art Science & technology Site Management Small Island Developing States Sustainable Tourism

Choose a Region Africa Arab States Asia and the Pacific Europe and North America Latin America and the Caribbean

Display all by Country Region Year

Start Date/End Date

dd/mm/yyyy

dd/mm/yyyy

Results in other formats:
Word File

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Europe and North America)

Date of Submission: 21/06/1999
Criteria: (iii)(vi)
Category: Cultural
Submission prepared by:
Dep. For Culture, Media and Sport Buildings, Monuments and Sites
Coordinates:
Long. 1°42'18" W / Lat. 52°11'93" N Warwickshire, England
Ref.: 1321

Description

The names of Stratford and Shakespeare are synonymous throughout the world. The writer who has exerted the greatest global influence was intimately connected with the town throughout his life. Stratford was where he was born, brought up, went to school, met his wife and baptised his children; it was also the place where he invested most of his theatrical earnings, maintained his family, retired and died. Many influences of Stratford and its outlying countryside have been traced in Shakespeare's writings, and a significant number of the surviving Shakespeare documents relate to his business and family affairs in Stratford.



His earliest, mid-17th century, biographer indicates that Shakespeare regularly returned to his native town throughout his working career in London. From 1597 onwards, his family lived at New Place, the second largest house in Stratford. Several London documents concerning his activities in the city refer to him as of Stratford-upon-Avon. Many modern biographers assume that after his purchase of New Place, and for the next 15 years, before he retired, much of Shakespeare's research and writing took place at his Stratford home.



Shakespeare's fame subsequently helped to shape the character of his town. The house where he was born became the earliest literary shrine of its kind in England, and together with the other local buildings associated with him, especially the church where he is buried, made Stratford an incipient international tourist centre before the end of the 18th century.



Thanks partly to Shakespeare's reputation, which was well established in England and other European countries over 200 years ago, Stratford witnessed early efforts to safeguard its heritage and was one of the first historic towns to attract conservation initiatives, including the purchase of Shakespeare's Birthplace by public subscription in 1847. Today Stratford's significance as a major destination is undisputed.



The proposed World Heritage Site contains evidence both of the Stratford of Shakespeare's day (and the bnildings associated with him) and also of Shakespeare's influence on the town through the development of the area as a focus of literary tourism from the 1 8th century. As such Stratford is evidence of the early development of a cultural tradition now fundamental to the way of life and economy of many parts of the world.



The Site encompasses most of the historic centre of Stratford, whose grid pattern of streets was laid out in the 13th century and remains unchanged. The Site chosen includes key buildings directly associated with Shakespeare and his family; a significant number of buildings from medieval times to the 1 7th century which were known to him; two later buildings where his living legacy is kept alive today - the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Shakespeare Centre - and buildings connected with the early development of the Shakespeare cult and industry. Also added are two places outside the town with strong Shakespearian connections - Anne Hathaway's Cottage at Shottery and Mary Arden's House at Wilmcote.

Boundaries

In the north, the Site is bounded by Henley Street and Bridge Street. The house where



Shakespeare’s father (a glovemaker) and mother lived is located in Henley Street. Shakespeare not only grew up in this building but also inherited it when his father died, and bequeathed it upon his own death to his daughter, Susanna. It is one of the few surviving objects that unquestionably belonged to him. It was lived in by descendants of the Shakespeare family until the 19th century, and became a place of pilgrimage for Shakespeare admirers by the mid-l8th century. Bridge Street leads to Clopton Bridge built in the late 16th century and used by Shakespeare innumerable times as he commuted regularly between Strattord and London.



Branching off the junction of Henley Street and Bridge Street is High Street, which features several fine timber-framed buildings dating from Shakespeare's time, including the house where his younger daughter, Judith, lived after her marriage, and 'Harvard House' built in 1596 by Thomas Rogers, whose grandson founded Harvard University.



High Street intersects with Sheep Street where the Town Hall stands, which was the focus of the 1769 Garrick Jubilee, the first Shakespeare festival, and was originally known as 'the Shakespeare Hall'. High Street leads into Chapel Street whose buildings include the 16th century Shakespeare Hotel, a hostelry since the mid-l8th century, and Nash's House, owned by Thomas Nash who married Shakespeare's grand-daughter, which is open to the public. Adjacent is the site of Shakespeare's New Place, his family home for 19 years. Pulled down in the 18th century, some of the foundations remain, together with the whole of the original garden area that belonged to the dramatist. These were bought for preservation in 1861. Opposite the site of New Place is the Falcon Hotel, a 16th century building with a continuous history as an inn/hostelry for 350 years. The Stratford Shakespeare Club, believed to be the world's oldest literary society still in existence, was founded in the Falcon in 1824 and organised Shakespeare festivals during the l0th century.



Chapel Street leads into Church Street which features the 15th century Guild Chapel, Guild Hall, Almshouses and the Grammar School which Shakespeare is believed to have attended, since his plays show a detailed knowledge of its curriculum.



The site is bounded to the south by Old Town which includes Hallts Croft, built in 1613 and identified as the home of Dr. John Hall who married Shakespeare's eldest daughter, Susanna. The boundary continues as far as Holy Trinity, the medieval parish church, where Shakespeare was baptised and buried. In the chancel is his grave and the wall monument erected by his family.



The Site is bounded by the eastern bank of the River Avon . Ben Jon son, Shakespeare' s friend and rival dramatist, called him 'sweet swan of Avon.' There are views across the river from the bank nearest to the town towards the countryside which inspired Shakespeare.



The Site's eastern boundary also includes the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the adjoining Swan Theatre, which are the headquarters of the world-famous Royal Shakespeare Company. The Swan incorporates part of Stratford's first permanent theatre, which opened in l879.



The history of documented Shakespeare performances in the town, mainly in a succession of temporary theatre buildings, begins in 1746.



In addition to the clearly defined historic town centre, the Site includes two isolated units with important Shakespeare connections - Anne Hathaway's Cottage in Shottery, 2km from Stratford, and Mary Arden's House at Wilmcote, 6km distant. The Cottage, built in 146s, was the home of Shakespeare's wife before her marriage. It has a documented history of occupation by Hathaways and descendants of the family from the 17th to the end of the 19th century, when it was acquired by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. It was attracting tourists before the end of the 1sth century. The Mary Arden Site encompasses the farmhouse where Shakespeare's mother grew up.