We left Leeds behind heading towards the Cotswolds. On the way we made our only one stop in Stratford-Upon-Avon, to see the Bard. But first we stopped at the home of his wife Anne Hathaway. This is a twelve-roomed former farmhouse where Anne lived as a child. The earliest part dates from 1463, when it was still a three roomed building with only one floor. The Hathaway family moved there in 1542 and was passed down through the family until 1846 when financial problems forced them to sell it. Though it was still occupied by the Hathaway family as tenants when it was acquired by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1892.
Leaving the cottage behind we went into the center of town to see Shakespeare’s Birthplace, a restored 16th century half-timbered house situated on Henley Street.
Our last stop before heading to our hotel was Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare was baptized and where he is buried. The oldest building in Stratford-upon-Avon, the church is built on the site of a Saxon monastery on the banks of the River Avon. Shakespeare is buried near the altar along with his family. The church contains many interesting features including: the 15th century Clopton Chapel, The American window unveiled in 1896 and inscribed “The Gift of America to Shakespeare’s Church” and copies of the baptismal and burial records of William Shaespeare.
We left the Bard behind and headed to our next hotel, a very luxurious place in Broadway in the Cotswolds.
I continue to follow you down memory lane