"Small Cheer and Great Welcome Makes a Merry Feast"
-- The Comedy of Errors
Today was another field trip, this time off to Stratford upon Avon. For those of you who don't know, this is where William Shakespeare was born, grew up, and past away. There are 5 sites associated with Shakespeare in Stratford and we had the opportunity to visit 3 of them and the famous Stratford theater.
The first of the houses was Shakespeare's Birthplace. For a single family house of its time it was quite large! It was really neat to see all the rooms decked out in original furniture from that time period. We also got to see where he first worked in the house, the glove maker shop. There a tour guide explained to us the importance of gloves and accessories during the time as it told you how wealthy a person was. As we left the house we got to see actors perform Shakespeare by request. The two actresses performed scenes from Hamlet, As You Like It, and The Tempest.
Trinkets and toys made to look like Shakespeare
Coins representing each of Shakespeare's plays organized by genre
Timeline of when Shakespeare's plays were published
First folio
Bust of Shakespeare
Early edition of Hamlet
Summary of the Shakespeare timeline
Shakespeare's family tree, Shakespeare no longer has any direct descendants
What the house would have looked like before it was turned into an inn.
Bed room 1
Dinning/ Kitchen
Glove workshop
Bedroom 2
Bedroom 3
View of the gardens from the upstairs
Artifacts from when Shakespeare lived there
Pantry
Left our mark!
Shakespeare by Request
The next stop on our tour was of the Nash's House/ New Place. Nash's house was the residence of his only surviving Grandchild, Elizabeth. The house that use to stand next to Nash's was New house where Shakespeare raised his family. This house was eventually burned down after the owner got mad at the constant amount of tourist and the state wanted him to pay taxes(it was a vacation home) so he burned the place down, presumably to get back at them.
What New House would have looked like
The gardens belonging to Shakespeare/ the New House
Where New House stood
The upstairs talked about the various characters in Shakespeare's plays and provided dress up materials!
Most well-loved Shakespeare characters
Props from the plays!
Making our own Coat of Arms
Our last house tour was at Hall's Croft. This was the residence of Shakespeare's Daughter Susanna who married a wealthy doctor. This house was extremely beautiful and luxurious. It was full of upper class amenities and architectural pieces like lumber and stone that only the wealthy could afford.
Our last tour was of the Royal Shakespeare Theater. Plays of the Royal Shakespeare Company are written and produced with all of the props and sets made right in Stratford upon Avon (except for any fake blood). We were able to see what a set looked like as they were setting up for the next play(no pictures aloud) along with getting to see the various props and costumes for various plays that have been put on.
Here is a costume from Jubilee in 2001
Before heading back to the coach to go home we were able to wonder around and shop for a bit. Stratford seems to be a very touristy place and few shops are not aimed solely for tourists.
Year round Christmas Shop!
Magic Alley-- knock off Harry Potter souvenirs
Sculpture garden of Shakespeare and favorite characters. Shakespeare is the high one in the middle, Hamlet is showing me the creepy skull.
Although I cannot get it in Northern Virginia, I can buy Cheerwine for about $10 a can in Stratford! (Don't worry mom and dad I did not buy any, nor did I spend $20 on a box of Lucky Charms)
Shakespeare Selfie Sunday!
