Shakespeare’s Birthplace

On our family trip to England, we took our daughters to Stratford-upon-Avon and spent the day exploring the places connected to William Shakespeare. One of the most important was this timber-framed house on Henley Street, where Shakespeare was born in 1564 and spent his childhood.

The house belonged to Shakespeare’s father, John Shakespeare, a successful glove maker and businessman who also became involved in Stratford’s civic government. John and his wife, Mary Arden, raised their family here, and it was within these rooms that the young William Shakespeare grew up before eventually becoming the playwright whose works would be performed and read throughout the world.

The building itself helps tell the story of the Shakespeare family. Dating largely from the 16th century, it was a substantial home for its time, reflecting John Shakespeare’s prosperity. Part of the property was also associated with his glove-making business, reminding us that this was not simply a residence but part of the working life of a Tudor family.

Shakespeare continued to have connections with the house as an adult. After marrying Anne Hathaway in 1582, he is believed to have lived here during the early years of their marriage. Their first child, Susanna, was born in 1583, followed by the twins Hamnet and Judith in 1585. Shakespeare eventually left Stratford for London and the theater, but Stratford remained his hometown throughout his life.

What is also remarkable is how early people recognized the importance of preserving this house. By the 18th century, admirers of Shakespeare were already traveling to Stratford to see his birthplace. Famous visitors left their names scratched into windows and walls, and the house gradually became a place of literary pilgrimage. When it was offered for sale in 1847, a national campaign raised money to purchase it and protect it from being dismantled or commercially exploited. It became the first property cared for by what is now the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

For us, visiting Stratford was also part of how we traveled with our daughters. We wanted them to experience history not simply through books, but by standing in the places where that history happened. Here they could walk through a Tudor house, see the rooms in which Shakespeare’s family lived and begin to imagine the world that surrounded him before there was a Globe Theatre, Hamlet, Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet.

Looking back at these photographs now, I especially like seeing our daughters in front of the house. At the time, we were simply spending a family day exploring Stratford-upon-Avon. Years later, the photograph has become something more.  They are a reminder of how often our travels became opportunities to introduce them to history, literature and the people whose ideas and creativity have endured for centuries.