Blog 12: Shakespeare Houses

From visiting Shakespeare’s Birthplace and then Nash’s House/ New Place, I have learned that Stratford was an interesting place to live. Something that I find very interesting is that Shakespeare did not move his family to London with him while he was there. Instead, he had them stay in Stratford. I found that weird and a little sad, but now after visiting these places I feel as if I would understand. London is a busy city with tons and tons of people. Even back then, more and more people came filtering into the city of London. Stratford on the other hand would not have all those crowds and all those people. It would be a decent, moderately paced place to live.

It was funny to learn that Shakespeare was married rather early in his life, due to the fact that he got Anne Hathaway pregnant. It was an odd match, according to Shakespeare: Work, Life, and Times, as she was twenty-six and he eighteen. Apparently they lived with Shakespeare’s parents in the place where he was born. No one is sure, but they believe that he worked for his father, a glove-maker, so he was able to financially support his wife and new baby girl. They lived there for quite awhile, as Shakespeare was given the home to have after the death of his parents. What struck me most was that this building had been made mostly for the convenience of usage for John Shakespeare, William Shakespeare’s father, for glove-making. The door by the workroom had to be wide enough for a horse and cart (as was the hallway) and it led straight into the back of the house. The rest of the house felt like it was made around that hallway.

In comparison, it was unique to see New Place. The house felt distinctly like a home, which was nice as Shakespeare had to have it fixed up after he bought it in 1597 after being in London for almost ten years. The house was quite spacious. They say that Shakespeare penned many plays in the study there starting in 1597. No one is sure how often he stayed there, but he lived there frequently when not in London. He was probably there once the theatres closed during the 1600s. As well as the spacious house, they also had two gardens and two orchards on the premises. The knot garden was absolutely beautiful. The garden area is very extensive with a lot of plants.

Both of these places were passed down by Shakespeare to his daughter, Susanna, who was basically given everything of importance that he owned. Eventually, his daughter’s daughter Elizabeth Nash received the home. Her husband, Thomas Nash, lived in the house adjacent to New Place. Overall, I believe that living in Stratford would have been comparable to living in a nice suburban area, despite the fact that the family was quite wealthy. Because of that, they were able to live in a very nice home that Shakespeare was able to buy for his family.