CRADLE OF BRITAIN'S GREATEST WORDSMITH: STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

We recently visited Stratford-Upon-Avon for a Christmas break, and while I was there I suddenly realised that I hadn’t yet blogged about the town.  Given it is the birthplace of the greatest writer ever to grace these shores, the playwright William Shakespeare, this is an unforgiveable omission from a blog about Britain’s film, TV and literary associations, so with this piece I hope to rectify my oversight.

This being the town where the great Bard was born, the main attraction is Shakespeare’s Birthplace, a quaint half-timbered house in the centre of town, looking rather out of place nowadays among all the trendy cafes, restaurants and chain stores.  It was here that Will was born on 26 April 1564, and visitors to the birthplace can view the room he was born in, the third of eight children.  His parents, John and Mary Shakespeare, were wealthy enough to own the largest property on Henley Street.  

Shakespeare Birthplace

But the birthplace is by no means the only Shakespeare-related attraction.  The local tourist board makes the most of the Shakespeare connection by adding a  host of other attractions with Shakespeare connections which are open to visitors.  Shakespeare’s mother Mary Arden brought the Bard up on a farm now known as Mary Arden’s Farm, which can be found in the village of Wilmcote to the north-west of Stratford.  Between 1597 and his death in 1616, Shakespeare lived in New Place in Chapel Street, at the time the second largest house in Stratford and now known as Shakespeare’s New Place.  The house has been turned into a museum with an Elizabethan garden.   

Not only Will himself, but his wife and daughter have contributed to the array of tourist attractions in the area.  At the western edge of town is Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, a charming half-timbered thatched cottage which was the family home of Shakespeare’s wife.  His daughter Susanna lived in a Jacobean home called Hall’s Croft with her physician husband.  This can be found near the river in an area in the south of Stratford known as Old Town.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Stratford-Upon-Avon. Photo by C5clive, via Wikimedia Commons.

Finally, no visit to Stratford would be complete without a visit to Holy Trinity Church, an imposing medieval church occupying a beautiful riverside location with its spire dominating the riverscape.  The church contains Shakespeare’s grave as well as his baptism and burial records.

Shakespeare's Grave

Map of the area.

ELIZABETHAN INTRIGUE FROM SIR WALTER SCOTT: KENILWORTH

Kenilworth Castle, on the outskirts of the Warwickshire town of the same name, dates from the 12^th century, but the period most closely associated with it is the Elizabethan period.  Queen Elizabeth I granted the castle to her favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in 1563.  Dudley set about transforming it into an extravagant palace, and Queen Elizabeth was among the visitors.  One visit in particular stands out, lasting 19 days from the 9^th to the 27^th July 1575.  Dudley was after the queen’s hand in marriage, and for the 1575 visit he pulled out all the stops, making improvements to the state apartments, transforming the Gatehouse into a suitably grand entrance and making the surrounding landscape into “pleasure grounds” where a lavish fireworks display was laid on – these were just some of the lengths he went to to impress his queen.  However, some years earlier in 1560 Dudley’s wife Amy Dudley, nee Robsart, died in suspicious circumstances and the scandal surrounding this put paid to any chance of marriage between the two.

The Castle Keep

It is against this backdrop that the novel Kenilworth was written by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1821.  In the novel Amy secretly marries the Earl of Leicester, ditching her Cornish fiancé Edmund Tressilian. Leicester keeps the marriage secret from Queen Elizabeth, being her favourite, fearing the loss of his court position.  Meanwhile, Amy is holed up in Cumnor Place in Oxfordshire, where she is a virtual prisoner.  The novel is based around the resulting intrigues involving Dudley, Tressilian and Dudley’s Master of the Horse, Varney, with an awkward scene in which Amy makes her way to Kenilworth, where she comes face to face with the Queen.  The novel was given a good write-up in The Edinburgh Review for its portrayal of Queen Elizabeth’s character “with the most brilliant and seducing effect”.

Kenilworth Castle is managed by English Heritage, and today is a ruin, though still with much of interest to visitors.  Reminders of Dudley’s devotion to his Queen are still on view, such as the aforementioned Gatehouse, known as Leicester’s Gatehouse, built by him in 1571.  The top floor of the Gatehouse houses an exhibition telling the story of Dudley’s relationship with Queen Elizabeth.  There is also an Elizabethan Bedroom complete with a 16^th century ‘tester’ bed.  The fireplace in the Oak Room has the Dudley family motto ‘Droit en Loyal’ and the ragged staff and Leicester cinquefoil.  The Elizabethan Garden provided for the Queen’s entertainment has been lovingly recreated.  The mighty form of the Castle Keep is still on view – this was modified for entertaining by Dudley in 1570.

The Elizabethan Garden

Kenilworth is about 3 miles south-west of Coventry and a few miles from the M40.  For a map of the area follow this link.