We caught the 10:27 train into Stratford upon Avon from Wilmcote station and we arrived 10 mins. later. It is only a further a further 10 mins walk into the middle of town. All for the price of £3-40 for two of us!
We had picked up a leaflet for a self guided walk yesterday and so now we set off with Helen as the tour guide. We started on Henley Street and the home of William Shakespeare. In mid 16th Century John Shakespeare, a glove maker, rented this house, and it was here in 1564 that his son William was born, and the rest is history.
On High Street the black and white building on the right, with then flag pole, was built in 1596 by Thomas Rogers. His daughter Katherine married Robert Harvard of Southwark and their son John, (I'm sure you are well ahead of me now), emigrated to America where her founded Harvard University. The black and white building next door is the Garrick pub. It too was built in 1596 and became a pub, the Reindeer, in early 18th Century. By 1800 it had become known as the Garrick after the famous Shakespearean actor.
Just down the road is the Old Bank that was built in 1883. It is a classy building and has the old style very high banking hall ceiling.
It is adorned with terracotta tiles depicting scenes from Shakespeare's plays.
Across the road is the Town Hall built out of Cotswold Stone in 1767. It replaced a former building that had been badly damaged in the Civil War. The ground floor was originally open for the market but was infilled in 1863. I'm not sure whether the 'God Save The King' is recent, but more likely to be from those days.
This was added to the wall by the kind offices of David Garrick the year after.
Down Church Street is this row of buildings. Nearest the camera is the stone is the Guild Chapel that was begun in 1269. Right next to it is the Guildhall built in 1417 followed by the line of almshouses built in 1502. In between the two is the very small schoolhouse of 1427. The school moved to the upper floor of the Guildhall in 1560's and this is where Shakespeare went to school.
We went into the chapel but didn't linger as they were busy installing new heating, but long enough to snap this wall painting.
At the end of Church Street is Trinity College. It was originally a two story house but was extended to three when it became a school in 1872. It appears very run down now and is flats.
Down Old Town is this house called Hall's Croft. It was once the home of Will Shakespeare's daughter Susannah and her husband Dr. John Hall. It was built in the early 1600's.
This is the 'modern' part of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. It was built after the original theatre burned down in 1926 and was opened in 1961. Not a classic view perhaps. The river was flowing quite fast at the first lock on the Avon Navigation'
What is now Bancroft basin is one of two basins that were built here on what was once common grazing land. It then became a working area on arrival of the canal. This is the Gower Memorial over looking the basin. It was provided by Lord Ronald Gower in 1888 and stood in front of the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre that burned down. It was moved here in 1933 and has four characters from Shakespeare in the four corners. The one to the left is obviously Falstaff.
The only bit of the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre to survive is the bit to the left of the picture. It was built in 1879, and when the rest of the building was lost in 1926 this surviving bit was incorporated in the new and is now the Swan Theatre,
Further along Waterside is to be found a line of 19 or 20 lamp post that have been donated form around the country. We couldn't leave without saying hello to the one from Kingston upon Hull (to give our full title as we are in Stratford upon Avon). You can see at the base that it has the three crowns of the Hull emblem.
We have had a lovely day, without getting wet and without spending loads of money in visitor 'experiences'. We visited a few pubs and cafes and so have had a very full day before heading back to the boat. In the end the broken lock beam has saved up half a day and 32 locks! Thanks you C&RT for letting that beam just magically fail on Tuesday. Seriously though they are in a cleft stick as with out adequate funding, and what institution has that, how do they prioritise jobs that appear to need doing? They will never be right all the time will they!
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