On Old Taverns, Pubs and Theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon

Interior View

The White Swan Hotel

Interior view

The Emblem 

The Black Swan Hotel

                            




                             

 There are many old taverns and pubs which existed since Shakespeare's time. Some of    t             them have been remodelled with addition of modern comforts and amenities. "The White
Swan Hotel" in Rother Street dated back to 1450's. It was used as an inn since 1560. 
The owner, Robert Perrot's granddaughter, Susanne Woodward, was the wife of a young 
officer called Richard Taylor who was a close friend of Shakespeare. So it was possible
that Shakespeare used to frequent this place to have a drink and have a merry chat with
his friend. Even now the low wooden beams and antique furniture bear testimony to the
fact that it is at least five hundred years old. Another oldest pub is "The Black Swan
Pub",later nicknamed as "The Dirty Duck", located just a hundred yards away from the
"RoyalShakespeare Theatre'. It dates back to sixteenth century. It attracted many
 theatrical persons since it became famous when Robert Garrick, the eminent actor
of the eighteenth century, used to visit this place whenever he came to Stratford. When
some American girls were stationed here during the First World War, the name of the
hotel was changed to "The Dirty Duck", perhaps due to mistaken identity of the black
swan with the dirty duck. "The Old Thatch Tavern" is also one of the oldest taverns
dating to 1470's. It is the only thatched building in the whole town. Located in the Green
Hill Street, just three hundred yards away from the bard's birthplace, it offers hand-baked
bread and traditional ale in the typical Elizabethan ambiance.

The Old Thatch Tavern

Interior View

The Old Thatch Tavern

Interior View

           



               On the side of the river one can see three theatres managed by the Royal Shakespeare
Company established in 1961. The first real theatre in Stratford was built in a temporary
wooden building in 1769 by David Garrick to mark the Jubilee celebrations of the bard.
But it was washed away during floods. In 1879 due to Charles Flower's earnest efforts
the first Shakespeare's Memorial Theatre was completed. It was effectively managed
by the famous actor, Sir Frank Benson. The theatre was burnt down in 1926. The new
theatre "Royal Shakespeare Theatre" with a seating capacity of 1040 people, designed
by the famous architect, Elizabeth Scott, was opened by the Prince of Wales (later called
Edward VIII) in 1932. This theatre was built on the site adjacent to the remains of
the old theatre destroyed by fire. TheRoyal Shakespeare Company also ran two small
theatres . The first one was 'The Swan"(1986), modeled on the Elizabethan type of the
stage located just beside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Four hundred and fifty people
can sit on three sides of the deep thrust stage. Both these theatres were developed as a 
part of the Transformation Project and opened in 2010 after a period of three years.
The second one was the "Other Place Theatre" which was first opened in a shed in 1974.
In 1989 it was closed and after two years of renovation, it was re-opened in 1991.
A temporary "Courtyard Theatre" was built on the adjacent car park to stage perfor-
mances when the"Other Place Theatre" was closed again for the sake of renovation
works. During Shakespeare's time there were no theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon. The
people had to see the the plays performed by the touring groups of actors whose
welfare was taken care of by town councils or by trade guilds.

Renovated R.S. Theatre

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Swan Theatre

Inside the Swan Theatre

The Other Place Theatre

The Courtyard Theatre
      

The Dirty Duck

The world-wide fame of the immortal bard rejuvenated the spirit of drama  and inspired the people to set up theatres in his memory in the town where he was born. Really a glowing and fitting tribute to the great bard of all times!

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 3rd June, 2014                                                                     Somaseshu Gutala

My Visit to Mary Arden's Farmhouse at Wilmcote

Front view of Mary Arden's Farmhouse

Courtyard

     











                                                                                              

Living Room

backyard

The kitchen

              

View of garden

Cotswold sheep

                          





  
                                        My Visit to Mary Arden’s Farm at Wilmcote

  We continued our journey to Wilmcote, eight miles from Stratford-upon-Avon to see the well-maintained Mary Arden’s Farm House , where Shakespeare’s mother , Mary Arden, was born and brought up. The original name of this farm house was “Glebe Farm”. It was a big Tudor type of  two-storey mansion surrounded by vast grounds and woods where one can get an idea about a rich landlord’s way of life of those times with various activities like breeding different types of animals and birds, cultivating  gardens, milking cows, threshing corn, making butter and enjoying country sports . Mary Arden(1540-1608) , the youngest of Robert Arden’s family of eight daughters, inherited this estate after her father’s death in 1556. She married John Shakespeare, who was working as a tenant in her father’s land, in 1557. She belonged to a rich Catholic family of nobles who served the kings like Henry VII and William, the conqueror.

This House has two storeys built in Tudor style with a thatched roof . Though the exterior walls were rebuilt in brick, the construction of  the  rooms were kept in their original state as they had been in  1514.The living room meant for entertaining guests leads to a parlor where old-fashioned wooden furniture is seen. In the kitchen various utensils and household tools are seen. The room for making butter was added in later times.

Hereford cattle

Courtyard

          

                                                                                               

the hawk in the Farm

Pigs in the Farmyard

Baggot goats in the Farm

The white owl

Longhorn Cattle

  

Shirehorses in the farm

Whenever the dreaded disease, plague broke out in Stratford, Shakespeare might have spent some here along with his mother and other siblings. The beautiful gardens, agricultural activities and rural sports impressed his mind so much that one can find descriptions of country sports and pleasures in his plays and poems. Just outside the kitchen we found ladies attired in Tudor fashion baking bread on mud-built ovens holding a pair of tongs. A young girl was stacking hay in a wheel barrow to feed horses in the stable. The Cotswold Sheep are kept in a shed. In Elizabethan age people consumed sheep milk often than cow’s milk. We also saw a huge cider-press with an enormous revolving wheel. Two shire horses of gigantic size were led by two short ladies . A horse carriage was nearby.  As we passed through farm land we saw two huge hairy creatures with dense curly brown hair resting in the dark hollows below. They are a special Hungarian breed of pigs called Mangalitza pigs. In those days pigs were in immense demand and every Englishman kept pigs for consumption  We also witnessed the feats performed by a large white owl which obeyed the commands of the trainer. Hawking was a popular pastime in Elizabethan times. We saw various types of birds like hawks, owls, wood peckers, falcons, geese and hooded vultures. We also saw other special breeds of animals like Baggot goats with snow-white backs and black front, long horn cattle with bent curved horns, Tamworth pigs with brown shaggy skin, geese and Gloucester cattle with white patches on their backs.

 The life of a prosperous landlord in 16^th century with age-old customs and practices is brought before our very eyes, and I could not but feel the impact of this type of life on Shakespeare’s plays which abound in lyrical descriptions of Nature, country pleasures, queer beliefs and superstitions  and folklore of those times. The custodians of this building organized nature trails, and demonstration shows so as to re-create the atmosphere those times and give a wealth of information about that age. Just beside this farm there was another farmhouse of Arden’s neighbor, Adam Palmer, called now “Palmer’s Farm”. It was acquired by Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1930. At first the authorities mistook Adams Farm as the residence of Mary Arden and only in 2000 they were able to find out the authentic building of Mary Arden. Arden’s Farm was taken under care by Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust in 1968 just as an adjoining building to Arden’s Farm. After 2000 they found out that it was the real residence of Mary Arden’s family. The rural Farm House with a spacious garden surrounded by woods and with enclosures for various animals and birds and the practical demonstration of country customs and various household activities enlighten and entertain all visitors irrespective of age and temperament.

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    25th May, 2014                                            Somaseshu Gutala

My visit to Anne Hathaway's Cottage at Shottery

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Anne Hathaway

   
           

Approach road to the cottage

Side view of the Cottage

Garden around the cottage

        

Anne Hathaway'a couch

Buttery

Parlour

 Just one mile away from Stratford-upon-Avon, located in the hamlet of Shottery,-- a picturesque spot with green woods and trees—is seen. That spot has become a tourist centre not just because of its natural beauty but because it was the native village of Anne Hathaway, the charming rustic lady, who made the famous bard fall in love with her and marry her, though he was younger than her by eight years. The marriage took place in a hurried manner as she was pregnant and the families on both sides wished to avoid getting bad name.

 We saw Anne Hathaway’s cottage—a farm house in Tudor style—built with walls of puddle mud, wattles and horse hair plaster with a thatched roof, having many jutting chimneys. The house has twelve rooms surrounded by beautiful gardens on both sides bordered with woods. The entrance hall served as a drawing room. Beside the fire place there was an elm-boarded settle (bench). It is said that Shakespeare used to sit here while courting his rustic mistress. On either side of the hall there is a kitchen and a room for buttery. There is a room for storing ale and provisions. The Elizabethans often drank ale instead of water as the water was not pure and they thought that it would make them sick. In the kitchen one can see a oven built into the brick wall with a wooden door in front. There are six bed rooms on upstairs. In one of the rooms there is a wooden bed with decorative carvings where Anne used to sleep. Next to Anne’s bed there is a plain-looking chair called “Shakespeare’s Chair.”

  Anne, the eldest of the eight children, though illiterate, learnt domestic work and other types of work. Her father, Richard Hathaway, a prosperous landlord and friend of Shakespeare’s father, had not lived to witness his daughter’s marriage with William Shakespeare. He died in September, 1581. Anne, already pregnant with a child, married in November, 1582 at Temple Grafton, a place just five miles from Stratford. This farm house called at that time as “New Land Farm” was later labeled as “Hathaway’s Cottage”. This spacious house was built in 1460s and was later extended till 1623. Nearly ninety-six acres of land were attached to this house. One can find the typical model of a country landlord’s house of Tudor times with simple furniture, farming tools and wooden beams supporting the roof. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust acquired it in 1892. Many plants along with a sculpture garden make this place more attractive and fascinating to the visitors.
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     17th May, 2014                                                                  Somaseshu Gutala

At Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon

Holy Trinity Church

Inner view

   

Shakespeare's tomb in chancel

Shakespeare's Coat-of -arms

     
       

The Font for Baptism

Shakespeare's funerary monument

         

        

             

After leaving the New Place we proceeded to see the Holy Trinity church situated in the Chapel Street where Shakespeare and his family members found their last resting place. This parish church is one of the most ancient churches in England. Its name was first mentioned in the charter of 845 A.D. signed by Beorhtwulf (Bertulf), king of Mercia, perhaps a wooden construction at that time. Later the Normans constructed a stone building. But no trace of these two constructions remains now. The present limestone building was constructed in the shape of a cross in 1210 by Hugh Clopton, a native of Stratford, who later became the Mayor of London. He also constructed the well-known Clopton bridge over the river Avon in 1480. The town guild maintained the church till 1330. Henry VIII suppressed the guild and gave their assets to the town council. Some of the carvings, chantry and the rood screen were destroyed by the zealous reformers of religion. Hugh Clopton re-built the chapel of the Guild of the Holy Cross and raised the roof  and re-built the nave with side aisles. He also had a magnificent tomb built for himself in the then Lady chapel (later named Clopton Chapel) with beautiful carvings.  But he died in London in 1496 and was buried in the parish church of St.Margaret, Lothbury. The descendants of his family, George Carew and his wife Joyce Clopton were buried in that tomb. The church compound gave a serene and pious atmosphere with rows of trees planted on both sides with many tombs seen here there with worn out inscriptions and with various sculptured figures in different sizes and shapes. The interior of the church seemed very grand with stained glass windows, paintings and sculptures. In the church we can see the old register in which Shakespeare’s date of baptism (26^rd April, 1564) and burial (25^th April.1616) were recorded in quaint Elizabethan handwriting. Shakespeare purchased a part of the income privileges (tithes) of the church for 440 pounds in 1605. Thus he got the right of being buried in the chancel in the interior part of the church just behind the pulpit. This right of burial was inherited by his family members. His wife, Ann Hathaway, his elder daughter, Susanna, his sons-in-law, John Hall and Thomas Nash were buried in the chancel. His granddaughter, Elizabeth, who married Barnard, died and was buried in Abington church in 1670.The tombs looked quite simple and plain without much sculpturesque decoration. The epitaph on the tomb with a note of gentle warnings says:

                                        “Good friend for Jesus sake forbear

                                         To dig the dust enclosed here

                                         Blessed be the man that spares these stones

                                         And cursed be he that moves my bones.”

Clopton Chapel

                                                                           

Row of misericords

Paintings om windows

Paintings of Saints on glass windows

                                                                   

Unicorn's picture

mermaids on misericord

 
















                                                                               

misericord

misericord

                     

To the left of Shakespeare’s bust there is another porch wherein we can the busts of William Clopton (1538-1592) and his wife Ann. William Clopton was the great grandson of John Clopton, younger brother of Hugh Clopton .On the table there is a bulky Bible chained to the desk just for the visitors to have a glance at it. The bard had read the same book whenever he came for prayers. We can also see the stone font which was used for baptism. Shakespeare might have been baptized with the holy water from the same font. We can also see the twenty-six beautiful wooden carvings called misericords or mercy seats(small wooden shelves or ledges artistically carved, fixed on the underside of folding seats to provide support to persons who stand during prayers for a long period) depicting the scenes of daily life and the pictures of mermaids, mermen and unicorns. Again we have to thank Hugh Clopton who liberally contributed for the renovation and beautification of this church. We can see the bust of Shakespeare just above to the left of Shakespeare’s tomb in a porch. This was commissioned by Ann Hathaway in 1623 and so it is certain that the carved bust looked similar to the poet in appearance. Just above the porch Shakespeare’s family’s coat-of-arms was carved. Gerard John made this bust probably based on Shakespeare’s death mask. All the members of Shakespeare’s family had been buried in this church premises except his brother Edmund,who went to London as a professional actor and died at the age of twenty-seven in 1607. His tomb is seen in the church of St.Mary Overy, where John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, dramatists for Kings’ Men, were buried in later times.

As we came out, the shady rows of trees, the wide porch and tall stained windows with paintings cast a deep and moving impression on our minds. We felt a sense of sacred touch and Shakespeare, himself, might have felt alike whenever he visited this place after his hectic schedule in London or during his later leisurely life after leaving his career as a playwright.

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    10th May, 2014                                                                            Somaseshu Gutala