Shakespeare’s legacy
Warwickshire has a stronger claim than almost any other county to have shaped the cultural life of the English-speaking world. It is the county that gave us William Shakespeare - and the cluster of heritage sites in and around Stratford-upon-Avon dedicated to his life, family, and education is without parallel anywhere on earth.
Shakespeare's Birthplace
Location: Stratford-upon-Avon
Address: Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6QW
Speciality: Life and times of William Shakespeare
Standing on Henley Street in the heart of Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's Birthplace is the restored half-timbered house where the world's most celebrated playwright was born in 1564 and spent his formative years. Managed by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, the house combines original fabric with carefully researched period furnishings to recreate the atmosphere of a prosperous Elizabethan glovemaker's household. Visitors can stand in the room believed to be William's birthplace, examine fascinating artefacts relating to his life and work, and explore the adjoining Shakespeare Centre, which houses an important library and archive. The garden, planted with flowers and herbs mentioned in the plays, provides a tranquil conclusion to the visit.
Anne Hathaway's Cottage
Location: Shottery, Stratford-upon-Avon
Address: Cottage Lane, Shottery, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 9HH
Speciality: Tudor farmhouse and childhood home of Shakespeare's wife
Set in the picturesque hamlet of Shottery on the outskirts of Stratford, Anne Hathaway's Cottage is one of the most recognisable historic houses in England. This thatched Tudor farmhouse was the childhood home of the woman William Shakespeare married in 1582, and it remained in the Hathaway family until 1892. Visitors can walk through rooms furnished with items that belonged to the family - including a settle said to have been Shakespeare's courting seat - and wander the beautiful cottage garden and orchard. A sculpture trail threaded through the grounds adds a contemporary artistic dimension, while the surrounding countryside evokes the rural Warwickshire Shakespeare knew intimately.
Nash's House & New Place
Location: Stratford-upon-Avon
Address: Chapel Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6EP
Speciality: Shakespeare's final home and Elizabethan garden; local history
Nash's House stands next door to the site of New Place, the grand Stratford mansion that William Shakespeare purchased in 1597 and where he retired and died in 1616. The house itself - once home to Shakespeare's granddaughter Elizabeth - now contains exhibits charting local history from prehistoric times to Shakespeare's own era, including displays on Elizabethan and Jacobean Stratford. Adjacent to the house, the reconstructed Elizabethan knot garden marks the footprint of New Place, which was controversially demolished in the 18th century. Together, they form one of Stratford's most thought-provoking heritage sites, balancing what survives with an honest reckoning of what has been lost.
Shakespeare's Schoolroom & Guildhall
Location: Stratford-upon-Avon
Address: Church Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6HB
Speciality: Medieval Guildhall and restored schoolroom where Shakespeare was educated
This extraordinary survival of medieval civic architecture brings visitors face to face with the very room where William Shakespeare received his education in the 1570s. The restored schoolroom occupies the upper floor of the Guildhall of the Holy Cross, a building that dates back to the 13th century and once served as the administrative and ceremonial heart of Stratford. Visitors can sit at the original desks, handle replica quill pens, and experience the kind of rigorous classical education that shaped Shakespeare's imagination and vocabulary. The Guildhall below, with its remarkable painted wooden ceiling and long history of civic life, adds further depth to a visit that feels both scholarly and genuinely moving.
Hall's Croft (currently closed to the public)
Location: Stratford-upon-Avon
Address: Old Town, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6BG
Speciality: 17th century home of Shakespeare's daughter; Jacobean domestic life and medicine
Hall's Croft is an exceptionally well-preserved Jacobean townhouse that was the home of Shakespeare's eldest daughter Susanna and her husband Dr John Hall, a respected physician. Furnished to reflect the couple's prosperous early 17th century lifestyle, the house contains fascinating displays relating to Hall's medical practice - including his famous casebook - alongside furniture, portraits and domestic objects of the period. The walled garden, one of the loveliest in Stratford, is planted with herbs that Hall would have used in his remedies. As part of the Shakespeare family homes managed by the Birthplace Trust, Hall's Croft offers a quieter, more contemplative counterpoint to the bustle of the Birthplace itself.
Mary Arden's Farm (open to school parties only)
Location: Wilmcote, Stratford-upon-Avon
Address: Station Road, Wilmcote, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 9UN
Speciality: 16th century working Tudor farm, childhood home of Shakespeare's mother
Located in the village of Wilmcote a few miles from Stratford, Mary Arden's Farm is the working Tudor farmstead where Shakespeare's mother grew up before her marriage to John Shakespeare. Operated by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, this living history attraction brings the 16th century vividly to life through costumed interpreters demonstrating traditional crafts, rare breeds of farm animals, and daily activities that would have been familiar to a prosperous yeoman household of the era. The farm buildings, including a magnificent timber-framed barn and dovecote, have survived largely intact, offering an authentic glimpse into the agricultural world that shaped England's greatest literary genius.
Warwickshire's museums - find your story
Warwickshire's museums span two thousand years of history, from Roman cavalry forts and medieval abbeys to the birthplace of rugby and the workshop of the world's greatest playwright.
There is far more to explore than any single visit can cover - discover our broad choice of museums