William Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon

William Shakespeare · 1564-1616 · Stratford-upon-Avon

Explore the timber-framed house in Stratford-upon-Avon where William Shakespeare was born and where he lived until the early years of his marriage.

Schedule

9:00 to 17:00 in spring and autumn · until 17:30 in summer · 10:00 to 15:30 in winter

Admission

From about €25

Address

Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon

Visits

On your own

The house

The timber-framed house on Henley Street

In 1564, in a small town north-west of London, Stratford-upon-Avon, a boy was born and named William Shakespeare. He was the son of a glove-maker and a farmer's daughter, and no one could have imagined then that he would become one of the most famous writers in world literature.

He lived in this timber-framed house on Henley Street with his parents and his brothers and sisters for more than twenty years. It was the biggest house on the street, so when he married Anne Hathaway he carried on living here with her for another five years. When William was four, his father, John Shakespeare, was elected mayor of the town, and thanks to that the boy was able to study at the local grammar school.

When John died, in 1601, William inherited the house and let part of it, which became an inn, the Maidenhead. After the playwright's death the house passed to his descendants and gradually fell into disrepair. In 1847 it was bought to protect it and restored to its 16th-century appearance, and today it is run by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

The timber-framed house on Henley Street, the biggest on the whole street. Photo: J Scott (CC BY-SA 2.0).

What you'll see on the visit

The gardens

They welcome you to this 16th-century house, which still keeps its original timber frame.

The family rooms

You'll walk through the rooms where Shakespeare ate, slept and played as a child, looking just as they did in his day.

A house with illustrious visitors

Before you, writers such as Charles Dickens, John Keats, Walter Scott and Thomas Hardy came through here.

The “Famous Beyond Words” exhibition

It opened in 2016, marking 400 years since Shakespeare's death, and looks back at his life and main works, with a timeline of his family.

Additional information

From London

If you're travelling from London, the Shakespeare literary route through Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford is a day trip in Spanish that includes admission to this house (if you choose the option with tickets), Warwick Castle and a guided tour of Oxford.