Despite its worldwide fame, Stratford-upon-Avon is essentially an insignificant fair town with ordinary residents. Its first settlers first forded the River Avon, then built a bridge across it and began to develop trade relations with the farmers who plowed the nearby plains. The charter to hold a weekly market in Stratford was received in the 12th century; the tradition has survived to this day; later the city became a stopping place for postal communications between London and the North.
Like all such places, Stratford-upon-Avon had a clear system of class divisions, and in this typical environment John and Mary Shakespeare occupied a place in the middle, and would have been forgotten long ago if their first-born, William, had not become the world's greatest writer. who has ever written in English. The consequence of its good fortune is that this ordinary little town is today suffocated by tourists and their luggage, and, at least in the summer, its central streets groan under the weight of thousands of tourists.
Stratford railway station is on the north-west end of the town, a ten-minute walk from the centre. Now this is the last station of the line. It receives hourly trains from Moor Street and Snow Hill stations and very frequent trains from London Paddington and Marylebone. Local bus services arrive and depart from Bridge Street in the center National Express and most other long-distance and regional bus routes are concentrated at Riverside station at the eastern end of the city centre, near Bridge-way.
The tourist office (Monday-Saturday 9.30-17.00, Sunday 10.30-16.30) is located a couple of minutes' walk from the bus station near the bridge and the junction of Bridgeway and Bridgefoot streets. There is a wealth of information on local attractions and an accommodation service, which is very useful in mid-summer when the choice of rooms can be quite limited. They also have bus schedules and sell bus tickets.
- Where to Stay in Stratford-upon-Avon (England)
As one of the most visited tourist destinations in Stratford-upon-Avon, accommodation is quite expensive and even these accommodations must be booked in advance. During peak season and during Shakespeare's birthday celebrations on 23 April, advance reservations are essential. There are a couple of dozen hotels in the city, the best choice being in the old half-timbered houses right in the city center, but most visitors choose Bed and Breakfast.
Hotels (boarding houses) of this system are scattered throughout the city, in all parts of Stratford, but there are especially many of them in the south-west of the center, around Grove Road, Evesham Place and Broad Walk ). The travel agency has an efficient and very helpful Accommodation Booking Hotline (£3).
I). Hotels and pensions Bed and Breakfast
1). Hotel Best Western Grosvenor“The inn occupies a row of pleasant, two-storey Georgian houses. The interior is lively and modern, with ample parking at the rear. Short stays and interrupted stays with return are possible. Location: close to the canal, a couple of minutes walk from the city center;
2). Falcon Hotel– The hotel is conveniently located in the city center, has a façade half made of wood, which dates back to the 16th century, but most of The house is an unremarkable modern reconstruction. Location: Chapel Street;
3). Payton Hotel– Located at the northern end of the city centre, a couple of minutes' walk from Shakespeare House Museum. This comfortable hotel is set in an attractive Georgian town house on a quiet residential street. The hotel is family owned and has five comfortable rooms. Location: 6 John Street;
5). Woodstock Guest House– Nice and clean Bed and Breakfast 5 minutes walk from the center, at the start of the route to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. It has five very comfortable rooms, all suites. Credit cards not accepted. Location: 30 Grove Road.
II). Hostel in Stratford-upon-Avon
1). Hostel Stratford-upon-Avon“This hostel occupies a rambling Georgian mansion at the end of the pretty village of Alveston. There are dormitories and family rooms, some suites, plus laundry, Internet access, parking and the ability to cook your own meals. You can also get breakfast and hot dishes for dinner. Located 2 miles east of the city center on the B-4086, there are regular buses from Stratford's Riverside Station. Open all year round. Place – £16. Location: Hemmingford House, Alveston.
Attractions in Stratford-upon-Avon
Spreading back from the River Avon, Stratford's town center is flat and compact, its mostly modern houses forming a simple grid, or lattice, just two blocks deep and four blocks long. Running along the northern edge of the center is Bridge Street, the city's main artery, lined with shops and crowded with local buses. At its western end, Bridge Street divides into Henley Street, where Shakespeare's Birthplace Museum is located, and Wood Street, which leads to the market square.
It also intersects with High Street. It, and its continuation Chapel Street and Church Street, run south, passing most of the old houses the town still possesses, most notably Nash's House and the neighboring Old Town Street, Hall's Croft. From here it's a short walk to the charming Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried, and a few more minutes' walk back along the riverside to the theaters at the foot of Bridge Street.
By itself, this circular walk will take no more than 15 minutes, but it will take the whole day if you explore the sights. There are also two Shakespearean properties, Anne Hathaway Cottage in Shottery and Mary Arden's House in Wilmcote - but you'd have to be a very serious sightseeing person to want see them all.
The main place of worship for all Shakespeare lovers is the Birthplace Museum, located on Henley Street (June-August Monday-Saturday 9.00-17.00, Sunday 9.30-17.00, April-May and September-October Monday-Saturday 10.00-17.00, Sunday 10.30-17.00, November-March Monday-Saturday 10.00-16.00, Sunday 10.30-16.00, £6.50). It includes a modern visitor center and the much-restored half-timber building where the great man was born. The visitor center has delved into every corner of Shakespeare's life and times, squeezing everything it can out of even the less obvious.
The will is interesting in that he left all kinds of goods to his daughter, and very little to his wife - the museum's commentary tries to smooth out this apparent contradiction, but does not convince. Nearby there is a half-timbered dwelling, in which today two houses are combined into one. The northern half, today decorated in the style of a 16th-century domestic interior, was the workroom of the poet's father, who is thought to have worked as a glover, but some believe he was a wool merchant or even a butcher.
It is also unknown whether Shakespeare was born in this house on April 23, 1564 - only that he was baptized on April 26, and it is impossible to resist the temptation to believe that the national poet was born three days earlier, on St. George's Day. In the southern half of the building - purchased by John Shakespeare in 1556 - there is a modest exhibition of objects from the period, which should illuminate a life that remains completely mysterious.
- Nash House and New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon (England)
Walk south along High Street from the junction of Bridge Street and Henley Street and you will soon come to Nash's House, which is located on Chapel Street ) (June-August Monday-Saturday 9.30-17.00, Sunday 10.00-17.00, April-May and September-October daily 11.00-17.00, November-March daily 11.00-16.00, £3.50). It was formerly the property of Thomas Nash, the first husband of Shakespeare's granddaughter, Elizabeth Hall. The ground floor of the house is now furnished with a pleasant assortment of furniture from the period.
Upstairs, an exhibition showcases the history of Stratford in pottery, including an assortment of archaeological bits and pieces, and other interesting places in the house, such as a study with carvings of mulberry wood that used to stand here in the street. Rumor has it that it was planted by Shakespeare and cut down in the 1750s by the owner, one Reverend Francis Gastrell, because he was tired of Shakespeare's many fans. An enterprising woodcarver bought it and carved designs on it in memory of Shakespeare - the carving is now in his study.
The adjoining gardens contain the exposed foundations of New Place (same opening hours). Shakespeare's last residence, which was destroyed by the same Reverend Gastrell, but for a different reason - Gastrell was in a fierce battle with the city council over taxes.
A new mulberry tree has been planted to replace the old one near the foundations of New Place, and there are others in the adjoining Great Garden (March-October Monday-Saturday 9am to dark, Sunday 10am to dark, November-February Monday- Saturday 9.00-16.00, Sunday 12.00-16.00, free), it is a formal place with a trimmed garden, lawns and flower beds. The path goes to the Great Garden from New Place, but main entrance located on Chapel Lane. One of the mulberries - there is a board with a sign on it - was planted by a certain lady Peggy Ashcroft.
At the other end of Chapel Lane stands the Guild Chapel, whose squat tower and strong stonework conceal a simple interior, enlivened by several garish glass windows and faded wall paintings above a triumphal arch. The adjacent King Edward VI Grammar School, where Shakespeare is believed to have attended, is included in the winding line of 15th-century almshouses that runs along Church Street.
- Halls Croft House in Stratford-upon-Avon (England)
Chapel Street continues south as Church Street. At the end turn left along Old Town Street to see the Birthplace Trust's most impressive medieval house, Hall's Croft (June-August Monday-Saturday 9.30am-5pm, Sunday 10am-5pm, April-May and September -October daily 11.00-17.00, November-March daily 11.00-16.00, £3.50). Formerly the home of Shakespeare's eldest daughter, Susannah, and her husband, Dr John Hall, the immaculately kept farmhouse, the small house, with creaky wooden floors, beamed ceilings and a handsome row of utensils in the kitchen, contains a pleasing hodgepodge of period furniture. and - mainly upstairs - an impressive exhibition on Elizabethan medicine.
Hall had an established reputation for his own methods of healing. And after his death, some of his notes describing individual cases of his patients were published in a volume entitled “Selected Observations on English Organisms.” You can study extracts from Hall's book - it notes in particular that Joan Chidkin from Southam "vomited twice and stooled twice" after his arms and thighs began to tremble, which bothered him greatly, and then suffered from the use of eye tweezers when wetting the eye and from other procedures. The best view of the building itself is from the rear, from the neat walled garden.
Near All's Croft, Old Town Street turns right and reaches the slender Holy Trinity Church (April-September Monday-Saturday 8.30-18.00, and Sunday 12.15-17.00, March-October Monday-Saturday 9.00-17.00, Sunday 12.15-17.00, November-February Monday-Saturday 9.00-16.00, Sunday 12.15-17.00, free). Its softened, honey-colored stonework dates back to the 13th century. Enhanced by its riverside location and bordered by the yew and weeping willows of the churchyard, the proud and dignified proportions of this church, which embody the quintessential tradition of English churches, were the result of alterations and alterations, culminating in the replacement of the original wooden spire with a modern stone version in 1763.
Upon entering, at the second door, the Sanctuary Knocker recalls the times of the Middle Ages, when local criminals could seek refuge from the law here, but only for 37 days. This, as local custom dictated, was enough for them to come to an agreement with their pursuers. Inside, the nave is bathed in light from the upper row of windows, some of them of stained glass and dating from before the 14th century. Unusually, the nave is positioned slightly obliquely from the altar, presumably to represent the head of Christ tilted towards the cross.
In the north wing, next to the transept, is Clopton Chapel, which contains the stone tomb of George Carew - an extravagant Renaissance piece, decorated with military symbols, in keeping with George's position as Master of Artillery under James I. But poor old George has long been forgotten, unlike William Shakespeare, who is buried in the chancel (£1). Above his remains are a calm and painstakingly executed plaque and portrait, added seven years after his death.
- Theaters and Gower Monument in Stratford-upon-Avon (England)
Walking back from the church, turn right along Southern Lane and its Waterside extension to reach the two Royal Shakespeare Company theatres, the Swan Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Under Shakespeare, there was no theater in Stratford, and the first city festival in his honor did not take place until 1769, on the orders of the resident David Garrick. After this, the idea of building a permanent home in which to perform Shakespeare's plays slowly gestated and waited until finally, in 1879, the first Memorial Theater opened on land donated by local beer baron Charles Flower.
In front of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the manicured lawns of the small riverside park stretch north to the Bancroft Basin, where the Stratford Canal meets the river. The reservoir is usually crowded with kayaks (Narrowboats). In a small park on the river bank, at the far end, behind a small humpbacked footbridge, is the beautiful Gower Memorial of 1888, which depicts a seated Shakespeare surrounded by characters from his plays.
Anne Hathaway's Cottage (June-August Monday-Saturday 9.00-17.00, Sunday 9.30-17.00, April, May, September and October Monday-Saturday 9.30-17.00, Sunday 10.00-17.00, November-March daily 10.00-16.00 , £5) is also owned by the Birthplace Trust and is located a mile west of the center on the landscaped outskirts of Shottery. Shottery Cottage - now an old farmhouse - is a perfectly kept, half-timbered building with a thatched roof and a smart little fireplace.
- Mary Arden's house in Stratford-upon-Avon (England)
Birtplace Trust also owns Mary Arden's House (June-August Monday-Saturday 9.30-17.00, Sunday 10.00-17.00, April, May, September and October Monday-Saturday 10.00-17.00, Sunday 10.30-17.00, November-March daily 10.00-16.00, £5.50). It is located 3 miles northwest of the city center in the Village of Wilmcote. Mary was Shakespeare's mother, and at the death of her father, Robert, in 1556, she was his only unmarried daughter.
Mary, unusually for the time, inherited the house and land, becoming one of the wealthiest local women - John Shakespeare, eager to improve his position, married her within a year. The house is an example of a well-stocked Elizabethan farmhouse, and although the will is rather sparse, a platoon of guides will give you every detail of family life and traditions.
Food and drink in Stratford-upon-Avon
The English city of Stratford-upon-Avon usually feeds and waters thousands of guests, so finding something to eat is not that difficult. The problem is that many places are designed to cater to day trippers as quickly as possible - without going into the finer points of gastronomic pleasures. This means there is a group of very good restaurants, some of which have been favored by theatergoers for many years, and a host of pubs and cafes serving good food too. The most best restaurants concentrated along Sheep Street, which runs from Waterside near the theaters.
I). Restaurants and cafes in Stratford-upon-Avon (England)
1). Kingfisher Fish Bar– The best place in town for fish and chips. You can take food to go, or you can eat while sitting there. 5 minutes walk from the theaters. Opening hours: closed on Sundays. Location: 13 Ely Street;
2). Lamb's Restaurant– Excellent restaurant serving stylish English and continental food – mouth-watering – in a period setting – beamed ceilings and all. Expensive. Location: 12 Sheep Street;
3). Restaurant Malbec– A pleasant and intimate restaurant serving top quality seafood and meat dishes, often with a Mediterranean touch. Expensive. Location: 6 Union Street;
4). Cafe The Orro– Top notch, creative international cuisine, in a lively but pleasant atmosphere. The daily specials, chalked out on the board outside, are excellent. Prices are moderate. Location: 13 Sheep Street;
5). Cafe Russons– Excellent but not cheap cuisine, interesting meat and vegetarian dishes on the main menu, and a wide selection of seafood dishes. Opening hours: closed on Sundays and Mondays. Prices are moderate. Location: 8 Church Street.
II). Pubs in Stratford-upon-Avon (England)
1). Dirty Duck Pub– The archetypal actors' pub, filled with gunwales, with vocal support every night from RSC employees and their hangers-on. Classic beers in traditional premises, with an attractive terrace. Location: 53 Waterside.
2). Windmill Inn Pub– Popular pub with cozy little rooms, low beamed ceilings. A good choice types of beer Flowers. Location: Church Street.
The monument, by Gerard Johnson, is carved from pale blue limestone and placed on the north wall of the chancel. The monument is made in the form of a half-length sculpture of Shakespeare with a quill pen in his right hand, his left hand lies on a sheet of paper, and both of them rest on a sack of wool - a symbol of the prosperity of this region. Shakespeare is depicted as a sculptor wearing a buttoned doublet, probably originally scarlet, with brown eyes, brown hair and a beard. This style of depiction was most often used in the making of monuments to theologians, scientists and representatives of other professions associated with mental work. This sculpture is considered one of two images depicting the appearance of William Shakespeare. Two Corinthian columns of black polished marble, framing the sculpture of the playwright, support a cornice on which there are two small figures of cherubs: the left one with a shovel in his hands represents work, the right one with a skull and an overturned torch - peace. Between the cherubs is the coat of arms of the Shakespeare family, which depicts a crest and a heraldic shield, carved in bas-relief on a rectangular stone slab. The upper part of the monument is made in the form of a pyramid, on top of which there is another skull - with empty eye sockets and without a lower jaw. The architraves, frieze and cornice were originally made of white alabaster, which was replaced in 1749 by white marble.
Epitaph
Below the figure of Shakespeare is a plaque engraved with an epitaph in Latin and a poem in English. The epitaph reads: IVDICIO PYLIUM, GENIO SOCRATEM, ARTE MARONEM, TERRA TEGIT, POPULUS MÆRET, OLYMPUS HABET The first line of the epitaph translates as “Pylos in court, Socrates in genius, Maro in art” - an allegorical comparison of Shakespeare with the wise king of Pylos, Nestor, the Greek philosopher Socrates and the Roman poet Virgil (one of whose names was Maro). The second line: “The earth buries (him), the people groan, Olympus possesses (him)” - likens Shakespeare to the Greek Olympian gods.
Initially, on this site there was a monastery and a small settlement (which developed around the monastery), known since 691, just where the church of St. Trinity Church.
In William the Conqueror's land inventory of England, Stratford appears as a small estate belonging to Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester. 
In the 12th century, King Richard I allowed weekly markets to be held in Stratford on Thursdays. In medieval England there were cities with self-government, permitted by the king on the basis of a charter (there were trade guilds) and settlements near monasteries, entirely dependent on them and not having self-government rights (with parish guilds). In the first case, income from fairs went in the form of taxes to the royal treasury (therefore, kings willingly gave charters), and in the second, to monasteries.
It is quite possible that the first such market was opened on Rother Market Street (highlighted on the map with red dots) 
and perhaps later - at the intersection of Bridge Street, Henley Street and High Street. 
In the 16th century, a wooden market building with open facades, four pillars supporting the upper floor, and a dome containing a clock tower was built at this intersection. 
But, first of all, this city is famous for the fact that the English playwright was born here William Shakespeare.
Pedestrian Henley Street. 
Shown here is a fragment of the wall of the house, showing the original material used in the construction of the house. 
Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564 Holy Trinity Church(the same one around which the settlement was originally formed), he is buried here. 
A transept from the mid-13th century has been preserved here. 
The church stands on the banks of the River Avon. 
Almost everywhere in England you can see how its residents look after their gardens. Peter Jackson, who directed The Lord of the Rings, did not deny that he took England and the English as the prototype of the Hobbitania and the Shire and the hobbits themselves, who were in awe of everything that grows. 
Chapel street (Chapel st.) At the end of the street is the Guild Chapel. 
Guild Chapel. 
There is an old building adjacent to the chapel King Edward VI School.
16th century 
It is believed that Shakespeare studied here. 
After his return from London, the playwright lived in a house that is known as "New Place", opposite the Guild Chapel, on the corner of Chapel Street and Chapel Lane, built at the end of the 15th century by Sir Hugh Clopton. 
Shakespeare purchased this building in 1597. The house had ten fireplaces, adjacent to it were two barns, two vegetable gardens and two orchards, and there was a well in the yard. New Place remained in Shakespeare's ownership until his death. 
In the city there is also a house where Shakespeare's daughter lived for some time with her husband - the so-called. House of Doctor Hall (Hall's Croft).
At the same time, little historical evidence has been preserved about the life of Shakespeare, so in some scientific circles there is a version that "William Shakespeare" is a pseudonym, under which another person or group of persons was hiding (most likely, with the knowledge of the real Shakespeare from Stratford. This theory is popular in culture, although it is rejected by the overwhelming majority of Shakespeare scholars.
The William Shakespeare House Museum is located on Henley Street, where the poet was born. This Tudor-style house was divided into two parts for many years, but has now been reunited. The Swan and the Mermaid's Head pub used to be here, but in 1847 the building was bought by the state, reconstructed and newly furnished. One of the rooms known as the "Bard's Birth Room" may not have been the place where he was actually born. It was chosen at random by the actor David Garrick in 1769. The names of people who became famous in the literary and theatrical world are scratched on the window glass: Thomas Carlyle, Henry Irving, Isaac Watt, Ellen Terry, Walter Scott. The garden around the house is planted with flowers, herbs and trees that are mentioned in the works of Shakespeare.
At the end of Henley Street, turn right onto High Street. Here on the corner stands Judith Shakespeare's house, where the poet's daughter Judith lived and is now a shop. Long before Shakespeare was born, this building was the city prison.
Outside the city council building stands a beautiful monument to Shakespeare, donated to the city in 1769 by David Garrick, who did much to revive the nation's interest in the playwright.
Harvard House, 1596, is also on High Street. (closed from Nov to May). The mother of John Harvard, one of the first American colonists, who bequeathed his property in 1638 to the future Harvard University, was born here.
The High Street becomes Chapel Street, where Nash's house stands, now the local historical Museum. This site was the site of New Place House, where Shakespeare moved in 1610 and where he died in 1616.
Other attractions
In the Guild Chapel, built in the 13th-15th centuries, on the wall above the altar is a scene of the Last Judgment, written shortly before the birth of Shakespeare.
Church Street leads into the Old Town, where Halls Croft stands, a house with a projecting upper storey.
Shakespeare's daughter Suzanne lived here with her doctor husband John Hall. The house houses an exhibition of medical instruments of that time.
In the Old Town, above the River Avon, sits the golden-gray Holy Trinity Church. Behind the altar rail lie Shakespeare, his wife, daughter and son-in-law. They may give you an extract from the parish register of the birth and death of the poet. Admire the 19th-century stained glass window, a gift from Shakespeare fans in the United States. Shown here are the seven ages of man from the comedy As You Like It.
From the church, a path leads along the river to the massive red building of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, open since 1932. Here the Royal Shakespeare Company performs the Bard's plays. If you want to get into the city center, turn left onto the bridge behind the theater.
