Monday- Stratford Upon Avon

Monday, we got up waaaaaaay to early. Or at least I did. 3:30 am was too early. We had to catch a train out of Marylebone Station by 6:45 am. I was extremely grumpy, under slept and pissed about the train tickets. I was also freezing most of the time because I forgot my sweater. I got a little bit of sleep on the 2 hour train ride.

The first thing I saw when I woke up in Stratford Upon Avon was a Hyundai dealership. That kind of put a damper on it. The town gets its name because it was originally just a ford across the river Avon. A bridge and street were build where the ford was and the old English for street was strat. Hence, Strat (street) ford Upon Avon.

We had about two hours before the walking tour that we planned on so we walked from the train station towards to the river. We had second breakfast at the lovely restaurant called Loxley's, where I had the best eggs royale and we finally got a waiter who didn't leave us hanging for 30 minutes.

 

Breakfast was crumpets and clotted cream, which is AWESOME.

Marylebone Station

American Fountain, a gift from George Childs. Across the street is a famous building called Old Thatch Tavern. It's the only remaining thatched building in Stratford. It's supposedly haunted by the ghost of James Pinfield, a man killed by a mob.

A lot of the streets look like this. Some of the building are original Tudor, but many of them are fake. You can tell the difference because on the new buildings, the timbers are just painted on.

Swan Theatre, old part

Swan Theatre, new part

WWI Memorial

Church of the Holy Trinity, where Shakespeare is buried

Clopton chapel

Pipes from the organ

Clopton Chapel

Entry to the chancel when Shakespeare is buried.

Misericord, or "Mercy Seat." These are the underside of a folding bench meant to give the priest somewhere to lean against during long periods of standing.

Chancel

From left to right, Shakepeare; Anne Hathaway; their daughter, Susanna; and her husband, John Hall.

The curse on Shakespeare's grave (probably written and placed there by his family):

Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,

To digg the dvst encloased heare.

Bleste be ye man yt spares thes stones,

And cvrst be he yt moves my bones.

There's not a definite reason why his grave is cursed, but the thought is that bones were usually dug up after a few years, dried out in a charnel house, and then burned in a bonfire (hence the origin of the word, "bone" fire). The family probably didn't want this to happen after paying a ton of money to be buried in the chancel so they "cursed" the grave. 

I highly recommend the walking tour. The guide was informative and entertaining and it's only £5 per person. In addition to the tour, it gives you discounts around the town, including a 2-for-1 deal to the Shakespeare houses. The website says it's only for the 5 house pass, but it's good for all of the passes, including the pass of the houses only in town that also includes free admission to Shakespeare's grave (normally a £2 fee).

Shakespeare's birthplace. The house building on the right was originally John Shakespeare's (William's father) glove making workshop, tannery, and where he ran his (illegal) money lending business.

The house in the middle was eventually taken over by Shakespeare's family and where he grew up. The house on the left was bought by William Shakespeare later and given to his sister to live in. Eventually the entirety was inherited by his daughter, Susanna.  

Town Hall

Buildings like this were built for the Shakespeare Jubilee in 1769, organized by David Garrick.

Guild Chapel

Guild Chapel on the left, Shakespeare's school on the right

The gardens of Nash's House. Pictures inside the houses was prohibited.

Back garden at Nash's Place

The back garden is full of sculptures representing Shakespeare plays. This one was the Tempest.

This is next to Nash's House. It was the location of New Place, the last house where Shakespeare lived and where he died. It was bought in 1753 by  Reverend Francis Gastrell, but he got so irritated by people peeping in the windows to see the building that he razed the building to the foundation and it was never rebuilt. He eventually was run out of town because of it.

Lunch was fish and chips at a restaurant called Barnaby's. I wouldn't really recommend it. This picture doesn't do any justice to how BIG this was. It was like a serving platter. I ate about half the fish and a 1/3 of the chips. Also, getting charged for ketchup-NOT COOL.

The old Roman bridge that was built in place of the ford crossing the Avon.

The Shakespeare Memorial

With weird corners.

We bought pasties in Stratford and carried them home. They were tasty. It was like a rich stew in a flaky crust. I'm a fan.

If we were ever to do Stratford again, I'd probably want to stay overnight and do the ghost walk tour. That way you're not a the mercy of the train times and there's a place to go to if you get tired and need a break.