Wednesday 11 July 2007

Stratford-upon-Avon ~ 10 July 2007

The Shakespeare Houses in Stratford-upon-Avon:

1) Shakespeare's Birthplace--
The site consists of a museum and a tour of the Shakespeare family home. The museum provides historic information about Elizabethan England and displays documents and artifacts related to William Shakespeare's birth, childhood, family, education, marriage, career, and death. Some examples of materials in the collection include a model of The Globe Theatre and a 1576 Bible. In the Shakespeare home, historical interpreters are situated in every main room (total of four) to provide more detailed information.
I was not expecting the Shakespeare home to be as big as it was. I had been under the impression that Shakespeare came from a lower-class, poorly-educated home situation. But his father was actually a well-known leader in the town, and William did go to school until he was around 15 or 16.

2) New Place/Nash's House--
Nash's House is where Shakespeare's grand-daughter Elizabeth lived when she married John Nash. A portion of the home has been preserved, where authentic furniture and other artifacts are displayed, while the rest of the home is used as a museum to display historical information about book-printing, with an emphasis on Shakespeare's complete works. Nash's House also has significance in that it is a good example of what a wealthy home looked like in the 17th century. There was one guide to introduce the exhibit. New Place was the home in which Shakespeare lived when he returned from London and where he died; however all that remains today of the house are a few arches.
What I found interesting about this site was the video demonstration of book printing, and there was a feature that allowed visitors to electronically simulate turning pages of an old manuscript by touching a computer screen.

3) Hall's Croft--
Hall's Croft was the home of John Hall, a doctor who married Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna. We were able to tour the home and see artifacts of furniture and art from the 17th century. There was also an exhibit set up with artifacts and information about 17th century medicine. There were no guides throughout the exhibit.
It was neat to observe the progression from Shakespeare's birthplace to the Nash house to Hall's Croft. The homes got increasingly larger and more advanced in structure (for example, the kitchen in Hall's Croft contained a mechanism to lift food and turn it above the fireplace, showing more advanced technology than the manual spits in the previous homes).

All of these sites are operated and funded by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, an educational charity that includes staff in Education, Estates, Library, and Museums departments. The Education department has three staff members, two lecturers and the Head of Education. The Trust is independent from any government funding, so its funding mainly comes from admission charges and from donations. The Friends of the Trust is an organization set up to help raise money for the Trust.

I enjoyed exploring a behind-the-scenes perspective of the Shakespeare House museums. Not only did I learn more about Shakespeare's life and works, but I now have a better idea of what goes into the process of preserving artifacts, displaying and organizing them for public appreciation, and promoting education.

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