On the way from York to London we stopped off at North Hampton to visit some friends and they were kind enough to show us around Stratford-upon-Avon. If the name is ringing a bell and you can't quite place it- it's where Shakespeare was born and grew up.
The house where Shakespeare grew up! (Or so they claim)
The room where Shakespeare was born (Probably!)
We went on a tour through the house, and it had a few actors posing in costume from that era, with the house recreated to how it might have looked. It was quite funny though, because there wasn't any hard proof that he actually had been born there, it just seemed that the general conclusion was that he most probably was as his family did live here. One of the rooms has a bit of graffiti from that are hundreds of years old and some are from celebrities that have come to visit over the years like Dickens, Keats, Thomas and Hardy. It is a bit of a mecca for fans through the ages.
The dinner table, with some gloves on show (Shakespeare's Daddy was a Glover) and we were told that you can see through his work that he mentions gloves a fair bit.
There was also the obligatory junk at the gift shop. I thought the above was particularly amusing. Action figure! Removable quill pen and book! Arms go up AND down!!! Wild!
Graham had also discovered that a house was in North Hampton that had been designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Mackintosh was a Glaswegian architect/designer/artist from the late 1800's. His work is very unusual and he worked on some major buildings throughout Scotland/England. The house we visited was 78 Derngate. The house has been lovingly restored to its former glory. I don't pretend to have a great deal of knowledge about this sort of thing- but I can only imagine the migraines you could have got from sitting in some of the rooms too long he he.
The dining room
Inside the lounge/sitting room (it's teeny tiny) facing the stair case
The intricately stencilled wallpaper (who knew they had fan heaters back then!)
The light fittings were all designed by Mackintosh too
Enjoying the stairs
Graham enjoying the bathroom, it was all very geometric. (We had to wear plastic booties lol)
The dizzy looking bedroom. Apparently the lady of the house was quite worried that guests wouldn't be able to sleep as the room was so busy. One guest was quick to reassure her that he didn't sleep with his eyes open.
The famous front door. This is a recreation, but the original is inside.
http://www.78derngate.org.uk/ If you wanted some better information.
xoxo Melaina & Graham
