's Birthplace

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1564, was brought up and educated there and married a woman from the nearby hamlet of Shottery. Later he bought property in and around the town, including one of the largest houses, New Place. Following his death there, in 1616, he was buried in the parish church. Throughout his life, then, he remained in close touch with his native town, even though, at the height of his career, much of his time was spent in London. The Stratford he knew was certainly very different from today's - in size, smell, noise and general atmosphere. But in one respect it was the same, for Stratford, by the standards of the time, was busy, just as it is now, an essential feature of any successful town. At the same time, it was a period of great change. The townscape was transformed during his lifetime as a result of three disastrous fires; there were near-famine conditions at the end of the century, reducing a third of the population to poverty; plague and other devastating epidemics were a constant threat; and religious differences could flare into physical violence.