Roger Pringle from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust looks at the thriving market town that was Shakespeare's Stratford.

16TH CENTURY STRATFORD

Located in the centre of England, Elizabethan Stratford was an important river-crossing settlement and regional centre. Farmers and villagers from a wide area crossed the Avon on the fine medieval bridge to attend the weekly markets.

The main market cross, the medieval High Cross, stood at the junction of High Street and Bridge Street. William Shakespeare's father, a trained glove-maker, and his fellow glovers sold their wares.

TRADE

SHAKESPEARE'S COUNTRYSIDE

Shakespeare seems to have been influenced by the countryside around Stratford. His works contain many references to wild flowers, animals and birds, rural characters and country customs.

The Elizabethan market town of Stratford-upon-Avon was situated in rural England surrounded by countryside. A journey from Stratford-upon-Avon to London, would have been a four days of walking in Elizabethan England. The population of Elizabethan Stratford upon Avon had about 1,500 inhabitants.

New Place

Shakespeare's success in the London theatres made him wealthy and in 1597 he bought New Place, one of the largest houses in Stratford. Although his professional career was spent in London, he maintained close links with his native town. Further property investments in Stratford followed, including the purchase of 107 acres of land in 1602.