Summer fun at The Shakespeare Houses
Celebrate summer at The Shakespeare Houses with an exciting programme of events taking place throughout the school holidays.
From writing sonnets, dressing up in Tudor clothes to walks from cradle to grave and fairy trails, there is something for everyone to enjoy this summer at the beautiful and historic Shakespeare Houses in Stratford-upon-Avon.
From Saturday 3 July – Sunday 5 September visitors can enjoy a host of activities at Shakespeare’s Birthplace. Younger visitors can take part in a “Children’s Trail” which takes them on an adventure around the house & gardens. Each day players from “Shakespeare Aloud” will bring Shakespeare’s works to life in and around the Birthplace and garden. On Mondays & Fridays, from 3pm – 6pm, “Write a Sonnet” will provide visitors with a fun experience in writing poetry and understanding the rules to which a sonnet conforms.
On Tuesdays & Thursdays visitors can take part in the new “Cradle to Grave” walks from 9.30am – 11.30am & from 4pm – 6pm. Accompanied by a house guide, visitors can experience the life of Shakespeare from his Birthplace to his final resting place. The walk takes in many period features of the town including the Guild Chapel and Hall’s Croft. On Wednesdays visitors can hear the songs of Shakespeare’s times performed by house minstrels with “Tudor Songs in the Garden” from 3pm – 6.30pm.
“Kids Sundays” will take place on Sundays from 9am – 6.30pm giving children the opportunity of dressing up in Tudor clothes similar to those worn by Shakespeare as a boy and play with Tudor games and toys. At 11am & 3pm Shakespearian storytelling will be performed by the resident Shakespeare Aloud players. During August on Thursday evenings “An evening with Shakespeare in the Garden” will take place from 7:30pm. Visitors can enjoy a picnic in the garden whilst watching actors perform scenes from some of Shakespeare’s best loved comedies and tragedies.
Meanwhile Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Hall's Croft, Nash’s House & New Place and Mary Arden’s Farm will also be hosting a number of fun and unique events from Saturday 24 July – Sunday 29 August.
Children can take part in an exciting quiz entitled “Eye Spy Timber Buildings” at Hall’s Croft enabling them to explore the features of the Jacobean house. Budding archaeologists can visit New Place & Nash’s House to search for Shakespeare's belongings at the archaeological site.
Anne Hathaway's Cottage will host an enchanting “Fairy Trail” for visitors to follow through the magical woodland walk to find fairies from A Midsummer's Night's Dream. Every Wednesday during July and August at 11am & 2pm, children can enjoy story-telling by costumed guides and dress up as a Shakespeare character using the dressing up box.
At Mary Arden's Farm visitors can experience “Tudor Housework” every Monday when they can see how the Tudors kept their houses and clothes sparkling clean. Every Tuesday, on “Churning Tuesday”, visitors can discover what a Tudor dairymaid got up to and help her churn butter and make cheese ready for market. Every Wednesday on “Woolly Wednesday”, experts will teach about the importance of wool in Tudor times whilst visitors can have a go at tozing, carding, spinning and weaving. Each Thursday the secrets of the spice chest and how the Tudors used spices will be revealed with “Sugar, Spice and all things Tudor” whilst on Fridays experts will demonstrate the art of baking bread from processing the grain to threshing and winnowing. Every Saturday “Quills, Parchment and Tudor Ink” will show visitors what a typical school day was like for the young William Shakespeare and how to make Tudor ink. “Tudor Toilet Trouble” takes place on Sundays and will give visitors an insight into how the Tudors went about their daily life without modern amenities!
Finally, Mary Arden’s Farm will play host to a “Tudor Fair and Market” from Saturday 28 – Monday 30 August. Visitors can join in the hustle and bustle of a typical Tudor hiring fair where people gathered to find work and hire workers for the next 6 months. Country crafts and traditional activities will be available for visitors to enjoy.
Tickets to all five Shakespeare Houses are great value and best of all, valid for a period of 12 months - with unlimited entry. So, for the price of one ticket, you can enjoy days out at the Shakespeare Houses all year round – for free! For details of all activities visit: shakespeare.org.uk
