The house where William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born and brought up is in Stratford-Upon-Avon. It is now a memorial to the poet and attracts visitors from all over the world.
I visited it in 1981, after graduating in English Language and Literature in Lisbon, and kept the admission ticket as a souvenir.
The old house belonged to his father and the ownership of the property passed to William Shakespeare and then successively to his elder daughter Susanna and to his only granddaughter, Lady Barnard. On her death in 1670 she bequeathed it to her cousin, Thomas Hart, whose descendants continued to own the property until 1806, when it was sold to Thomas Court.
Following the death of Court´s widow the interest in the site increased when an American entrepreneur, P. T. Barnum proposed to buy the home in 1846 and send it to the USA, where it would be kept over wheels to be in perpetual digression.
The idea was so frightening that a Commitee was formed and raised the necessary money to buy it one year later.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust also owns Anne Hathaway´s Cottage, where Shakespeare´s wife lived; Mary Arden´s House, where Shakespeare´s mother lived, New Place and Hall´s Croft, Shakespeare´s daughter´s home.
References:
Bryson, Bill. Shakespeare. Bertrand Editora, 2008
Fox, Levi. Pocket Guide to the Shakespearian Properties
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