Nash's House / New Place

New Place in Chapel Street was William Shakespeare's final retirement home. He purchased the impressive building for £60 in 1597, whilst he was still spending most of his time working in London. He finally settled at New Place in 1610. Built by Hugh Clopton it was the second largest building in Stratford and was the only house made from brick. It is difficult to imagine the grandeur of New Place, now that it has been reduced to its foundations and the remnants of a well. However, earliest drawings show that it was was an impressive building with a courtyard at the front, and barns, spacious gardens and orchards at the rear.

In 1616, Shakespeare's prolific life came to an end, when he was taken ill, allegedly after an evening entertaining Ben Jonson and Michael Drayton. The house was then left to his daughter Susanna Hall, who entertained Charles I's Queen at New Place. Susanna Hall left the house to her daughter Elizabeth Hall, who married Thomas Nash, owner of Nash's House next door. It is believed that Shakespeare's wife Anne probably saw out her last days at New Place until she died in 1623. After Elizabeth Hall's death the house returned to the Clopton family. Sir John Clopton made some considerable alterations to the house and followed the aristocratic tradition of opening grand houses to the public, encouraging many tourists.

Unfortunately, New Place's next owner, the eccentric Reverend Francis Gastrell was not quite so obliging. One night, incensed by the constant stream of onlookers, Gastrell took his fury out on a mulberry tree in the garden, said to be planted by Shakespeare himself. By morning all that remained was a pile of logs and the infuriated Stratford inhabitants retaliated by smashing Gastrell's windows. In a tragic final act of madness, this time annoyed at Land Tax demands, Gastrell razed New Place to the ground. Gastrell was driven out of Stratford by murderous Stratfordians, and anyone of the same name was banned from living in Stratford forever.

Now where New Place once stood is an intriguing exact-replica of an Elizabethan Knott Garden. The sunken garden is divided into four Knotts by a path, which are filled with an intense tapestry of coloured flowers, box hedge and Shakespearian herbs.

The foundations of New Place are accessed via Nash's House, once home of Thomas Nash. Nash's House is predominantly 16th century in structure. The half-timbered front is a replica of the original replaced by a facade of brick and stucco in the 1700s. Inside much of the timberwork is original. The building is now home to Stratford's local history museum, housing many pieces of fine Jacobean and Tudor furniture. The museum traces Stratford's history from the earliest settlers in the Avon Valley, through the Roman and Anglo Saxon era, to the time when Shakespeare was alive.

At the rear of Nash's House and New Place is an enclosed garden, entered via Chapel Lane. The Shakespeare Memorial Garden, tended by The Birthplace trust, stands on the site of New Place's orchards and kitchen gardens. It is likely that Shakespeare spent many hours relaxing here in his twilight years. The garden is laid out in a formal Elizabethan manner, typical of Shakespeare's day. The large green lawn enclosed by a wall of yew hedges, provides a tranquil oasis in the heart of Stratford. In the centre of the lawn is a sprawling mulberry tree, rumoured to be a cutting from the original Shakespearian mulberry tree.

• Shakespeare's Birthplace
• Hall's Croft
• Anne Hathaway's Cottage
• Nash's House / New Place
• Mary Arden's House

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust The official website of the Sheakespeare Birthplace Trust. The Trust administers all the Shakespeare properties in Stratford. Their website includes full details of opening hours and admission charges. www.shakespeare.org.uk

Nash's House / New Place