On Chapel Street, in Stratford, a garden marks the site of New Place: the finest house William Shakespeare ever owned, a symbol of his success, and the place of his death. Only the foundations remain — but the story of its disappearance is as extraordinary as that of its illustrious owner.
The house of a poet become a gentleman
New Place had been built as early as 1483 by Sir Hugh Clopton, a rich Stratford notable. In May 1597, at the height of his London success, William Shakespeare bought it for £60 — a considerable sum, a mark of his social rise: the glover's son had become a wealthy gentleman, owner of the greatest house in his native town. He settled his family there, returned there after his retirement from the theatre, and it was there that he died in 1616. To own such a house crowned a unique journey: that of a man of the people raised to the rank of notable by his genius alone.
A house wiped off the map
New Place no longer exists. In the eighteenth century, its owner, the Reverend Francis Gastrell, exasperated by the visitors, had it simply razed in 1759. Only the foundations survive, uncovered by the excavations of 2010-2012, around which a memorial garden has been laid out. The site is entered through Nash's House, a neighbouring dwelling linked to the poet's granddaughter, Elizabeth, and her husband Thomas Nash. To see: the garden on the foundations of New Place, Nash's House and its collections, the Tudor remains uncovered by the excavations (2010-2012).
Did you know?
Shakespeare's house was destroyed by a man exasperated by his fame. In 1756, the Reverend Francis Gastrell cut down the mulberry the poet was said to have planted, to be rid of the curious; the furious townsfolk broke his windows. In reprisal, Gastrell razed the whole house in 1759 — before being driven out of Stratford by public vindictiveness, which long forbade anyone of the same name to live there.
Notes
New Place / Nash's House lies on Chapel Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire; a site of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, open to the public. Hours to check.
Quiz
- In what year did Shakespeare buy New Place?
- In 1597
- In 1564
- In 1759
- What happened here in 1616?
- Shakespeare died here
- He was born here
- He married here
- Why do only the foundations remain?
- The Reverend Gastrell had it razed in 1759
- A medieval fire
- A bombardment