Not a particularly nice day — slightly damp, very windy — Abigail is battering the UK right now!
The big news in the paper today is the appalling events in Paris. We were there only a couple of weeks ago, so we have a strong feeling for the Parisians in their grief and horror.
We decided to do a little touring, but using Gertie rather than walking all the way out to Anne Hathaway's Cottage. But as we arrived, we saw a tour coach disgorging its passengers into the site, so we detoured for a while into Anne Hathaway's Garden Cottage Cafe, enjoying a cream tea and having a lovely chat with a local, born just round the corner in Tavern Lane, near Shottery Fields, while waiting for the tourists to disperse.
The Hathaway family lived in this cottage for 13 generations, with the last member still living there at her death in 1899. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust took over its ownership in 1875.
It is here that Will courted Anne. The circumstances of their marriage are the subject of a lot of learned discourse, but it is known that she was 26, an 3 months pregnant, and Will was 18, not apprenticed, and with few prospects in the normal run of things.
There is an online tour of the parlour and of the bedrooms, should you wish to explore a bit for yourselves!
The Gardens were magnificent last time we visited, but today they have all been cut back and replanted for winter.
The furniture in the house all belonged to the house at some time — remember, the Hathaways were here for 300 years — but much of it dates back to Shakespeare's time. Particularly of interest are the Courting Chair and the famed 'second-best bed' that William willed to Anne after his death.
The Courting Chair
The Courting Chair
The Hathaway Bed
Some think this to be the 'second-best bed', but going by its intricate carving
this may well be the 'best bed', reserved for guests.
If this is the case, this bed, known to be the marriage bed
would most likely be the 'second-best bed'.
It was a little wet to explore the gardens, and they were in their winter state anyway, so we departed. We drove round to Mary Arden's Farm, only to find it closed for the winter. But the car park was open, so we settled in there for lunch in the van before returning to Stratford.
When we got back to the car park, we noticed a horse trailer with two black Clydesdale horses and a black carriage - was this another funeral?
Distance driven — today, 11 miles ( 17 km ); to date, 30,728 miles ( 49,452 km )
Well, was it? Was Mary Arden Anne Hathaway's and William's kid? Can't remember. Anyway, bbond thank Goodness is finished in his usual inimitable way. I think it was Rowan Atkinson pulling himself out of the swimming pool. Love Ya, Cath
ReplyDeleteNo, William was Mary Arden's kid!
ReplyDelete