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Guild Street, STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, CV37 6QY

It is located at Bard's Walk - more at http://www.barleysugar.com/aboutus.html

A shopping mall in the centre of town

The half-timbered house is where William Shakespeare was born. It was originally two houses, the part on the left was the family home where he was born in an upper room in 1564. The part on the right was the workshop and shop where John Shakespeare (William's father) made and sold his gloves.

Always a strange experience to wander into packed Henley Street and spot Shakespeare's Birthplace, surrounded as always by milling crowds of tourists posing for photos and videos, hearing the babble of all the readily recognisable languages of the world; urgent Japanese here, an American drawl there, voluble Italian or Spanish and maybe some guttural German, all drawn here by the amazing genius of a Warwickshire man with an outstanding appreciation of the human condition coupled to the ability of convey that in the most memorable and impactful turn of phrase.

Well worth a wander in; a quasi-religious site almost, the historic graffiti carved into window glass making the visit worthwhile on its own almost, let alone the guides who will indicate which room young Will emerged into the world and leave you bamboozled at how little we really know about the man, tottering out again more bemused and bewildered than when you entered. A typical tourist experience really. How can any of us take on board Shakespeare, Ground Zero, Niagara, the Grand Canyon, Uluru etc etc? Coffee!!

Folk dancing, on the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare.

Viewed from Guild Street looking towards Payton Street. John Street is part of the early nineteenth century development known as New Town.