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©Copyright The Francis Frith Collection

This beautiful small town renowned for its picturesque timber- framed buildings has been made famous by its illustrious son William Shakespeare, whose plays contain the most powerful lines in the English language.

Born here in 1564, Shakespeare went to London as a young man to seek fame and fortune and returned in 1611 as a wealthy and famous playwright. He then lived at New Place until his death.

The town is full of the monuments of his life, most of which are still very well preserved. Shakespeare's birthplace is in Henley Street, on the hill above the Avon river - the half- timbered house where the dramatist was born is now a museum that attracts thousands of tourists every year. The house is entered by way of the Shakespeare Centre where there is an exhibition of costumes from the BBC Shakespeare series. In the garden you can find many of the flowers mentioned in his plays.

The nearby Holy Trinity Church with its magnificent style is a masterpiece on its own and would be worthy of note even without Shakespeare's grave in the north side of the chancel.

Along with the many Shakespeare monuments scattered around the city you can also find Harvard House. Dating from 1596 this half-timbered house was the home of Katherine Rogers, mother of John Harvard, the founder of Harvard University.

If you go one short mile (1.6 km) to the west of Stratford you can see the pretty cottage of his wife, Anne Hathaway. This is a popular site for tourists and it was here that William and Anne reputedly did their courting.

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