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Secondary sourceArtifact16th century

Shakespeare's Birthplace

16th century

The Henley Street house in Stratford-upon-Avon where Shakespeare was born, now preserved by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

The house where Shakespeare was born, showing his family's middle-class, provincial origins.

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Half-timbered two-storey house with a steep tiled roof, cream plaster panels, dark timber framing, leaded diamond-paned windows, a small porch, and flower beds along the front under a grey sky.
William Shakespeare's birthplace, Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon.

About this source

What it is

This half-timbered house on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon dates from the 16th century. It is traditionally identified as the birthplace of William Shakespeare and the home where his father ran a glove-making business. It is cared for today by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Why it matters

The house reflects the middle-class, provincial world Shakespeare came from, far from the London theatres where he made his career. It reminds students that even the most famous writer in English began life in an ordinary market town household.

Look closer

  • What does the style of the building tell us about the kind of family that lived here?
  • Why might a building like this survive for centuries while so many ordinary houses of its time do not?
  • What can a building tell us about a person's life, and what can it not tell us?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of William Shakespeare on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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