Shottery, formerly a small village a mile west of Stratford-upon-Avon town centre, is now part of the town, though retaining the feeling of a distinct village.[ according to whom? ]
Shottery, formerly a small village a mile west of Stratford-upon-Avon town centre, is now part of the town, though retaining the feeling of a distinct village.[ according to whom? ]
Shottery has a village hall, Shottery Memorial Hall, one secondary school, Stratford Girls' Grammar School, and one small primary school, Shottery St Andrew's CofE Primary School that has been open since the mid-19th century. The school has been threatened with closure numerous times due to local spending cuts, however locals have always managed to raise the funds required to keep the school open. There is one pub (The Bell Inn), and the Santa Lucia Italian cuisine restaurant, opposite the pub, which has now closed. The latter building has long served as an eatery, and in Victorian times was a temperance movement soup kitchen. There was a Shottery Village Stores and Post Office, but it closed in the 1990s and is now a private home.[ citation needed ]
The local park, Shottery Fields, contains two football pitches and a children's play area. The Fields retain distinctive "ditch and furrow" undulations, marking medieval field systems, and these can be seen when the sun is low across the Fields. The Fields also contain a footpath to the town centre. Shottery has a Rugby Club, Shottery RFC, which is now based at Stratford Rugby Club's ground, Pearcecroft, on the Loxley Road, south Stratford. The club was founded by the Reverend David Capron, Vicar of St Andrew's church in the year 1984.
Shottery was the childhood home of Anne Hathaway, William Shakespeare's wife, and is the location of the building known as Anne Hathaway's Cottage which is a very popular tourist destination. The authenticity of the building as the home of Anne Hathaway is not credited by Shakespearean scholars.
Shottery is presently part of the civil parish of Stratford-upon-Avon, the "Hathaway" ward of Stratford-on-Avon District Council and the "Stratford West" division of Warwickshire County Council. The local MP (since the 2024 general election) is Manuela Perteghella of the Liberal Democrats.
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Stratford-upon-Avon, commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, 91 miles (146 km) north-west of London, 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Birmingham and 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Warwick. The town is the southernmost point of the Arden area at the northern extremity of the Cotswolds. In the 2021 census Stratford had a population of 30,495.
Anne Hathaway's Cottage is a twelve-roomed farmhouse where Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare, lived as a child in the village of Shottery, Warwickshire, England, about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon. Spacious, and with several bedrooms, it is now set in extensive gardens.
Southam is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England, located about 6+1⁄2 miles (10 km) east-southeast of Leamington Spa. In the 2021 census, the population of Southam was 8,114.
Shipston-on-Stour is a town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District in southern Warwickshire, England. It is located on the banks of the River Stour, 9 miles (15 km) south-southeast of Stratford-upon-Avon, 10 miles north-northwest of Chipping Norton, 14 miles (22 km) south of Warwick and 14.5 miles west of Banbury. In the 2021 census, Shipston-on-Stour had a population of 5,849.
Bradford-on-Avon is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 10,405 at the 2021 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists.
Warwickshire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire to the south, and Worcestershire and the West Midlands county to the west. The largest settlement is Nuneaton and the county town is Warwick.
Kineton is a village and civil parish on the River Dene in south-east Warwickshire, England. The village is part of Stratford-on-Avon district, and in the 2001 census it had a population of 2,278, increasing to 2,337 at the 2011 Census.
Shirley is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands, England. Historically a rural settlement within the county of Warwickshire, it is now contiguous with nearby Solihull and Birmingham.
Anne Shakespeare, commonly known as Anne Hathaway, was the wife of William Shakespeare, an English poet, playwright and actor. They were married in 1582, when Hathaway was 26 years old and Shakespeare was 18. She outlived her husband by seven years. Very little is known about her life beyond a few references in legal documents. Her personality and relationship to Shakespeare have been the subject of much speculation by many historians and writers.
Wellesbourne is a large village in the civil parish of Wellesbourne and Walton, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. In the 2021 census the parish had a population of 7,283, a significant increase from 5,849 In the 2011 census. The civil parish was renamed from Wellesbourne to Wellesbourne and Walton on 1 April 2014.
Stratford-on-Avon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Manuela Perteghella of the Liberal Democrats. The constituency is in Warwickshire; as its name suggests, it is centred on the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare, but also takes in the surrounding areas, including the towns of Alcester and Henley-in-Arden.
Wilmcote is a village, and since 2004 a separate civil parish, in the English county of Warwickshire, about 3 miles (5 km) north of Stratford-upon-Avon. Prior to 2004, it was part of the same parish as Aston Cantlow, and the 2001 population for the whole area was 1,670, reducing to 1,229 at the 2011 Census.
Hockley Heath is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England. The village is to the south of the West Midlands conurbation, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Birmingham 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from Solihull town centre and 13 miles (21 km) north of Stratford-upon-Avon. Hockley Heath is in the Arden area and borders Warwickshire and the District of Stratford-on-Avon to the south, with some parts of the village on either side of the border. It incorporates the hamlet of Nuthurst, and has a history dating back to the year 705 AD as a wood owned by Worcester Cathedral. The 2011 Census gives the population of Hockley Heath civil parish as 2,038.
Binton is a village and civil parish in the Stratford district of Warwickshire, England. It is about five miles (8.0 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 272, increasing to 311 at the 2011 census.
Blisworth is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The West Coast Main Line, from London Euston to Manchester and Scotland, runs alongside the village partly hidden and partly on an embankment. The Grand Union Canal passes through the village and the north portal of the Blisworth Tunnel is near Stoke Road.
Salford Priors is a rural, agricultural village and civil parish about four miles south-west of Alcester, Warwickshire, England. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 1,546. It is on the Warwickshire border with Worcestershire. The village is eight miles from the popular tourist town of Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, and the River Avon runs near to it. Evesham lies seven miles to the south-west and is an important agricultural centre and soft fruit-growing area. The population of the Salford Priors ward – which includes the communities of Abbot's Salford, Dunnington, Iron Cross, Pitchill, Rushford and Mudwalls – was 1,492 at the 2001 census.
Luddington is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire and is part of Stratford-on-Avon district. The community is a conservation area due to its historic aspects. In 2001, the population was 457, increasing to 515 at the 2021 census. It is located about 5 kilometres outside the town of Stratford-upon-Avon on the banks of the river Avon and has views south over the Cotswolds. Facilities and communications include a phone box, a 19th-century church, a post box, a marina with a 17th-century lock, a village green and a recently refurbished village hall originally built in 1953. The parish encompasses Dodwell Caravan Park to the north of the village. The village is reputed to be the meeting place of Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare, as Anne was from the parish, and local lore states that they probably conducted their courtship in the area.
Claverdon is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England, about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of the county town of Warwick. Claverdon's toponym comes from the Old English for "clover hill". The hill is near the centre of the scattered parish which included the township of Langley to the south, and formerly comprised the manors of Claverdon, Langley, Kington, and Songar.
Shakespeare's Wife is a book by feminist academic Germaine Greer which was first published in 2007 by Bloomsbury. The book is a biography of Anne Hathaway, the wife of English poet and playwright William Shakespeare who was born in Shottery, a former small village within Stratford-upon-Avon. At the time of its publication, very little was known about Hathaway with most information being sourced from historic legal documents. Greer, in addition to discussing the content of Hathaway's life, also outlines various aspects of a provincial Elizabethan woman's life as a means to understand the lifestyle she likely led.
