Anne Hathaway's Cottage

About

Anne Hathaway's Cottage is a twelve-roomed former farmhouse where Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare, lived as a child. It is situated in Shottery about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon town centre. Shottery is now a district of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England; however, in Shakespearean times, Shottery was a hamlet. The house, set within pleasant gardens, is a tourist attraction. It has been owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust since 1892.

History: The earliest part of the house dates to 1463, when it was still a three-roomed building with only one floor; the higher part is 17th century, being built between April 1610 and October 1624. The house was known as Hewlands Farm in Shakespeare's day and had more than 90 acres (36 hectares) of land attached to it; to call it a cottage is arguably a misnomer, as it is much larger than the term usually implies. As in many houses of the period, it has multiple chimneys to spread the heat evenly throughout the house during winter. The largest chimney was used for cooking. It also has visible timber framing, typical of vernacular Tudor architecture. The Hathaway family moved there in 1542, with John Hathaway...