Shottery

I was up early this morning, I mean really early.  I had been given an appointment at Warwick Hospital for a pacemaker check....8:30 AM!  Anyway I was literally up before the crack of dawn, and dawn dawns pretty early this time of year, and made it to Warwick in time for my appointment, at least I was first in and didn't have to wait.  My battery is getting low, they reassured me I would be called in for a replacement before it stopped.  The Farm opens at 9am so we decided to stop off for a morning coffee as we were passing on the way home.

After lunch Ann went off to Packwood to meet a friend and I prepared a veggie dish we can have for tea.  Later I went for a walk to Shottery.   The theme for today's Wide Wednesday hosted by RockArea is History.   So here's a picture of Anne Hathaway's Cottage in Shottery with a potted history, taken from t'net, following.....

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage was built as a farmhouse in 1463 and initially consisted of just 3 rooms, 2 of which still survive today in the form of the kitchen and parlour. Anne’s grandfather John Hathaway was the first to live there as a tenant sheep farmer, and Anne herself was born there in 1556.

Following her father Richard’s death in 1581, Anne’s brother Bartholomew inherited the farm, expanding it with an upper floor and new chimneys. It is almost certain that the Hathaways knew the Shakespeares and it is likely that the pair spent some time together at the cottage, before in November 1582 Anne and William were married while she was 26 and he 18.

This age difference, alongside the fact that Anne was already pregnant with their child, has caused many to suspect that they had a ‘shotgun wedding’ in order to maintain their honour, however there is little else to suggest this. The pair went on to have 3 children together and following Shakespeare’s retirement in 1613 he moved back to Stratford-upon-Avon to be with Anne.

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage remained in the Hathaway family for 13 generations, until in 1846 financial troubles forced them to sell. In 1892 it was purchased by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, who run it as a museum today.

https://www.historyhit.com/locations/anne-hathaways-cottage/