Many of the buildings associated with Shakespeare are closed to the public (Image: Rown Griffiths )
Locals in a town world famous as the birthplace of William Shakespeare say tourists might be staying away because nearly half the buildings associated with the Bard still remain closed to the public since .
Beautiful Stratford-upon-Avon and the surrounding area is packed with historic locations connected to the iconic English playwright, but several key sites which closed during lockdown still have not fully re-opened.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust charity oversees Shakespeare’s Birthplace and his wife Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, as well as the Shakespeare’s New Place, the home of the family for 19 years. Both the birthplace and cottage are open, however the latter home is closed for the winter.
Also overseen by the charity are Mary Arden’s Farm, the home of Shakespeare’s mother, and Hall’s Croft, the residence of his daughter.
The trust confirmed both locations were shut for the public during the pandemic, and are now only open “to learning audiences”, for example for primary school trips. Harvard House, another historic property dating back to 1596, is also closed.
Speaking to local resident Sheryl Stevens, who has lived in Stratford for 12 years, said some venues being closed to the public could be a reason tourism had struggled since .
She said: “If we haven’t got the Shakespeare side of things it probably stops people coming over.
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Bev Carr (left) and Sheryl Stevens have both lived in Stratford for more than 10 years (Image: Rowan Griffiths )
“Things like the birthplace are not fully open and other Shakespeare things that brought people in, a lot of them closed during the pandemic, and they haven’t quite re-opened properly, only for certain events.
“Mary Arden’s Farm closed completely during the pandemic and it is not open to the public now.”
Bev Carr, who has lived in the town for more than a decade, added: “Hall’s Croft, which is one of their properties, that’s not re-opened. I don’t know why it’s been so long (for things to open again).”
Charlie Budd, 53, said he knew people in the tourism industry that were experiencing difficulty with numbers of visitors since the Pandemic.
He said: “I know people who work in the industry that rely on Shakespeare quite heavily and the number of tourists from overseas has dropped markedly and I know organisations that have reduced the number of people they employ and not open all their locations as regularly.
“The lack of tourists from America and Japan has had a marked impact.”
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Charlie Budd (left) and Jules Fallon said the town relied heavily on Shakespeare (Image: Rowan Griffiths )
Tourist Livian Stokes, 24, from Arizona, USA, was visiting the town with her British friend Alex, and she said Shakespeare was still her main reason for coming to the area.
She said: “I wanted to see Shakespeare’s house and the homes from that era with the thatched roofs and just be out in a different town.
“As an American Stratford feels quite quintessentially English, especially with the buildings with the white and timber frames, and there was an old thatched tavern and I was like, ‘I want to go in there, it’s cool’.
“We’re just here for a couple of hours, I know they have the theatre here but most of the shows are at night, if there had been some matinees that would have been perfect.”
Livian Stokes, from Arizon, USA, was visiting Stratford to see Shakespeare’s birthplace (Image: Rowan Griffiths )
A spokesperson from The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust told : “As custodians of the Shakespeare family homes it is our mission to make these cherished buildings as accessible as possible whilst preserving them for future generations.
“Since the pandemic we have reopened all five Shakespeare family homes to audiences on a phased approach, starting with Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Shakespeare’s New Place, welcoming visitors from across the world.
“Both Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Shakespeare’s New Place operated on a seasonal model, closing in the winter. We have recently announced a year-round operation at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, which is a positive step forward in the ongoing recovery of tourism in Stratford-upon-Avon.
“Both Hall’s Croft and Mary Arden’s Farm have reopened to learning audiences, from early years and primary to secondary, university and lifelong learning.
“As with all heritage charities, we have the challenge of balancing our audiences’ desire to access these important properties with our commitment to ensuring that conservation works are undertaken.
“This is the case with Hall’s Croft, where we have recently announced a major multi-year conservation project, funded by a generous donation from American playwright, Ken Ludwig.
“This will enable us to make this fascinating building more accessible in the future. Whilst the works continue our learning audiences will still have access to the property.
“Mary Arden’s Farm has become the focus of our primary learning offer, which welcomes thousands of children from across the country each year to discover Shakespeare for the first time.
“We will be arranging a series of community days at the Farm in 2025 to ensure that local audiences continue to have access to this wonderful property.”
Mary Arden’s Farm remains closed to the public, but is open for education purposes (Image: PA )