Anne Hathaway’s Pt 2

Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 29 Jun 2018 21:57
Anne Hathaway’s Cottage – Part Two
 
 
 
 
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The far bedroom. This oak armchair dates from the early 1600s. Known by the Shakespeare family as ‘Shakespeare’s Courting Chair’, it was reputed to have been handed down from William Shakespeare to his granddaughter, Lady Elizabeth Barnard. Lady Elizabeth did not have children and she gave the chair to the Hathaway family. The chair is carved with two elements from the Shakespeare coat of arms, a shield with a spear. Analysis of the patina suggests that these carvings were made shortly after the chair was made. The W.A.S. was added after Samuel Ireland bought the chair from the Hathaway family in 1792.
 
 
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The right corner had tea laid out and in the near corner, tatting in progress.
 
 
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Down the steep staircase and a peep into the laundry room.
 
 
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A very posh dining room.
 
 
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In the next room, the sitting room, the eye was drawn to the simple table, covered in memorabilia................
 
 
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.......postcards that were sold by the family because Anne’s married her famous husband.
 
 
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A little bit of fraud, with the ageing of the plates. A photograph of the Hathaway’s.
 
 
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The takings box and an old Mirror featuring the cottage.
 
 
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It was fun finding the ‘bits’ of information around the house. Mary Baker, a direct descendant of Anne’s brother Bartholomew, would tell visitors that Anne and WIlliam sat here and talked during their romance. Mary would charge 6 pence for a piece of this settle seat, which most likely dates from the 1700s rather than the 1500s. The above cups and saucers and lustre teapot were presented by the Mayoress of Stratford-upon-Avon (Mrs. William Pearce) November, 1906. They were originally used in this cottage, and came into the possession of Mrs. Pearce through her great-grandmother, who was a descendant of Susanna, daughter of Robert Hathaway.
 
 
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On our way out – such a pretty place to visit.
 
 
 

ALL IN ALL STUNNING

                     MY FAVOURITE HOUSE OF TODAY