Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage stands in Shottery, a mile west of Stratford-upon-Avon. The twelve-room farmhouse was Anne Hathaway’s childhood home and now belongs to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Shottery was once a separate hamlet, but it has since become part of the town. The house sits within pleasant gardens and has been a tourist attraction for many years. It has been owned by the Trust since 1892. The oldest part of the cottage dates to 1463, when it was a small three-room building. A larger section was added between 1610 and 1624, making the house much bigger than the name ‘cottage’ suggests. The Hathaway family moved there in 1542, and Anne’s brother Bartholomew expanded the property further. After financial troubles forced the family to sell in 1846, the cottage remained occupied until 1911. A fire in 1969 damaged the building, but it was restored and now serves as a museum. The gardens were redesigned in 1920 by horticulturist Ellen Willmott. She planted flowers and trees mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays, creating colourful borders that stay bright all year. Near the entrance are three flower beds named Miss Willmott’s garden. The cottage also features visible timber framing, typical of Tudor architecture, and multiple chimneys for heating. The largest chimney was used for cooking, showing how the house functioned centuries ago.