Wednesday 27 July 2011

Anne Hathaway's Cottage







Anne Hathaway's Cottage, near Stratford-upon-Avon, is, of course, the cottage where William Shakespeare lived, with his wife Anne Hathaway.

The flowers in the garden change throughout the year. The photos shown in this post were taken during a couple of different visits.








Shakespeare was a very keen gardener. Images of gardening and the countryside run throughout his plays.


Gardening metaphors are the most prominent, and form a central role, in his play Richard II.




This is the vegetable plot, where Shakespeare grew his broad beans and kidney beans.

The varieties being grown here today are authentic 16th Century varieites.



The garden at Anne Hathaway's Cottage has a small arboretum, which includes several original statues.

This is the statue that I liked the best. It depicts Ophelia, from Hamlet. The statue is not described in the guide book, but at the foot of the statue is a plaque, with a quotation from Hamlet (Act V, Scene 1):

Hamlet: I lov'd Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers
Could not (with all their quantity of love)
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?