Stratford to Coventry

The Stagecoach 16 bus service provides a convenient way for visitors to Stratford to visit Warwick Castle, Kenilworth Castle and Coventry (and for visitors to Coventry and Warwick University to visit Stratford).

There's a full timetable, and route details here: Stagecoach Service 16

This picture shows the Service 16 bus at its departure point in Wood Street, Stratford. (The bus may often be a single-decker bus).

All the remaining pictures on this page were taken from the top of the bus.

 


This is the A439, Warwick Road, as it leaves Stratford.  










From the A439, there are some good long distance views to the right, looking across the Avon valley...

The countryside is flat and open here (this was called the Feldon). It becomes more wooded as we get North of Kenilworth (the Arden).


The photo above is taken near Snitterfield, the childhood home of John Shakespeare, Shakespeare's father. But the 16 bus does not pass through Snitterfield itself. If you want to visit Snitterfield, then you would need to catch a different, less frequent, local bus service.

Approaching Warwick, along the A46, near Coplow Hill, there is a good view of the town straight ahead.

You can very easily see St Mary's Church, Warwick. The towers of Warwick Castle are just visible, but these are largely obscured by trees. The tower of St Mary's Church is much higher than the towers of Warwick Castle.
 

Before we reach Warwick, we need to cross the Longbridge Island. 

The Longbridge Island is a major junction where 3 main routes intersect:
The M40 Motorway, which links London with Birmingham.
The A46, which links Stratford to Coventry.
The A429, which links Warwick to Cirencester and the Fosse Way.

This is a view looking along the M40 towards Birmingham, taken from the bus as it passes over the flyover at the Longbridge Island. 

Coming into Warwick, this is West Street.

The main entrance for cars to Warwick Castle is indicated by the red arrow. It isn't very well signposted. If you are on the bus, then there are also alternative entrances for pestestrians further around the castle.
 

We pass by the main car entrance to Warwick Castle.

You can't see anything of the castle towers from any part of the bus ride (except the view from Coplow Hill).
 

The tall stone building at the top of the hill is West Gate, one of the gates around the old town.

There's also an East Gate, on the opposite side of the town, which the bus will pass by. And there was a North Gate, which no longer exists.

The centre of Warwick consists of some narrow and winding streets, on top of a small hill. The bus makes it's way, tortuously, to the small bus station.

This is the market square. The building in the centre of the picture is the former Market Hall, which is now used to house the Warwickshire County Museum.

The bus station is just round the corner.
 

The bus may wait for several minutes at the bus station. 

Leaving the bus station, the bus passes around the hillside, and passes the end of Northgate Street.

Looking up Northgate Street, we can catch a brief glimpse of St Mary's Church, and The Shire Hall (County Council administrative offices).
 

The bus leaves Warwick along Smith Street.

At the bottom of Smith Street the bus turns left. This is where Warwick railway station is. There is a bus stop outside the railway station.

On its way to Kenilworth, passing through the small village of Leek Wootton, mid-way between Warwick and Kenilworth.

There are a number of thatched cottages in this village, which the bus passes very swiftly.

Coming into Kenilworth, we first see St John's Church. 

Kenilworth has a long straight main street, called Warwick Road.

This is a view looking down the length of Warwick Road.

At the far end of Warwick Road is Kenilworth Clock. The bus travels up the road at the right, and then does a right left.

Kenilworth Clock, shown in the picture, is point to get off for Kenilworth Castle.

Service 16 only goes through Kenilworth town centre, so there is a short walk to the castle. Walk up the road on the right, and then take the left turn, or walk through the park, to the castle.

The tops of the stonework of Kenilworth Castle can just be seen over the trees (red circle).
At this point you can walk along the road, or through the park ahead (at the right in the picture).

The park is known as the Abbey Fields, and the contains the remains of Kenilworth Priory.

The three pictures, immediately below. were taken from the road walking towards the caste. The Service 16 bus doesn't pass down this road...
 

This is known as Kenilworth Ford.

At times of very heavy rain, perhaps once or twice a year, the road can come under several inches of water. Just a small puddle is visible in this picture. 





The entrance to the castle is just on the left, exactly at the spot where I was standing to take this photo.

Following this road a bit further and bearing right, is a tea shop and a public house.

Directly opposite the pub and the tea shop, is a small village of half-timbered thatched cottages. This hamlet is known as Little Virginia.







Resuming the service 16 route, and leaving Kenilworth, there are a couple of miles of open countryside between Kenilworth and Coventry.

The countryside here has a different character from the countryside around Stratford.

This is the region of the old Forest of Arden. Although the forest was clear long ago, this area still has a wooded feel to it.
 

This is a view of the approach to Coventry along the Kenilworth Road.

The bus doesn't go directly into Coventry but takes a short detour through the the University of Warwick.

This picture is taken with the bus, stopped at a cross roads, at the top of Gibbet Hill. The bus turns left here, along Gigget Hill Road, which runs through the University of Warwick.

Student Halls of Residence, and numerous teaching buildings, are visible through the trees, on both sides of the road.  

Gibbet Hill Road, as it runs through the University campus.  

The bus makes a complete circuit around the University campus.
On the left is Rootes Hall, the University students' social centre.

These pictures are all taken from the top of the bus.

On the right, directly opposite Rootes Hall, is Warwick Arts Centre.  

Leaving the University, the bus travels along the A45 to Coventry.

Before the M40 or M1 were built, the A45 was the main road between London and Birmingham. The A45/M45 joins the M1 near Rugby, and still provides an alternative route to London.

Approaching Coventry along the A429, the road passes over a bridge over the London to Birmingham railway line, and Coventry station.

There is a bus stop on the bridge which provides convenient access to and from the station.

There is train service between here and London, every 30 minutes, and the journey to London takes 70 minutes. There is a Virgin express from London in the station in this picture.

Approaching Coventry City Centre. 

On the left we pass the church of St John the Baptist, in Corporation Street. 

Approaching Millennium Place and the Whittle Arch, where the journey terminates. 

The bus at its Coventry arrival/departure point, which is outside the Coventry Transport Museum. 

The most direct route to the Old and New Cathedrals is up an alley way, just opposite where the bus stops. 

Up the alley way, the red brick building is the building that was built over the foundations of the medieval priory. At ground level (to the left and just out of the picture) there is a large window where you can look down onto what remains of the old foundations. The walkway on the right leads to the visitors centre and to the New Cathedral. 

Royal Leamington Spa

Royal Leamington Spa is a spa town built mainly during the 19th century. The town was visited by Queen Victoria in 1838, and was given the "Royal" status.

Leamington's main architectural characterisitic is it's wide main streets, with elegant Georgian, Regency and Victorian buildings, many lined with trees. This picture shows Regency style houses in Beauchamp Avenue.

Regency style houses in Clarendon Square, built around an area of grass and trees. 

6 Clarendon Square, sometime home of Napoleon Boneparte who spent part of his exile here. 

The curving arc of Landsdowne Crescent.

Just off Landsdowne Crescent, is Landsdown Circus, built around a circular area of grass and trees.

This house is 10 Landsdowne Circus, sometime home of writer Nathaniel Hawthorne.

 A spring was known here since Elizabethan times, but the spa became important during the late 19th century. The Pump Rooms were built in 1813.

The pump rooms have recently been modernised and now also house a museum and library, and the town's Tourist Information Centre.

Today most people visit Leamington for its shopping.
This is a view looking up Leamington's main shopping street, The Parade.

Bordering the River Leam is a municipal park, the Jephson Gardens, named after Henry Jephson, a local doctor who popularised the spa waters. 

The River Leam, as it runs through the Jephson Gardens. 

The recently constructed Palm House, in the Jephson Gardens. 

Inside the Palm House. 

Shakespeare's Warwickshire Roots

This map, reproduced from Michael Wood's book In Search of Shakespeare, shows a number of places which played a role in Shakespeare's background.
The Shakespeare family originated in Balsall, and from there spread to the adjacent villages of Wroxall, Knowle, Packwood and Rowington, and in the next generation to Snitterfield. Packwood, Baddesley Clinton and Lapworth, near to these villages, were homes of important Catholic families close to the Shakespeares and the Ardens. An accompanying TV series has been shown on BBC/PBS.


Michael Wood writes:

"The search for Shakespeare starts not in Stratford but a short way to the North in a tiny cluster of villages in the Forest of Arden. In the 16th century it was still a vast tract of forest, part of what the Normans called "beautiful wild country", and a completely different world from the crowded streets of London. Unlike the works of most of his university-educated contemporaries, Shakepeare's plays are full of images of flowers, trees and animals. This was a place to fire the imagination...".

For several generations Shakespeare's ancestors, on both his father's and mother's sides, had been Warwickshire farmers. The river Avon (shown on the map above) divided Warwickshire into 2 halves. The North-West half was the old Forest of Arden. Shakespeare's ancestors all farmed holdings, of around 100 acres each, all in the Forest of Arden.

 The Shakepeare family name originated in Balsall in the 14th Century.
This picture shows present day farmland at Balsall.

This picture is taken looking towards Green Lane which runs left-to-right behind the trees along the top of the hill.

The picture is taken from the Heart of England Way, a recreational footpath.

Michael Wood writes:

"The Shakespeares' ancestors came from around the village of Balsall with its old chapel and hall of the Knights Templars. Down Green Lane, shrouded by thickets of ash and silver birch, across a ford that runs deep in Winter there is still a red-brick farm house where Adam of Oldeditch lived in the 14th Century. His son gave himself the surname Shakespeare. There were still Shakespeares at Oldeditch 100 years later, and almost certainly the clan descended from them". 

This is a view along Green Lane, showing the ford referred to by Michael Wood. 

About 200 yards from the ford is the present Oldeditch Farm House. 

This is the view from a field at the rear of Oldeditch farm house.

The group of buildings in the centre of the picture is the hall and chapel of the Knights Templar at Balsall, referred to by Michael Wood. These buildings are shown in close-up in the picture below.

The white lines running across the picture are power cables.

The Shakespeares of Balsall spread into 4 surrounding villages - Rowington, Wroxall, Packwood and Knowle. There are pictures taken in these 4 villages immediately below...

Rowington

This picture shows the Shakespeare family's home, Shakespeare Hall, at Rowington.

Wroxall

This picture shows the remains of a Benedictine Priory at Wroxall.

Richard Shakespeare (grandfather of Willimam Shakespeare) was born in Wroxall, c1500 (not at the Abbey). He moved from Wroxall to farm in Snitterfield (see further below).






Packwood

This is the moated manor house Packwood Hall, at Packwood.

The Shakespeares of Packwood were business partners of Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare. The historian Raphael Holinshed lived at nearby Packwood House. He was the author of the Chronicles of England, that were the primary source for Shakespeare's history plays. Michael Wood wonders whether William, as a youth, might have known Holinshed in person.

Knowle

2 miles from Balsall was the village of Knowle, today a small town.

The first records of Knowle date from 1200, and refer to bequests of William de Arden, an ancestor of Mary Arden, Shakespeare's mother.

This picture shows the Guild House, which dates from 1412. Thomas Shakespeare of Balsall, became a member of the Guild here in 1486.

Another view of Knowle Guild House, and the adjacent Church of St John Baptist, St Lawrence and St Anne.

Michael Wood also lists the members of the Guild here in 1526, which effectively names the principal figures in Arden Society (more about the Knowle Guild members further down this page).



Snitterfield

Richard Shakespeare (born in Wroxall, c1500) left Wroxall to farm leased land in Bell Lane, Snitterfield (2 miles North-East of Stratford). Richard Shakespeare farmed here for 35 years.

This picture, taken from the bottom of Bell Lane, shows farmland around Snitterfield Church.

 This picture shows the farmhouse originally occupied by Richard Shakespeare. One of Richard's sons, John Shakespeare, became the father of William Shakespeare. It is likely that young William Shakespeare would have been a frequent visitor to this place.
The house has been substantially changed, but does retain some tudor features.





Just down the road is an authentic half-timbered farm building, used by the Shakespeares.  

Snitterfield is within easy walking distance of Stratford.
There are good views from Snitterfield. This picture shows the view looking from Snitterfield towards Stratford. You can't actually see Stratford, because it is hidden behind the Welcombe Hills (the groups of trees around the obelisk at the right). The Welcombe Obelisk looks down over Stratford.

The is the church of St James The Great at Snitterfield.

  

On display in Snitterfield Church are copies of parish records referring to members of the Shakespeare family.

The names in those shown here (dated 1581) are spelt Saxper and Shaksper.





Wilmcote

The land in Snitterfield which Richard Shakespeare farmed was owned by the Arden Family from Wilmcote, another old Warwickshire family of yeoman farmers.
This picture shows the Arden's farmhouse at Wilmcote, now known as Mary Arden's House.

One of Richard's sons, John Shakespeare, who grew up at the Snitterfield farm, met one of the daughters of the Arden family, Mary Arden.


Aston Cantlow





John Shakespeare married Mary Arden in Aston Cantlow church, which was the parish church for Wilmcote, the bride's home.

This picture shows old tombstones, old yew trees, and old pines in the churchyard of St John the Baptist at Aston Cantlow.

The interior of Aston Cantlow church is shown in the picture just below.
 

Stratford

John and Mary Shakespeare went to live in a house in Henley Street, in Stratford (the Shakespeare birthplace), which is where their son, William Shakespeare, was born.






Shottery

A mile from the centre of Stratford, and on the edge of the Forest of Arden, was the village of Shottery, and the home of Anne Hathaway, who became Shakespeare's wife. 









Temple Grafton

William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway were married at Temple Grafton, another village connected with with the Knights Templar.
It is believed that Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway were married here, and not in Stratford, because the priest here, John Frith, was sympathetic towards a Catholic form of service, which was not available in Stratford.

 Shakespeare's childhood was a time of intense religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants. The Shakespeare and Arden families both had stong Catholic sympathies.
The whole Forest of Arden was an area of Catholic support. Also shown on Michael Wood's map are Lapworth and Baddesley Clinton.

These places were the homes of important Catholic families, close to the Ardens, and the Shakespeares. These families were at the centre of plots to attempt to overthrow the Protestant Crown, and were themselves the focus of Protestant persecution.



Michael Wood lists some names from the guild book of the Chapel at Knowle in 1526, which are effectively the principal figures of local society. They include:

Robert Catesby (of Lapworth, see just below),
George Throgmorton (of Coughton, also see below),
Edward Ferrers (of Baddesley)
Richard Shakespeare,
William Shakespeare (not the WS of Stratford, although a relative),
John Shakespeare. 


Lapworth

This picture, taken in Lapworth Churchyard, shows the table-top tomb of Robert Catesby, principal conspirator behind the Catholic inspired Gunpowder Plot, to blow up Parliament and the Crown.
There are more pictures of Lapworth Church and the countryside around Lapworth on the Lapworth Page.





Coughton

Another important family of Warwickshire Catholics involved in the Gunpowder Plot were the Throgmorton's of Coughton (not on Micheal Wood's map), but also a few miles North-West of Stratford.






Charlecote

In the South-East corner of Michael Wood's map, and on the other side of the Avon, is Charlecote. Definitely on the wrong side of the river.
Shakespeare ridiculed Sir Thomas Lucy of Charlecote as his Justice Shallow in Merry Wives of Windsor, and Henry IV part 2. The traditional explanation has been that Thomas Lucy caught Shakespeare poaching deer. In fact, there were no deer at Charlecote then. Micheal Wood explains that Shakespeare's animosity towards Thomas Lucy was far more likely due to Thomas Lucy's role in the persecution of Warwickshire Catholics, and particularly his role in the arrest of Edward Arden, head of Shakespeare's mother's family, who was taken to London, tortured and executed.