Anne Hathaway's Cottage in Shottery was the home of Billy's wife and generations of her family. It is said that it was here on the old elm-boarded settle next to the fireplace in the hall that Billy and Anne sat while courting, and that the beautiful surroundings inspired "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "As You Like It".
The lower part of the old farmhouse dates from the mid-15th century and was constructed using long curved timbers, known as crucks, which are inverted to form the roof. While the upper part was added in the early 17th century by Anne's eldest brother Bartholomew using the later box-frame style due to the rarity of suitably curved timbers to form crucks. The chance to compare these two early architectural styles is one of the rare privileges afforded by this unique house. The cottage was already attracting visitors by the 1750's and Mrs Mary Baker the last descendent of the Hathaway's to live here was still guiding tourists around until 1892. The cottage was purchased by the trust following her death and was left, pretty much untouched, furnished as a typical Victorian country cottage, with many of the pieces on display handed down through generations of the family.
The downstairs consists of the hall, kitchen, buttery and cold-room and pieces worth looking out for including the 16th century bread ark, 17th century dresser and the wonderful old bread oven with its solid wooden stop. Upstairs there are a series of bedrooms with display pieces including a finely carved oak tester bed, a four-poster plain-bed with homespun hangings and the 17th century oak and walnut "Shakespeare Chair" with it's carving of details from Billy's coat-of-arms. It is said that Billy gave this chair to his granddaughter who passed it on to the Hathaway's, from whom it was bought by a tourist in 1792 only to remerge in 2002 when it was purchased at auction by the trust and returned to the cottage. Around the back of the cottage is a small museum of the Hathaway's personal items including a 17th century bolster and Mrs Mary Baker's Victorian bonnet. Out front is a small Victorian cottage garden with its tightly packed rows of flowering plants and around the back on the land that was for generations farmed by the Hathaway family is the Shakespeare tree garden with and Elizabethan yew maze and modern sculptures inspired by Billy's works.
The quaint little cottage in its picturesque setting is one of the quintessential images of "Ye Olde England" and is well worth making a detour to if you are in the area.