You can take Stratford out of Shakespeare – as indeed Shakespeare spent much of his time in London – but you cannot take Shakespeare out of Stratford. Shakespeare tea rooms, the Shakespeare bookshop, Shakespeare distillery … For our Master’s weekend in Stratford-upon-Avon we enjoyed full immersion in all things Shakespeare.
The weekend’s festivities began with a cocktail reception in the dining room of the Arden Hotel, conveniently the hotel where the majority of the group was staying – a very pleasant place indeed, and centrally placed for our activities. This led into a delicious and relaxed meal where members new and old and their partners mingled.
After a hearty breakfast the next morning we assembled for a short walk to Shakespeare’s schoolroom. The wattle and daub building pre-dates Shakespeare and was something of an early construction kit, the timbers having been felled in the nearby Forest of Arden, cut to specific measurements and numbered accordingly, for transportation to its current site. The “daub” was a tasteful mix of dung, straw and ox blood, so, with unseasoned timbers, houses tended to be brown and pink rather than the black and white we expect of Elizabethan houses today. This building later became the Guild Hall where Shakespear’s father played several important roles in the life of the town, including beer taster. Shakespeare’s schoolroom was upstairs, still in use as a schoolroom today, by the excellent state school King Edward VI. As the Master’s sons attended that prestigious establishment we were furnished with accounts of some jolly japes.
We assembled upstairs, cramming on to benches, under the watchful eye of the schoolmaster with his birch which thankfully he didn’t use. He explained the principles of the education which Shakespeare and his fellows would have received, with no books or resources other than their own intellect. Henry VIII was the most highly educated of all our monarchs, having been fluent in five languages. Learning Latin was important as it gave access to the romance languages in Europe (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian) – although one wonders how many lads from the Worcestershire yeomanry grew up to use these. Girls were educated at home in more domestic matters.
We moved on to the Georgian schoolroom, seated at proper writing desks, and attempted to write our names or Latin declensions with quill pen. We have much to be thankful for to Laszlo Biro.
Our next stop was the neighbouring Guild Chapel, with its impressive Doom painting up high on the Chancel wall – a daunting prospect of eternal damnation, which could be mitigated slightly by subscription to the prayers of the priests of the chapel. We caught a glimpse of other wall paintings which are sadly deteriorating. Our guide here, Tim Raistrick, is Chair of the Friends of the Guild Chapel so was well versed in its history – and indeed of many other aspects of Stratford life.
After a brief stop for lunch, it was time for the theatre performance of Henry V, with Alfred Enoch In the title role. The setting was stark, with only wooden scaffolding, which came to represent a ship, or town ramparts, or indeed a scaffold, according to imagination. Battle scenes were well executed. We were witness to the responsibilities of leadership, encouragement, humour, grief, anger, and love. A powerful performance.
This was immediately followed by a champagne reception back at the hotel, leaving us a little time before boarding a boat for our dinner cruise on the Avon. This was delightful. On board we were protected from the biting wind which had arisen, and it was quite cosy, with delicious food and attentive service. After travelling through several locks, we got out to stretch our legs before dessert and the return journey. It was a most enjoyable evening.
Sunday morning dawned clear with no more rain, for our guided tour of the Stratford streets with our very own guide in Stephen, Master’s Consort, local resident and renowned 17th Century historian, who was in his element! Under his tutelage we became able to distinguish a genuine Elizabethan building from a mock-Tudor one, and to learn even more about the Shakespeare family and development of Stratford.
The walk finished at the beautiful Holy Trinity Church, where we were able to view the entries for William Shakespeare in the Registers of Births and Deaths, and see the family graves.
Those who hadn’t had to leave earlier concluded events with a tasty pub lunch.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable and well-organised Master’s Weekend, with a good mix of newer and older members of the Company, and their spouses. Gracias tibi agimus, Magister, et Stephano quoque.
Thanks to Eileen Bigg for the report.
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