News of the Week

Secrets of Shakespeare's last home

Scientists have started digging under the ground where William Shakespeare's last home stood in Stratford-upon-Avon. They hope their work will help us find out more about how Shakespeare and other people lived 400 years ago.

Rolling back centuries of speculation and digging deep into theprivate life of Stratford's favourite son. The soil, untouched for 400 years, and it's hoped - the key to understanding more about William Shakespeare's final days. By the time he moved to New Place, Shakespeare was already a household name. But little is known about how he spent the six years he lived here and that's what this latest dig is aiming to change. 

Shakespeare's House in Stradford-upon-Avon

Kevin Colls, University of Birmingham:
"I think we can learn little bits on what he was eating, what he was drinking, so his lifestyle. We can learn a little about his hobbies in terms of what he was doing with his time, but the great mystery has to be where he actually lived. Did he live in the grand house along the front of the street or did he live in the very secluded cottage as documentary evidence suggests, hidden away from view to get on with his work?"

Previous digs all found evidence of Shakespeare's high-status household, including smoking pipes and pottery. The first almost 150 years ago, was recorded in extraordinary detail but stopped short at the foundations.

It's hoped excavating deeper than ever before, will reveal even more about William Shakespeare's habits and shed new light onwhat inspired some of the most famous words ever written.