William Shakespeare
and Holy Trinity Church

William Shakespeare - 'Chandos portrait'

He first entered the building when he was three days old, for his baptism on 26 April 1564. The parish church would remain a constant part of his life. As a building it helped to form his visual imagination; as a place of worship it was an anchor for his inner, spiritual life; and as a focus for the community, it was the place in which his family, friends, and neighbours played out some of the most important scenes in their lives.

Shakespeare was born into a culture of religious conflict and controversy. From the beginning of King Edward VI’s reign in 1547, the visual elements of the ‘old faith’ – the highly-coloured murals, statues, altars for different saints – had begun to vanish, be removed, covered over, or defaced. But images of the natural world and mythical creatures remained – on the chancel’s fifteenth-century misericords, captivating for any imaginative child.

When Shakespeare was four and a half, his father, John, was bailiff to the corporation, an equivalent of mayor. Perhaps Shakespeare was not considered too young to appreciate the excitement of the weekly procession to church, then to sit still and behave, proud of his father in the bailiff’s pew on the north side of the knave, close to the then centrally-positioned pulpit.

Like most other people at the time, Shakespeare was a conforming member of The Church of England. Holy Trinity Church was a focal-point for the meaning of existence, for the baptisms of his younger siblings: Gilbert (1566-1612), Joan (1569-1646), Anne (1571-1579), Richard (1574-1613), and Edmund (1580-1607). Thirty-two per cent of children died before they were sixteen. When Shakespeare was fifteen Holy Trinity Church held the funeral of his sister, Anne, who died aged seven and a half.

Shakespeare's Monument

From the 1623 edition of Shakespeare's works

Image

William Shakespeare's Grave

William Shakespeare, The Cobbe Portrait, Cobbe Collection, Hatchlands Park

William Shakespeare, The Cobbe Portrait

Image

William Shakespeare's Monument

Shakespeare worshipped in Holy Trinity Church whenever his professional commitments in London allowed him. His life was divided between Stratford-upon-Avon and London. New Place, his family home from 1597, was the largest house in the borough and had its own designated pew, on the south side of the pulpit.

Today we are glad to welcome people from all over the world who want to pay their respects to Shakespeare, and in their own way to express gratitude for the way his plays and poems illuminate and enhance our humanity.

When Shakespeare was four and a half, his father, John, was bailiff to the corporation, an equivalent of mayor. Perhaps Shakespeare was not considered too young to appreciate the excitement of the weekly procession to church, then to sit still and behave, proud of his father in the bailiff’s pew on the north side of the knave, close to the then centrally-positioned pulpit.

Like most other people at the time, Shakespeare was a conforming member of The Church of England. Holy Trinity Church was a focal-point for the meaning of existence, for the baptisms of his younger siblings: Gilbert (1566-1612), Joan (1569-1646), Anne (1571-1579), Richard (1574-1613), and Edmund (1580-1607). Thirty-two per cent of children died before they were sixteen. When Shakespeare was fifteen Holy Trinity Church held the funeral of his sister, Anne, who died aged seven and a half.

Shakespeare worshipped in Holy Trinity Church whenever his professional commitments in London allowed him. His life was divided between Stratford-upon-Avon and London. New Place, his family home from 1597, was the largest house in the borough and had its own designated pew, on the south side of the pulpit.

Today we are glad to welcome people from all over the world who want to pay their respects to Shakespeare, and in their own way to express gratitude for the way his plays and poems illuminate and enhance our humanity.

A bust of William Shakespeare at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Close-up of Shakespeare's face. Photo: Paul Edmondson

‘Will Shakespeare, Gent.’ was buried on 25 April 1616. He was only fifty-two. When visitors gaze at his memorial bust above his grave, they are looking at a life portrait, commissioned and overseen by Shakespeare himself. That is how he wanted to be portrayed and remembered – poised to speak, pausing for thought – in the building where his loves and labours had long coincided with his intellectual and artistic pursuit of life’s great questions.

Paul Edmondson
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

William Shakespeare, The Cobbe Portrait, oil on panel has been reproduced with permission from the Cobbe Collection, Hatchlands Park.