Behind the scenes at Shakespeare's New Place
Excitement in Stratford is growing at the imminent opening of Shakespeare’s New Place as a £6million project to transform the site approaches competition.
Though the exact opening date has yet to be confirmed, the Stratford Herald were last week treated to an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at what visitors can expect when the doors open.
It has never been the Birthplace Trust’s intention to restore the building that once stood on the site, but to reimagine the gardens on the site to provide a fresh, contemporary celebration of Shakespeare.
Shakespeare purchased New Place, the largest house in the borough in 1597 for £120, living in it until his death in 1616.
Sadly New Place was pulled down to much outrage in 1759 by its then owner Rev Francis Gastrell, though interest in the site has continued.
When it opens visitors will enter New Place through a huge elm and oak gate standing on the spot of Shakespeare’s original gatehouse before being met with a golden mass of flowers as they step inside.
The flowers surround the original New Place well, which will be used to water plants in the garden.
The entire garden has been designed to celebrate every one of Shakespeare’s works and is decked with sculptures depicting milestone’s in the Bard’s life and his influence on the world.
As they enter the site, visitors will notice a sculpture showing the deeds to New Place, representing Shakespeare’s purchase of the property.
Looking down at the floor metal ribbons recount Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets and six long poems, while 38 pennants within the flowerbed mark his plays.
Sculptures include a globe featuring the world as it was thought to be in Shakespeare’s day and a galleon to represent the Tempest, which was likely to have been written at New Place.
The historical importance of New Place and the fascinating finds unearthed by a recent archaeological dig, have presented project leaders with one or two challenges.
The dig may have unearthed a trove of important finds but as they have had to be re-covered to preserve them, how do you give visitors a sense of the history underneath?
To solve this problem the garden’s paved areas mark the footprint of Shakespeare’s original house, while plaques on the floor indicate whether you are standing in the kitchen, the brewery or any other area of the building.
The front of the garden is dominated by a sculpture by Jill Berelowitz called ‘His Mind’s Eye’ incorporating a large bronze tree overhanging a bronze sphere.
The tree, measuring 4.5m in height, was craned into position early one morning and towers over the sphere.
The sculpture has been designed to represent the influence of Shakespeare spreading across the globe.
It is the biggest bronze sculpture of a tree in the world and was made by creating a mould from a specially selected hawthorn tree from a National Trust garden.
This feature is the perfect place to contemplate Shakespeare’s works and is surrounded by a huge curved wooden bench with space for 60 people.
This section of the garden also includes a bronze chair and writing desk, the ideal spot for selfie taking.
Project Manager Nic Fulcher said: “One of the things I am most proud about is that the site is now fully accessible to everyone. Topographically it is quite a complicated site as there is a natural ridge halfway through the garden.”
Moving further back along a newly laid reclaimed brick pathway, visitors come to a beautiful expanse of green lawn, surrounded by deep flowerbeds and dotted with trees.
This, the Victorian Great Garden, looked very different a few weeks ago, when it sat as a vast expanse of mud.
However the lawn has been painstakingly levelled using 100 tonnes of top soil and re-laid with 2,000 square metres of lawn, creating a tranquil sea of green within the centre of Stratford.
A more traditional approach has been taken to this section of the site and a 250-year-old mulberry tree sits established in the middle of the lawn.
The story goes that a cutting from a mulberry tree belonging to King James I was planted at New Place by Shakespeare when he lived here.
Though that tree is now gone, the current mulberry tree is supposed to have grown from a cutting taken from Shakespeare’s original tree.
When it was felled years after Shakespeare’s death the original mulberry tree was given to a local tradesperson who used it to create souvenirs for Shakespeare fans, an idea that sparked a copycat trade in mulberry items by people claiming to have used Shakespeare’s tree.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has made great efforts to recognise the support the New Place project has received from local people and organisations and a metal tree pinned to one of the garden’s walls includes leaves engraved with the names of all those who helped.
Turning back towards the new exhibition centre, visitors will be hit with the scent of the New Place knot garden.
Originally designed by Earnest Law and built in 1920, the knot garden has been restored to its former glory and features a wide range of herbs and flowers.
The garden particularly appeals to insects, though cooks from the Birthplace Trust properties will have permission to take samples from some plants, whenever they run low of common herbs and spices.
Head of gardens, Glyn Jones, said: “I cannot believe I have walked into such a fantastic organisation as the Birthplace Trust and been given the opportunity to work on a project such as this. It really shows the trust’s commitment to horticulture.
“We have eleven gardeners working across our sites but we are also in the process of recruiting two new apprentices. I don’t think there is anywhere better for an apprentice to learn their trade and it’s a great way for us to invest in the next generation.
“There have been challenges along the way, from my perspective the wet weather during the winter, spring and early summer was tough, the soil has been very claggy. Of course it’s frustrating not being able to progress during these periods, but I have been working in gardens for many years now so I’m used to it. We have such a great team, I think we’ve got more than 100 years of experience between our gardeners.”
A key part of the New Place project has involved the preservation and extension of Nash’s House, which now becomes the New Place Exhibition Centre.
For the past 100 years, heavy building materials incorrectly installed, have been slowly pulling Nash’s House over, while the roof has leaked causing flooding.
All that has now been addressed, with the roof fixed, heavy building materials replaced with lighter ones and some structural bracing added.
On a practical level the building now incorporates modern visitor toilet facilities and a lift.
Entering the new extension from the know garden, visitors will pass down an Oak lined corridor to a new exhibition space featuring a representation of the original New Place building.
The model is covered with peep holes where people can watch animations of the kinds of activities that would have gone on in different areas of the house.
When New Place opens, this room will also display Shakespeare’s original deeds to the property from the Birthplace Trust’s archives.
Moving upstairs, a new balcony allows people to overlook the entire gardens, while visitors can also experience much of the original skyline Shakespeare would have encountered such as the Guild Chapel and the current Falcon Hotel building.
The final rooms in exhibition centre recount what we know of Shakespeare’s family, their life at New Place and display the original executor’s copy of the Bard’s will.
There are also children’s activities and a study room.
When it opens a team of more than 60 volunteers will assist staff at the Birthplace Trust in running New Place.
Nic Fulcher, project manager, said: “I think it remains a garden, it remains a place for contemplation and it remains a very emotional site. People can make their own personal connections with Shakespeare, they can make up their own minds about what Shakespeare means to them.
“Shakespeare was an imaginer, he was an innovator and I think he would be very happy with what we have done at New Place.”
Nic said he hoped that within four years New Place will eventually attract up to 150,000 visitors each year and all CV37 residents who can provide proof of address will be able to visit New Place free of charge.
For the exact New Place opening date keep an eye on the Stratford Herald website.
