The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created by Act of Parliament in 1891 and reconstituted by the
Shakespeare Birthplace, &c., Trust Act, 1961.
Registered Charity No. 209302
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
Volunteering Information Pack 2014
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created by Act of Parliament in 1891 and reconstituted by the
Shakespeare Birthplace, &c., Trust Act, 1961.
Registered Charity No. 209302
Contents
Page(s)
Introduction to Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
3
What you can expect as a volunteer
4
Events, Updates and Discounts
5
Shakespeare Houses and Gardens
6-8
William Shakespeare: A Brief Outline of His Life
9
Next Steps
10
Appendix 1: Location Map for Shakespeare Centre and Houses
11
Volunteer Information Pack
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Version 5
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created by Act of Parliament in 1891 and reconstituted by the
Shakespeare Birthplace, &c., Trust Act, 1961.
Registered Charity No. 209302
Introduction
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
We currently have a range of volunteering opportunities available and hope to
accommodate everyone interested in offering us support.
Please note: volunteers must be aged 16+
What our volunteers say:
... an extraordinary experience and I would not have missed it
Volunteering over the summer between University has increased my confidence
I’ve met so many interesting people from around the world and have loved interacting
with visitors
I love being part of the gardening team. The gardeners are a great bunch to work with
and very inspirational.
...new friendships, new skills learned and a feeling of peace and fulfillment down on the
farm.
The Trust
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is an independent charity, receiving no central
government funding. It was formed in 1847, following the purchase of the house in which
Shakespeare was born. Since then four other historic houses associated with Shakespeare
and his immediate family have been purchased. All of them are in or around Stratfordupon-Avon.
The Trust is unique in that it is the only charity that cares for Shakespeare’s heritage. It
operates under an Act of Parliament, the latest revision being in 1961.
During 2013:
Over 200 volunteers got involved across various departments, giving over 21,000 hours of
their time in support of the Trust.
For further information about the Trust please visit: www.shakespeare.org.uk
The Trust owns and cares for five Shakespeare Houses, each of which gives visitors an
insight into life and society in Shakespeare’s time.
Volunteer Information Pack
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Version 5
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created by Act of Parliament in 1891 and reconstituted by the
Shakespeare Birthplace, &c., Trust Act, 1961.
Registered Charity No. 209302
What can you expect as a volunteer?
Volunteers are an important and valued part of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Below
we have explained what you can expect from us if you choose to volunteer and what we
hope for from you.
We will:
 Introduce you to the organisation and your role within it, and provide any training
you might need to meet the responsibilities of your role.
 Explain the standards we would like to achieve and encourage and support you to
achieve and maintain them.
 Provide a named person to whom you will be responsible and with whom you can
discuss your volunteering and any successes and problems.
 Do our best to help you develop your volunteering role with us.
 Provide any relevant training and feedback in support of our health and safety
policy.
 Provide adequate insurance cover for volunteers whilst undertaking voluntary work
approved and authorised by us.
 Ensure that all volunteers are dealt with in accordance with our equal
opportunities policy.
 Try to resolve fairly any problems, complaints and difficulties you may have while
you volunteer with us and in the event of an unresolved problem will meet to
discuss the issues.
We will ask you to agree to:
 Help the Trust carry out its activities.
 Perform your volunteering role to the best of your ability.
 Follow the Trust’s policies, procedures and standards that are notified to you.
 Meet time commitments and to give reasonable notice if you are not able to
attend, so other arrangements can be made.
 Provide referees as agreed who may be contacted, and to agree to a Disclosure and
Barring Service check being carried out if necessary.
 Maintain the confidential information of the Trust and of its customers.
Travel Expenses
We will reimburse your travel costs between your home address and the place you
volunteer at the rate of 40p per mile, up to a maximum of a 25 mile round trip or £10 per
day. Volunteer parking costs can also be claimed within this £10 daily maximum. Please
note: combined mileage and parking claims should not exceed the £10 limit. Volunteers
travelling by train or bus may also claim up to £10 per day.
Volunteer Information Pack
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Version 5
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created by Act of Parliament in 1891 and reconstituted by the
Shakespeare Birthplace, &c., Trust Act, 1961.
Registered Charity No. 209302
Events, Updates and Discounts
Special Events
We will invite you to a variety of special events including talks, ‘behind the scenes’ tours,
theatre trips, craft workshops and parties.
Trust Weekly
We will provide you with copies of Trust Weekly, the Trust’s weekly newsletter, via email.
And after 50 hours of volunteering, you will be eligible for a Discount Card which will
entitle you to:
 Free entry to the Shakespeare Houses for yourself, another adult and up to 4 children
 15% discount in the Trust’s shops (excluding plants).
 Free access to those lectures given as part of the Trust’s ‘Shakespeare Days’
Programme or to Lunchtime and Evening Lectures so long as these are not
fundraising events**.
 Discounts at a variety of shops, cafes and service providers in and around Stratfordupon-Avon.
**Please note: Free places cannot be guaranteed as fee-paying attendees will have priority.
Applications to attend should be made to the course administrator who will draw up a first come,
first served list in the event of the lecture being over-subscribed.
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Version 5
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created by Act of Parliament in 1891 and reconstituted by the
Shakespeare Birthplace, &c., Trust Act, 1961.
Registered Charity No. 209302
The Shakespeare Houses and Gardens
Shakespeare’s Birthplace
This was the childhood home of William Shakespeare. The house has been authentically
furnished and includes both original and replica household items similar to those that
would have been present in the property when Shakespeare was a boy. The house
incorporates a reconstructed workshop, the kind that would have been used by
Shakespeare’s father, a glove-maker by trade.
Visitors to the Birthplace can also see the exciting Treasures Exhibition housed inside the
adjacent Shakespeare Centre. The Shakespeare Centre is the main entry point for
visitors to the Birthplace and the Exhibition. It also houses the Trust’s Library and Archive,
hosts education sessions and events in its function rooms and provides office space for
many of the Trust’s staff.
The Treasures Exhibition showcases some of the most important and wonderful objects
from the museum, library and archive collections of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. For
the first time since its purchase, the Trust’s portrait of William Shakespeare (a copy of the
Cobbe portrait dating back to c.1615) is on display to the public, along with many other
exciting documents and art works. The treasures exhibited will be changed every 6-12
months.
Behind Shakespeare’s Birthplace is a country garden containing many of the traditional
plants, herbs and flowers mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays. The original garden would
have been cultivated mainly to grow useful household produce and this is reflected today
with the emphasis on herbs, fruit trees and fruit bushes that were common in
Shakespeare’s day. Visitors then leave through the Birthplace Shop, which is a separate
building reached through the gardens.
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The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created by Act of Parliament in 1891 and reconstituted by the
Shakespeare Birthplace, &c., Trust Act, 1961.
Registered Charity No. 209302
Hall’s Croft
This was for several years the home of Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna and her husband,
Dr John Hall. It celebrates its 400 year anniversary this year and hosts an exciting
exhibition charting its past. The Happy Birthday Hall’s Croft Exhibition looks at the story
of the house and some of its past occupants, from solicitors and schoolteachers through to
travellers, writers and actors.
Purchased in 1949, it was the last of the houses to be acquired by the Trust and has
recently undergone conservation work to help preserve it for the future. Its peaceful
gardens contain herbaceous borders, an ancient mulberry tree and a formal bed where
many of the herbs mentioned in Dr Hall’s medical notes grow.
Mary Arden’s Farm
This was the family home of Shakespeare’s mother, Mary, before she married. It operates
as a working Tudor farm, complete with costumed Tudors. The young William Shakespeare
would have been familiar with many of the rare breeds now living there, and the rural
crafts, cookery and traditional skills used are those from times past.
In 2000, newly discovered documentation resolved a question of mistaken identity when
they confirmed the true home of Mary Arden’s family to be a property then known as
Glebe Farm. Purchased by the Trust in 1968, Glebe Farm stood next to the 16th century
farmhouse which had traditionally been known as Mary Arden’s House. Following the
discovery of Glebe Farm’s true identity, it was re-named Mary Arden’s Farm whilst the
farm formerly thought to be her home was renamed Palmer’s Farm after its 16th century
builder. The Trust had purchased Palmer’s Farm in 1930.
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Version 5
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created by Act of Parliament in 1891 and reconstituted by the
Shakespeare Birthplace, &c., Trust Act, 1961.
Registered Charity No. 209302
Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
This cottage was purchased in 1892, and was the childhood home of Shakespeare’s wife. It
was then occupied by descendants of the Hathaway family until 1899. The cottage
contains many rare items of furniture original to the house, some dating back to Anne’s
time, including the 17th century, finely carved, oak “Hathaway bed”.
The quintessential English cottage garden contains traditional vegetables and flowers, and
a growing Willow Cabin, inspired by “Twelfth Night”, which allows visitors to listen to
Shakespeare’s sonnets. To the rear of the Cottage is an orchard, a Sculpture Garden, and
also a Woodland Walk.
Nash’s House
This was named after Thomas Nash, first husband to Shakespeare’s grand-daughter and a
wealthy local property owner. Today it is a well preserved Tudor building and the ground
floor is furnished as it would have been in Nash’s day, containing some notable period
furniture.
Nash’s House adjoins the site of New Place, where Shakespeare lived for the last eighteen
years of his life. The house, which is no longer standing, was bought by William
Shakespeare in 1597 and he died here in 1616. Trust ownership of the site was confirmed
by an 1891 Act of Parliament. The foundations of New Place have recently being
excavated as part of the ‘Dig for Shakespeare’ archaeology project, finds from which are
displayed upstairs in Nash’s House. There is an intricate knot garden on site, whilst the
Great Garden to the rear contains further flowering beds.
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Version 5
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created by Act of Parliament in 1891 and reconstituted by the
Shakespeare Birthplace, &c., Trust Act, 1961.
Registered Charity No. 209302
William Shakespeare: a brief outline of his life
Birth and Early Life
William Shakespeare was born in 1564, in Stratford upon Avon. His father, John, trained as
a glove-maker and married farmer’s daughter, Mary Arden. John was a prominent citizen,
serving on the town council for many years and becoming Bailiff, or Mayor, in 1568. As the
son of a leading townsman, William almost certainly attended Stratford's 'petty' or junior
school before progressing to the Grammar School.
Marriage
In 1582 William married Anne Hathaway. Their first-born child, Susanna, was baptised on
26 May 1583. Two years later twins, Hamnet and Judith, followed.
Early Career
Shakespeare's reputation was established in London by 1592. His earliest plays included
three parts of Henry VI, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Titus Andronicus.
Shakespeare's first printed works were two long poems, Venus and Adonis (1593) and The
Rape of Lucrece (1594). Most of the Sonnets were probably written about this time too. In
1594, Shakespeare joined others in forming a new theatre company under the patronage
of the Lord Chamberlain.
Growing Success: Man of Property
Shakespeare’s success enabled him to purchase New Place, the second largest house in
Stratford, in 1597. In 1598 the author of a book on the arts, Francis Meres, described him
as the best contemporary dramatist and mentioned twelve of his plays.
The Theatres
In 1599 the acting company with which Shakespeare was involved, the Lord Chamberlain's
Men, built the Globe Theatre. Two of his plays, Henry V and Julius Caesar, were almost
certainly written during the year in which the Globe opened.
James I and Shakespeare’s Later Career
When James I came to the throne in 1603 he granted royal patronage to Shakespeare's
acting company. In 1609 the King's Men acquired an indoor theatre, the Blackfriars. Some
of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies were written in the early 1600’s, including
Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. His later plays, often known as the Romances,
date from 1608 to 1612 and include Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. In
1623 the First Folio, the first collected edition of his plays, was published.
Last Years in Stratford
Shakespeare's elder daughter, Susanna, married John Hall in 1607 and had a daughter
named Elizabeth. His other daughter, Judith, married Thomas Quiney in 1616. Sadly, her
twin brother Hamnet had died whilst only a child. From around 1611 Shakespeare seems
largely to have disengaged himself from London, spending his time in Stratford instead. He
died on 23 April 1616, aged fifty-two. His wife Anne followed in 1623. Shakespeare's family
line came to an end with the death of his grand-daughter, Elizabeth, in 1670.
Volunteer Information Pack
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Version 5
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created by Act of Parliament in 1891 and reconstituted by the
Shakespeare Birthplace, &c., Trust Act, 1961.
Registered Charity No. 209302
Next Steps
If you would like to register to volunteer, please fill in a Volunteer Registration Form and,
if applicable, a Parent/Guardian Consent Form (for ages 16 and 17) and return to the HR
Officer at the email or postal address on the form. Forms can be downloaded from the
Trust website: www.shakespeare.org.uk/about-us/volunteering.html
The HR Officer will then contact you with information about next steps and how we will
move your registration forward.
Under 16s
Unfortunately we are unable to accept volunteers younger than 16 years of age, though we
do have a work experience programme to which under 16s are welcome to apply. For
further information please visit: www.shakespeare.org.uk/about-us/work-with-us/workexperience.html or get in touch with us by telephone: 01789 204016.
Questions or Queries
If you have any questions or queries, please contact the HR Officer by email:
volunteering@shakespeare.org.uk or telephone: 01789 204106.
Volunteer Information Pack
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Version 5
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was created by Act of Parliament in 1891 and reconstituted by
the Shakespeare Birthplace, &c., Trust Act, 1961.
Registered Charity No. 209302
Volunteer Information Pack
11
Version 5