Mary Arden's Farm

D was on holiday last week and, as we still had Mary Arden's Farm to visit on the Shakespeare 5 House Passes, we decided to go along and take a look. I was surprised at how much there was to see and do and it would be a superb place to take young children. Mary Arden was William Shakespeare's mother (she had married John Shakespeare ~1557) and the Farm was her childhood home. William would have visited many times during his childhood and it is suggested that Mary took him there to escape an outbreak of the plague in Stratford.

Mary Arden's Farm is located in the village of Wilmcote, just a few miles from Stratford on Avon. This area was once part of the vast Forest of Arden although by Shakespeare's time the forest had long since been cleared. Robert Arden, Shakespeare's maternal grandfather owned about 70 acres of land and was a wealthy farmer. Mary Arden's own seal used on a land settlement document shows a horse rearing suggesting that Robert may have bred and reared horses.

Confusingly, for many years from the late 18th century until fairly recently, it was believed that Shakespeare's mother's house was, in fact, the 16th century half-timbered farm building now called "Palmer's Farm". It was only in 2000 when the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust commissioned research in the house's history that it was revealed that Mary Arden's home had been the farm next door to Palmer's Farmhouse. Luckily, the Trust has rescued this house from the threat of demolition in the 1960's and it was already open to the public.

Palmer's Farm

Adam Palmer who lived here in the 16th century was a close friend of both William's parents and grandparents. The farmhouse today looks much as it would have appeared in the 16th century and contains 4 bedchambers, 2 parlours, a hall and a kitchen.

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Tudor Herb Garden

We saw several Red Admirals on ivy flowers although didn't manage to get any photos.

As you wander round the property there are many re-enactments taking place during the course of he day.

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Tudor farmyard

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Bread Oven and Privy

Tudor Vegetable Garden

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Mary Arden's Farmhouse

The house today is mainly a Victorian/Edwardian house but within there is plenty of evidence of the original early 16th century home where Mary lived.

Common Carder Bee on Scabious

Nettles gaining a foothold on a stone wall.

The kitchen/dairy area is used for re-enactments.

Planting Plan of the Wise Woman's Garden

We didn't have time to visit the Wildflower Meadow and new Butterfly Bank which would no doubt have been rather lovely in the Summer.

We did, however, watch the Falconry Display which was rather impressive with the Eagle Owl swooping low over people's heads and landing on the back of their benches! Quite an awesome experience!

Finally, Coffee Cake and tea :)

The photos marked *D were taken by D with the Canon HS50 - again the zoom came in very handy.



We've just got back from a short break in Herefordshire so I'll do a few posts on this over the course of the next few days. In the meantime I'll be trying to catch up with all your blogs.

Heritage Festival, St Mary and St Margarets and another Wildlife Friendly Churchyard

D and I went along to Castle Bromwich Heritage Festival last Saturday afternoon.

Just a few photos from the event - I think this may be the same Organ Grinder who appears at New Hall Mill Open Days?

Ouch! - looks exceedingly painful!!

No sign of the Green Man this year :( but I did see this picture in the tea room showing him by an Oak Tree at the start (or end) of the Solihull Green Man Trail.

Fungi growing in the churchyard. Chicken of the Woods?? Am absolutely hopeless at Fungi id so if anyone knows what this is please leave a comment.

St Mary and St Margaret's Church was open - not too many photos partly because I did a post on this church last year and also "Queen Victoria" was holding a story telling session in the Chancel so I couldn't get to that area to take photos. The church has a family connection - my parents were married there.

References to a place of worship on this site date back to a charter of 1165. Documents refer to a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary at Castle Bromwich. The chapel was the private place of worship for the lords of Castle Bromwich Manor and subject to the parish church at Aston. Evidence suggests that this Chapel is now the site of the present Chancel and the high altar has been in its present position for around 800 years.

During the 15th century a timber-framed church was constructed at the end of the Norman stone chancel. The medieval roof is still in place - I posted a photo in my post last year when we had a tour of the tower and you can see the huge oak beams being held together by wooden pegs.

In 1657 Orlando Bridgeman bought Castle Bromwich Hall and the manorial estates for his son Sir John I. Sir John's son, Sir John Bridgeman II succeeded to the estate in 1710 and proceeded to extend the hall and lay out the Gardens. The church was also extended and unusually instead of demolishing the old timber and stone church the new church was built around the old one with most of the original woodwork being enclosed in brick, lath and plaster. St Mary and St Margaret is the only known example of an encased church or a "church within a church". The work was completed in 1731. Charles Edward Bateman, an architect and advocate of the Arts and Crafts Movement, who lived in Castle Bromwich was the person who first discovered that the Parish Church had been built around the previous Medieval church.

The church became the parish church in 1878.

The stained glass is either Victorian or modern.

The font dates back to 1731 and is made of Italian marble.

Here you can see some of the original church behind the plaster.

Possible appearance of the church before it was encased in the present building.

19th century graffiti!

Before we left I went and had a look round the Graveyard which in the last few years has been the subject of a community project to clear the very overgrown churchyard and research the lives of those who have been buried there. They have produced an interesting booklet entitled "Stories Behind the Headstones".

It was good to learn that the renovation of the churchyard is being undertaken with wildlife in mind and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust are advising the volunteers and wherever possible native plants are being used. I noticed a lot of pollinator friendly plants and some of you may remember the flower border full of alliums and bees at this churchyard that I wrote about during the Wildlife Trust's #30 Days Wild project.

There are still a few plants flowering and plenty of seedheads.

Visible from the furthest part of the churchyard is what remains of the mound that locally is known as "Pimple Hill", the remains of a 12th century motte and bailey construction built as a defence to guard the important crossing of the River Tame. Sadly, much of the site was destroyed in the 1970's during the construction of a road and what remains now lies stranded between the M6 and the Collector Road. An extensive archaeological dig by Birmingham Museum took place before the road was built and evidence was found of a timber structure on the mound and a Roman settlement.