Discover Anne Hathaway's Cottage

The cottage is located in Shottery

Anne Hathaway was the wife of William Shakespeare and she lived in Shottery, near Stratford-upon-Avon, until they married in 1582.

Her cottage is the archetypal chocolate-box building, with its half-timbered walls and thatched roof.

The 12-roomed Elizabethan farmhouse bears all the hallmarks of wealth and prosperity.

It has changed very little since Anne and William courted, but much of its 90 acres of land has since been lost.

Some parts of the house, known previously as Newlands Farm, date back to the 1600s and the original features are still visible, including some of the fireplaces and an old rush bed on which, it is said, Anne was born.

Bought for preservation

The house stayed in the Hathaway family until it was bought by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1892 for preservation.

The trust's attempts were almost thwarted when a huge fire swept through the cottage in 1969 but painstaking restoration work brought the cottage back to its former glory.

The house is now filled with period furniture - possibly the "second best bed" that Shakespeare left to his wife in his will - and the slating walls and floors provide the perfect backdrop for these museum pieces.