Mary Arden's House Stratford Upon Avon

The house that Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, grew up in

Mary Arden's House Stratford
Mary Arden's House Stratford

Mary Arden's House Official Web Site


Three and a half miles outside Stratford and still retaining its country setting in Wilmcote, this timbered Tudor farmhouse is the house that Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden grew up in before marrying John Shakespeare and moving to Henley Street.

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It is also home to the Shakespeare countryside museum, two historic farms, displays of farm implements, daily demonstrations by the Heart of England falconry, a blacksmith's forge and a duck pond

Mary Arden's House History

The house has been continually inhabited by farmers, insuring that the outbuildings remain largely intact.

An interesting tale adheres to Mary Arden's House. For centuries the traditional farmhouse immediately the east of the current visitor parking lot was thought to be the house where Shakespeare's mother was born and lived prior to her marriage to John Shakespeare.

The identification of this building as Mary Arden's House was based on local tradition. A few years ago the adjoining farm came on the market. This property was purchased by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to prevent any modern development being built on the site. It was only later that detective work by historians revealed that this adjoining farm was, in fact, the actual home of Mary Arden!

So if you see pictures taken prior to the year 2000, the building portrayed as Mary Arden's House is actually Palmer's Farm.

Mary Arden's House What You Will See

Very few tours come to Mary Arden's House.

The building is appropriately constructed using oak from the nearby Arden forest and stone from Wilmcote itself. The house has an intriguing, fairytale atmosphere with uneven walls, irregular handmade tiles and tiny dormer windows.


Outdoor attractions include a dovecote with 657 nesting holes, cowsheds, stables, a cidermill and barns. The outbuildings and nearby Glebe Farm now house an extensive museum illustrating rural life over the last 400 years. So you can see the Elizabethan way of life and interact with the daily domestic routine of a working farm including watching the farmer's wife prepare and cook her home grown food in the farmhouse kitchen. There is a selection of sheep, pigs and cattle appropriate to the time and a nature trail.

There is also a gift shop and cafe.

Mary Arden's House Times, Prices & Location

Mary Arden's House is some way outside Stratford. If you are traveling independently the Stratford Upon Avon Hop on Hop Off Bus (see bottom of page) stops outside and is your best bet. It is possible to take the train one stop from Stratford just up the road from the house, but trains are not that regular compared with the HOHO bus.


Mary Arden's House is open daily except Christmas and Boxing Day. You can purchase tickets individually or if you are viewing more than one Shakespeare property there are money saving tickets covering multiple properties.

Opening times are seasonal, so for current opening hours and prices click through on the link at the top of the page to the official web site. If you are Visiting Stratford independently, you can buy a combination ticket that combines the Stratford Hop On Hop Off sightseeing bus that shuttles around all the Shakespeare properties with admission tickets to the properties themselves from the bus.

Shakespeare's Stratford Upon Avon Properties & Attractions

There are five houses in or near Stratford-upon-Avon connected with William Shakespeare and his family. There is also Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) that perform plays.


The Shakespearean properties offer a unique experience of the Stratford world in which the famous dramatist and poet was born, lived and died.

Open all year round, these sixteenth-century houses feature rare period furnishings and domestic items. Aspects of Tudor life, are on display, all set in attractive gardens and grounds.


You can buy a single ticket giving access to all properties.

The Stratford Upon Avon hop on hop off bus connects them all and offers combo tickets combining the bus service with admission to either 3 or 5 of the Shakespeare properties.


The five properties are:

Shakespeare's Birthplace - Where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and grew up. Exhibition centre.

New Place / Nash's House - Shakespeare's home from 1597 until his death in 1616.

Hall's Croft - Where Shakespeare's eldest daughter (Susanna) lived.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage - Before marrying William Shakespeare in 1582, Anne Hathaway lived here.

Mary Arden's House - The house that Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, grew up in.

Stratford Upon Avon Hop on Hop Off Bus

Stratford Upon Avon Hop on Hop Off Bus

Like so many towns and cities with a lot of visitors, a hop on, hop off open top sightseeing bus operates in Stratford.


At Stratford its particularly useful as a couple of Shakespeare attractions, Anne Hathaway's Cottage and Mary Arden's House are well outside walking distance from the town centre.


The bus has ticketing options which includes admissions to the Shakespeare properties. The main starting point of the buses is by the bridge next to the main Tourist Information Centre. For independent visitors there is also a stop very close to the train station.


Frequencies are broadly every 30 minutes with increased frequencies, every 15/20 minutes at the peak times in summer and weekends. During the summer months live guides are available, at other times audio guides are provided (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, German and Kid's Commentary)


There are 12 stops including all 5 Shakespeare properties, Holy Trinity Church and the RSC theatres.

You can also purchase a ticket that combines the Ho Ho service with a river cruise on the River Avon.