Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind

Yesterday we didn’t quite get to see all the sites associated with William Shakespeare so we drove about 5 minutes out of town to Shotterly Village where Anne Hathaway’s Cottage resides. She was Shakespeare’s wife. Anne was actually 8 yrs. older than William when they married. He was 18 and she 26. She was the daughter of a respectable local farmer and the two probably met at church or when their fathers’ gathered for town council meetings.

The Hathaway’s Cottage stayed in the family until 1892 when Miss Baker, a spinster and the last remaining Hathaway heir, left the home to the Shakespeare Trust. The cottage was first built in 1463 and had major renovations in the mid 1500 to early 1600’s. Anne’s brother, Bartholomew tended and added rooms onto the property. He also legally bought the 90 acres the family had rented up until then, making him one of a few select freeman landowners in the area. Even though it is winter the gardens surrounding the house were still lovely to walk through, when one wasn’t being blown sideways by the powerful wind.

A lovely view by the window while spinning wool

This fireplace was added in the late 1500’s. Originally the ceiling opened all the way to the thatch roof and there was a central ring pit fire. After the two chimneys were built they directed the fire smoke to one small center hall where the meat would be hung. You could still smell the smoke in the hallway!

Miss Baker was the last Hathaway heir and lived in the cottage all her life

All day the wind blew fiercely! As we drove south through Oxford all the tree limbs and flags stood at attention. We expected to see Pooh Bear and Piglet fly by with a kite at any moment!

The wind pushed the clouds away and the intense brilliant winter sun shown forth in glory as we drove up to Old Sarum. A majestic ring of mounded earth rose up in front of us as we climbed the steep hill to the summit of this Iron Age Ring Fort. Of course Aeolus was still in a mood and about blew us from atop the earthen walls as we walked around. Old Srum was originally an Iron Age Ring Fort and then became a medieval fortress founded by William the Conqueror. It was a favorite southern castle and fortress for several English kings including Henry II. The original Salisbury Cathedral footprint can be seen in the fortress as well as the newer 16th century rebuild way off in the distance! Unfortunately Old Sarum fell into disrepair and ruin by the late 14^th century.

Along the top earthen wall at Old Sarum. There were three such rings around the iron age fort.

Footprint of the 12th cent. Salisbury Cathedral

View of Salisbury and the Cathedral spire from the top of the fort

Our final encounter with the relentless winter winds was down along the seashore in Portsmouth. Our B&B is only about 3 blocks from the seashore. Before checking in, we took a few minutes to see the sun set over the Isle of Wight and the English Channel. The children explored the beach and found a few rocks and seashells. As the sun dipped below the horizon we found a nice warm pub/restaurant called “The Old Ship” and had a delicious WARM meal. As I write this, the wind is still whipping around the corners of the Leeward House B&B where we are spending the night.