Fodor's Expert Review Shakespeare’s Schoolroom and Guildhall
Dating from the early 15th century, the Guildhall is where a young Shakespeare went to school and where he was allegedly first introduced to the world of theater. Once the administrative center of the town, it now serves as a heritage center where visitors can see newly discovered medieval wall paintings, including two of the oldest surviving Tudor roses in England, plus take part in a lesson in the very room where Shakespeare was once taught. In the 16th century, the Guildhall was where the city council once sat, including John Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s father, who was town mayor in the 1560s. Around this time it also became home to the King’s New School, and shortly afterward William Shakespeare attended as a pupil. On the first floor is the Guildhall proper, where traveling acting companies performed to obtain their licenses. Many historians believe that it was after seeing the troupe known as the Earl of Leicester’s Men in 1587 that Shakespeare got the acting bug and set off... READ MORE
Dating from the early 15th century, the Guildhall is where a young Shakespeare went to school and where he was allegedly first introduced to the world of theater. Once the administrative center of the town, it now serves as a heritage center where visitors can see newly discovered medieval wall paintings, including two of the oldest surviving Tudor roses in England, plus take part in a lesson in the very room where Shakespeare was once taught. In the 16th century, the Guildhall was where the city council once sat, including John Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s father, who was town mayor in the 1560s. Around this time it also became home to the King’s New School, and shortly afterward William Shakespeare attended as a pupil. On the first floor is the Guildhall proper, where traveling acting companies performed to obtain their licenses. Many historians believe that it was after seeing the troupe known as the Earl of Leicester’s Men in 1587 that Shakespeare got the acting bug and set off for London. Today the building is still home to a school, and lessons take place on weekday mornings during term time before the attraction opens at 11 am.
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