Shaw Birthplace

Shaw Birthplace Review

"Author of many plays" is the simple accolade to George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) on the plaque outside his birthplace. The Nobel laureate was born here to a once prosperous family fallen on hard times. Shaw lived in this modest, Victorian terrace house until he was 10 and remembered it as having a "loveless" feel. The painstaking restoration of the little rooms highlights the cramped, claustrophobic atmosphere. All the details of a family home—wallpaper, paint, fittings, curtains, furniture, utensils, pictures, rugs—remain, and it appears as if the family has just gone out for the afternoon. You can almost hear one of Mrs. Shaw's musical recitals in the tiny front parlor. The children's bedrooms are filled with photographs and original documents and letters that throw light on Shaw's career.