Along the River Avon in eastern England lies a peaceful town called Stratford-upon-Avon, presumably given that name to distinguish is from other, less interesting Stratfords, such as Stratford, Texas. (I am joking, of course!) I got to visit this town when I was in England four years ago, and took some pictures, which I you can see in the linked photo album. Stratford-upon-Avon is best known as the hometown of William Shakespeare, and we got to visit his birthplace, as well as another house he lived in, if I remember right (I hesitate to make any definitive statements about Shakespeare since I have forgotten most of what I learned that day). We also visited the “Church of the Holy Trinity” which houses Shakespeare’s tomb, over which this interesting rhyme is placed:
Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear
To dig the dust enclos猫d here.
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.
I don’t know that Shakespeare himself wrote the rhyme, but so far it has worked! Some less prestigious souls were buried outside in the churchyard, making for a very interesting place to explore indeed.
One thing I noticed in these old buildings was that the doorways were often quite low. Apparently people back then were shorter (or at least shorter than me) and they’ve even had to put a warning sign on a lintel in one house that says “Mind your head.” All this and more you can see in the photos. Enjoy!
