Stratford-Upon-Avon
Summer 1998Stratford is the name of the village where William Shakespere was born and grew up from about 1564-1591 where he turned up in London as an actor and writer. The style of this house is known as the Tudor Style, the large wood beams were meant to flaunt the wealth of the owner. Only the very priveleged had homes like this one. His father was a glove maker and the lower portion of this seemingly large house was used as his workshop and showroom. It must have smelled terrible because all the leather production was done on the premises behind the house. It involves lots of chemicals and in the old days they used natural chemicals in urine!
The 'Upon Avon' part of the name indicates that the village is located on the Avon River. It is very charming and approximately 1.5 hrs north of Oxford which makes a great day trip if you visit. When Mark first moved here he lived in another small city called Henley-on-Thames which is between Oxford and London on the River Thames.
