Shakespeare's Birthplace, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire
Shakespeare's Birthplace on Henley Street. This timber framed town house, now a museum, dates from the late 15th century. It was extensively restored by the Shakespeare Birthday Committee (now the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust) between 1857 and 1868. The poet and playwright William Shakespeare was born in the house and spent his childhood there. Later on he also spent the first five years of his marriage with Anne Hathaway at the house. The photograph can be confidently dated to before 1857 because, in that year, the Shakespeare Birthday Committee removed the brick which had been used to re-front the house around 1800. This meant that the original timber frame could be seen again. The photograph is of an extremely early date in the history of photography. The image was probably taken by Hugh Welch Diamond, a Doctor of Psychiatry and pioneering photographer. He later became Secretary of the Photographic Society. The image is potentially of great importance because of its very early date and likely creation by a noteable pioneer of British photography. It is also rare as a photographic recording of Shakespeare's birthplace before its extensive restorations.
