Post Description

Tony and the Team join a group of archaeologists as they dig the site of William Shakespeare's house, New Place, in Stratford on Avon. 

There's little of it above ground now, but records show it was Tudor Stratford's biggest private home, with up to 20 rooms and a dozen servants. However, in 1702, New Place was demolished to make way for a grand Georgian pile. 

That Georgian house sat right on the street, so for the last hundred years or more, it's been assumed that was also the site of New Place. But a recently discovered document casts doubt on that theory. 

And with the site now accessible, the archaeologists aim to show for the first time not only where Shakespeare really did live with his family but also how grand his house was. 

And that raises two intriguing questions about Shakespeare: why did he want such a grand home? And where on earth did he get the money from?