8-3BirthplaceTrust

**What is the Shakespeare Birthday Trust? What is its history and Mission?** //Prepared by Riley P// Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) is a charity in Stratford, England dedicated to preserving William Shakespeare’s birthplace as a national monument. It is also the oldest conservation society in Britain.

The trust originates from 1846 when the house where Shakespeare was born was put up for sale after the last person to inherit the house died. An American named P.T. Barnum of Barnum and Bailey Circus proposed to buy the house and have it shipped brick by brick to the United States. To prevent this, the Shakespeare Birthplace Committee was formed and purchased the house for the United Kingdom. They received incorporation from Parliament becoming the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust today.

On the “Houses & Museums” section of the official Shakespeare Birthplace Trust website you can find information about the properties the trust owns. After renovations to William’s birthplace in 2000, the house is now furnished as accurately as possible to resemble what it would have looked like in the 1570s. Currently, the Shakespeare trust holds multiple properties significant to William Shakespeare’s besides Shakespeare’s Birthplace including Anne Hathaway’s cottage, the childhood home of William’s wife. The trust also owns the house where Shakespeare and his family lived from 1597 until his death which is now known as “New Place”. The trust purchased two farms called the Palmer and Glebe Farms which today form the Shakespeare Countryside Museum. The Trust also owns extensive collections of artwork, coins and tokens, Anglo-Saxon artifacts found at the sights, and Elizabethan embroidery and cloth. One of the Trust’s greatest assets would be the Shakespeare Centre Library & Archive which holds combined book collections from both the Shakespeare Trust and the Royal Shakespeare Company. They also have extensive collections of documents, photographs, and maps relating to Stratford-Upon-Avon and local areas.

On the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust official website, the section “About Us” describes the trust’s three main missions; to promote the study and appreciation of the plays and works of Shakespeare in every part of the world, to preserve and maintain Shakespeare’s birthplace properties for all to enjoy, and to provide and maintain a museum and library of books, manuscripts, records of historic interest, pictures, photographs and objects pertaining to William Shakespeare. This is very important to ensure advancements are made in the knowledge of Shakespeare as well as ensure his fantastic work will never be forgotten.  Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust is considered to be the most significant Shakespeare charity in the world and is very important to ensuring Shakespeare’s legacy lives on. **Works Cited** "Shakespeare Birthplace Trust." __Shakespeare Birthplace Trust__. 2009. 15 Apr. 2009 .



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