Nash House, Stratford-upon-Avon

Standing right next door to the ruins and gardens of New Place, the residence in which William Shakespeare spent his last living days, is Nash's House.

This classical Tudor-period dwelling was built around 1500 and was once owned and occupied by Thomas Nash, a distinguished lawyer. In 1626 he married Shakespeare’s granddaughter Elizabeth – the only daughter of Susanna Shakespeare. In 1637, Susanna bought the property and later bequeathed it to Elizabeth. After Nash’s death in 1647, it was reserved for their use and that of their heirs.

When Elizabeth died childless in 1670, the direct line of Shakespeare came to an end and the property came into the possession of her second husband John Bernard. In 1876, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust acquired both New Place and Nash's House, and converted the latter into a museum of local history.

The museum traces lineage from the earliest settlers in the Avon Valley to the time of Shakespeare, and has a permanent exhibition on the life of Shakespeare as a father, husband, and resident of Stratford, as well as his writing career.

A fine example of 16th-century architecture, the house features period furnishing (many fine pieces of original Jacobean, Tudor and Elizabethan furniture), tapestries and engravings, and boasts a first-floor viewing platform overlooking the New Place site, the Guild Chapel and King Edward VI School, where Shakespeare was a student.

Exhibits inside include the executor's copy of Shakespeare's will, dated 1616, and a copy of the “fine” (a Tudor term for legal action) marking Shakespeare's purchase of New Place. One of the most intriguing objects on display is a gold signet ring with the inscription 'WS' – discovered near Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare's daughter Judith was married in February 1616.