Maybe that's where Shakespeare cooked up his plays! Bard's kitchen is found in the ruins of New Place complete with hearth and cold storage pit 'fridge'

  • Hearth, cold storage pit and kitchen utensils were found at New Place
  • This is the site of Shakespeare's house in Stratford-upon-Avon
  • Evidence of a brew house and a well were also discovered at the site
  • Discovery sheds life on the Bard's home life and the man behind the plays 

By SARAH GRIFFITHS FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

Almost 420 years since Shakespeare's lavish and magnificent house was raised to the ground, archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the Bard's demolished kitchen.

Uncovered in the remains of New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon - the site of his family home - the experts found a well hearth and cold storage pit, which was used like a fridge to store cheese. 

Historians are still trying to piece together clues to build a picture of what the impressive home would have been like and this discovery has been described as 'vital' to this effort. 

Archaeologists have uncovered the Bard’s kitchen at New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon - the site of his family home. The structure on the left is a fireplace and two walls would have supported an oven. The stones here are blackened by fire. A stone-lined pit that was situated below  floor level can be seen, right

Archaeologists have uncovered the Bard's kitchen at New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon - the site of his family home. The structure on the left is a fireplace and two walls would have supported an oven. The stones here are blackened by fire. A stone-lined pit that was situated below  floor level can be seen, right

Archaeologists from Staffordshire University also found fragments of cookware in the 'highly significant' discovery.

The Bard was an established playwright when he bought what was reportedly a magnificent house in 1597 and lived there for the last 19 years of his life.

He wrote 26 of his plays, including The Tempest, while living at the property with his wife Anne Hathaway and their three children.

It was demolished in 1759 by its then owner, Reverend Francis Gastrell, who was annoyed by visiting Shakespeare enthusiasts. 

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S 'MAGNIFICENT' HOUSE 

New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon was the site of Shakespeare's family home. It was built in 1483 by the Clopton family.  

The Bard (shown in a painting) was an established playwright when he bought the house in 1597 and lived there for the last 19 years of his life

The Bard (shown in a painting) was an established playwright when he bought the house in 1597 and lived there for the last 19 years of his life

The Bard was an established playwright when he bought what was reportedly the 'magnificent' house in 1597 and lived there for the last 19 years of his life. 

He died in April 1616. 

The playwright is believed to have paid the considerable sum of £120 ($181) in 1597 for the property at a time when a school teacher's annual salary would have been about £20 ($30).

The house was the largest single residence in the borough of Stratford-Upon-Avon.

He wrote 26 of his plays, including The Tempest, while living at the property with his wife Anne Hathaway and their three children. 

Experts believe the house had an impressive frontage as well as a 'great chamber' and gallery with 20 other rooms and 10 fireplaces. 

However, it was demolished in 1759 by its then owner, Reverend Francis Gastrell, who was annoyed by visiting Shakespeare enthusiasts. 

The discovery of the kitchen and its artefacts is said to be a 'vital' find in determining how the house would have looked. 

The walls surrounding the hearth would have held an oven in place, while the cold storage pit would have been below ground level and used to store cheese, for example. 

The team also found evidence of a brew house where beer was made and pickling and salting took place to preserve food. 

Fragments of plates, cups and other cookware were also found. 

The kitchen artefacts have been reburied and workers have redesigned the construction plans the New Place heritage centre to ensure they lie undisturbed. 

Archaeologists began their investigations in May and The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which owns the site, has now revealed they found several vital artefacts which would have made up the kitchen.

The walls surrounding the hearth would have held an oven in place, while the cold storage pit would have been below ground level and used to store cheese, for example. 

The finds are both part of the medieval foundations of New Place, which was built in 1483 by the Clopton family.

The discovery has led to new drawings of how the original house may have looked. The grand 1485 ‘Open Hall’ is pictured in the foreground. The external single storey cookhouse is separated from the main building for fire safety. The rear of the 1597 modernised gatehouse range is visible across the grassy courtyard

The discovery has led to new drawings of how the original house may have looked. The grand 1485 'Open Hall' is pictured in the foreground. The external single storey cookhouse is separated from the main building for fire safety. The rear of the 1597 modernised gatehouse range is visible across the grassy courtyard

Stone foundations (pictured) were found under the courtyard of Nash’s House - the Tudor house next door to Shakespeare's - including stone foundations of industrial structures were discovered. Courtyards housed activities which would have kept the household going, such tanks to store water and outside toilets

Stone foundations (pictured) were found under the courtyard of Nash's House - the Tudor house next door to Shakespeare's - including stone foundations of industrial structures were discovered. Courtyards housed activities which would have kept the household going, such tanks to store water and outside toilets

The team also found evidence of a brew house where beer was made and pickling and salting took place to preserve food.

SHAKESPEARE'S RAGS-TO-RICHES STORY 'IS A MYTH'

It has long been thought William Shakespeare's story was a true life rags-to-riches tale.

But new research has revealed it is in fact a myth and his father was a successful wool trade businessman.

John Shakespeare was said to be a wealthy glover and leather worker who fell on hard times and went bankrupt for reasons that historians have so far been unable to uncover.

It was thought that this left his son to make his own way in life and establish himself as a poet and actor, where he made his wealth in the theatres of London.

But former financier David Fallow, who has been studying the Shakespeare family's fortunes for years by analysing financial records, has made new claims about the playwright.  

Beer was drunk instead of unsafe water at the time.

Fragments of plates, cups and other cookware were also found and copies will be available for visitors to handle at Nash's House, another Tudor building next door to the site.

It intends to turn the site into a heritage destination to shed light on the Bard's family life and the man behind the famous works.

Dr Paul Edmondson, head of research and knowledge at the Trust, said: 'Finding Shakespeare's kitchen proved to be a vital piece of evidence in our understanding of New Place.

'Once we had uncovered the family's oven we were able to understand how the rest of the house fitted around it.

'The discovery of the cooking areas, brew house, pantry and cold storage pit, combined with the scale of the house, all point to New Place as a working home as well as a house of high social status.

'A much richer picture of Shakespeare has emerged through the course of our excavations.

Dr Edmonson added: 'At New Place we can catch glimpses of Shakespeare the playwright and country town gentleman.

'His main task was to write and a house as impressive as New Place would have played an important part in the rhythm of his working life.'

New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon (marked) was the site of Shakespeare's family home. The house was the largest single residence in the borough but was demolished in 1759 by its then owner, Reverend Francis Gastrell, who was annoyed by visiting Shakespeare enthusiasts

This illustration of the house shows  the Chapel Street ‘Gatehouse range’ - resplendent with its jettied end gables and richly decorated projecting widow and roof dormers to illuminate the long gallery. These improvements are thought to have been added while Shakespeare lived there

This illustration of the house shows  the Chapel Street 'Gatehouse range' - resplendent with its jettied end gables and richly decorated projecting widow and roof dormers to illuminate the long gallery. These improvements are thought to have been added while Shakespeare lived there

Shakespeare bought New Place for the considerable sum of £120 in 1597 at a time when a school teacher's annual salary would have been about £20.

The house was the largest single residence in the borough of Stratford-Upon-Avon.

The dig has helped to establish the size of New Place, enabling new plans to be drawn up that depict the most accurate vision possible of how the house would have looked like during Shakespeare's ownership.

Experts believe the house had an impressive frontage as well as a 'great chamber' and gallery with 20 other rooms and 10 fireplaces.

This image shows a well found behind Nash's House - a building that is contemporary with Shakespeare's long-demolished impressive residence

This image shows a well found behind Nash's House - a building that is contemporary with Shakespeare's long-demolished impressive residence

The kitchen artefacts have been reburied and workers have redesigned the construction plans the New Place heritage centre to ensure they lie undisturbed.

Julie Crawshaw, project manager of Shakespeare's New Place, said: 'The trust knows just how powerful this site is.

'Not just because of what will be seen above the ground but because of the history which lies underneath, layers of earth and foundations which have been untouched for hundreds of years.

'We have unearthed some significant archaeology which is all part of the story of New Place and its history.

'This will be shared in our exciting retelling of New Place where visitors will be able to discover Shakespeare on the very ground where his family home stood.'

The trust plans to open the re-imagined New Place as a heritage landmark in the summer of next year which marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

The trust plan to open the re-imagined New Place as a heritage landmark in the summer of next year which marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Exhibitions are currently held at Nash's House (shown above), another Tudor building that would have stood next to magnificant New Place 

WAS SHAKESPEARE HIGH WHEN HE WROTE HIS WORKS? 

William Shakespeare could have written his plays under the influence of drugs, according to researchers who have identified traces of cannabis in pipes found in the author's garden.

South African scientists carried out a chemical analysis on broken pieces of pipe found in Shakespeare's garden in Stratford-upon-Avon, as well as in the grounds of his neighbours' homes.

They discovered that four of the pipes from the playwright's house had traces of cannabis on them - implying that Shakespeare himself may have enjoyed the drug.

Two pipes found nearby had apparently been used to smoke coca leaves, but the researchers suggest that the great writer deliberately rejected the more potent narcotic.

Francis Thackeray, of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, says that both cannabis and coca were considered variants of 'tobacco' during the Elizabethan period.

Cannabis had been known in Europe for centuries by Shakespeare's time, while coca is native to South America and came to the Old World thanks to explorers such as Francis Drake.

Writing in the South African Journal of Science, Professor Thackeray describes how he obtained the pipe fragments from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and submitted them to scientific analysis.

He used a technique called gas chromatography mass spectrometry, which involves separating out different chemicals to discern the make-up of a particular residue.

While it cannot be definitively proven that Shakespeare himself smoked cannabis, the results strongly suggest that the drug was used around the time he lived in the house.

Pointing to the popularity of mind-altering drugs, Professor Thackeray writes: 'One can well imagine the scenario in which Shakespeare performed his plays in the court of Queen Elizabeth, in the company of Drake, Raleigh and others who smoked clay pipes filled with 'tobacco'.'

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