History of the hospital quoted from a sign on the gateway that enters the courtyard:

“Take a moment to imagine coming home to me more than 500 years ago for very little here has changed. Founded by wealthy wool merchant and benefactor William For, I began life in 1509, the same year Henry VIII ascended to the throne…. I wonder did he ever visit during  his dissolution of Coventry’s monasteries?

I am proud to be a Grade I listed building and generally considered to be one of the finest examples of 16th century domestic building in England.

I was originally built to house 5 elderly men along with a lady housekeeper but with later endowments I grew to accommodate ii couples all of whom would also receive a weekly allowance. Presently I have 5 residents of “good character” under my roof. along with many of my neighbours I suffered badly during WWII. My matron, her assistant and 6 residents taking shelter in the matron’s chamber all perished when on 14th October 1940 I took a direct hit during an air raid. While searching through the bomb damage Coventry historian John Shelton discovered some 14th century floor tiles, one of which bore the Black Eagle, a design of the Earl of Leofric. It is now believed that even before me a Chapel once stood on this site.

By 1953 I had been resorted, using wherever possible original materials and I remain an attraction to many visitors to the city today.

So as you look through the iron gate into the courtyard you are witnessing the site of a meeting between two of the nation’s great literary figures. Dr Who meets William Shakespeare!! Yes in 2006 David Tennant and his crew filmed and episode right here in my yard.

Who knows what else the future, or the past may hold for me?”

Synopsis (from the book cover):

Bestselling writer Bill Bryson’s brilliantly readable biography of our greatest dramatist and poet William Shakespeare is updated to mark the 400th anniversary of his death.

Examining centuries of myths, half-truths and downright lies, Bill Bryson tries to make sense of the man behind the masterpieces. In a journey through the streets of Shakespeare’s time, he brings to life the hubbub of Elizabethan England and a host of characters along the way. Bryson celebrates the glory of Shakespear’s language – his ceasless inventiveness gave us hundreds of now indispensible phrases, images and words – and delights in details of his fall-outs and folios, poetry and plays.

Stitching together information from a vast array of sources, he has created a unique celebration of one of the most significant, and least understood, figures in history – not to mention a classic piece of Bryson.

Thoughts:

The book exposes how little is known about Shakespeare, even the pictorial images we know him by might not represent his true likeness. These images are based on three original artworks, two af which were painted years after his death. Bill Bryson writes at length about society in the Elizabethan era bringing it to life but was unable to find many facts about Shakespeare himself.

This book served as a reminder that we should do our own reasearch rather than accept what is presented to us as fact.