Mr Monkey trotted around Shakespeare's birthplace. John Shakespeare, William's father, bought most of this property in 1556, and used it as a base for his glove making and wool trading businesses. It stayed in the family (through the descendants of Shakespeare's sister Joan) until 1806, and was bought by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1846. Now it's arranged as it would have been in the 16th century. Of course there would have been no tourists then, just people come to buy gloves.
You can read about Shakespeare's birthplace at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust website and there are 360° views of the Birthplace and the other Shakespeare properties at the BBC Coventry and Warwickshire website.
Copyright Rik Shepherd and Mr Monkey. This page last modified 26 June 2005