Harvard House and Garrick Inn, Stratford-upon-Avon

Harvard House was built in 1596 by Thomas Rogers, a wealthy Stratford merchant and the grandfather of John Harvard, whose name would later become famous through Harvard University. Thomas and his second wife, Alice, even carved their initials into the front of the house—a rather permanent way of showing exactly who owned the place. Thomas also served as an alderman of the Stratford Corporation alongside William Shakespeare’s father, John Shakespeare.

More than three centuries later, in 1909, the American businessman Edward Morris purchased the property with the support of novelist Marie Corelli. Morris later presented it to Harvard University, and from then on it became known as Harvard House.

So, where does the Harvard name enter the story? In 1605, Thomas Rogers’s daughter Katherine married Robert Harvard. Their son, John Harvard, was born two years later, in 1607. In 1636, John married Ann Sadler, and the couple later emigrated to Massachusetts. John became a minister and teacher, but his life in America was short. He died in 1638, at just 30 years old.

Two years before his death, the Massachusetts Bay Colony had founded a college in Cambridge. In his will, John Harvard left the young institution roughly half his estate, along with his valuable library of books. The gift was so important that, in gratitude, the college was renamed Harvard.

Just next door, at number 25 High Street, stands the Garrick Inn—practically cheek by jowl with Harvard House. It is often described as Stratford-upon-Avon’s oldest pub, although the Old Thatch Tavern has something to say about that claim. The present building dates largely from the late 16th century, with some parts believed to be considerably older.

Over the centuries, the inn has been known by several names, including the Greyhound and the Reindeer, before eventually taking the name of the celebrated 18th-century actor David Garrick.

The inn also has a rather darker connection with Stratford’s history. During a plague outbreak in 1564, a local man named Oliver Gunn became one of its earliest recorded victims. Beside his burial entry, someone wrote the ominous Latin words meaning “Here begins the plague.”

And, naturally, there are ghost stories too. But then again, was there ever a centuries-old English pub that didn’t have at least one?