Mary Arden's Farm, Stratford-upon-Avon (must see)

Mary Arden's Farm, also referred to as Mary Arden's House, stands as the farmhouse once inhabited by Mary Shakespeare (nee Arden), who was the mother of the renowned Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare. Due to historical ambiguities regarding the specific dwelling Mary resided in during the mid-sixteenth century, the term "Mary Arden's Farm" can point to one of two houses. Both of these houses hold Grade I listing status and are situated in Wilmcote village, approximately three miles from Stratford-upon-Avon.

One of these houses, erroneously believed to be Mary Arden's (in actuality belonging to a neighbor), was acquired by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1930. It was then meticulously refurbished to emulate the Tudor architectural style. This timber-framed house has been meticulously maintained throughout the centuries.

In 2000, it came to light that the structure preserved as Mary Arden's house had actually belonged to Adam Palmer, a friend and neighbor, leading to the renaming of the house as Palmer's Farm. The authentic residence of the Arden family is Glebe Farm, located near Palmer's Farm. Glebe Farm is a more modest structure, which the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust acquired in 1968 for preservation purposes as part of a farmstead, albeit without initially knowing its true historical significance. While some of its original timber framing has been lost and Victorian brickwork added, dendrochronological analysis dates the structure back to circa 1514.

These houses and the surrounding farm are curated as a "working Tudor farm" and are home to various rare breeds of animals, such as Mangalitza and Tamworth pigs, Cotswold sheep, Longhorn cattle, Bagot and Golden Guernsey goats, as well as geese and birds of prey, including a Hooded Vulture.