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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Kevin Rushby

Why Herefordshire was the perfect stand-in for Shakespeare’s Stratford in the new film of Hamnet

A large Tudor half-timbered house in Herefordshire.
Cwmmau farmhouse in Brilley stands in for Anne Hathaway’s cottage in the film. Photograph: Mike Henton

The door creaks as I push it back and move forward into the gloom. The ceiling is vaulted and dark, but light falls in shafts of gold from the upper windows, revealing ancient stone carvings and tombs. It’s the right atmosphere for a ghost-hunt. I take a few steps and the door clicks, making me jump. Must be the wind.

Exploring old English churches is always a pleasure. There is no one to disturb you, and in the dim quiet will be a historical jaw-dropper: a centuries-old face carved in oak, a grisly tomb, an inscription to the dead hero of a forgotten battle. Each site is a mini detective puzzle, waiting to be unravelled, often with a helpful booklet available near the door. The spirits of those who have shuffled off this mortal coil hang in the dust motes, but here, in Weobley, Herefordshire, I am looking for someone specific.

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