Tag Archives: Westminster Abbey

Restoring John Cheere’s Shakespeare statue

Stratford-upon-Avon’s  Town Hall is one of the most important of the town’s buildings, associated with Shakespeare through its dedication at the time of the Garrick Jubilee in 1769. This summer its familiar stone frontages have been covered in scaffolding as … Continue reading

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Hall, Barton and Goodwin: three grand old men of the RSC

At the end of August it begins to feel that summer is coming to a close and autumn is on its way. While this can feel like the time when things start to close down for winter, for many people … Continue reading

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Aphra Behn, the first professional woman writer

In England, after Shakespeare’s death there followed a period of tremendous change, with the Civil War and execution of the reigning king, Charles 1, followed by the Commonwealth under Cromwell. When the monarchy was restored in 1660 and Charles II … Continue reading

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Finding a place for Philip Larkin in Poet’s Corner

On Friday 2 December a ledger stone bearing the name of Philip Larkin will be placed in Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey, alongside writers such as Thomas Hardy, Edmund Spenser and of course William Shakespeare. There has been quite a lot … Continue reading

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Celebrating Shakespeare and Purcell with the Orchestra of the Swan

Stratford-upon-Avon’s own chamber orchestra, the Orchestra of the Swan, is currently celebrating Shakespeare’s 450th anniversary by performing four concerts of music inspired by his work. The first concert, last Friday, included the lovely orchestral suite written by Henry Purcell for … Continue reading

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Shakespeare and the Georgians

2014, it seems, is going to be the year of the Georgians, with several different exhibitions looking at different aspects of life in the period covering 1714 to 1837. At the British Library there is an exhibition Georgians Revealed: Life, … Continue reading

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Michael Drayton’s Poly-olbion

On 23 December 1631 the poet Michael Drayton died at his lodgings in Fleet Street, London. He was so highly regarded by his contemporaries that he was buried in Westminster Abbey with some ceremony. According to an account of his funeral, … Continue reading

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Shakespeare and the ladies

  From the earliest of times, Shakespeare’s works have been specially admired by women. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the “Sociable Letter” written by Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle and published in 1664. Margaret defended Shakespeare against … Continue reading

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