Mysterious Crypt – Rumoured to Hold the Secrets of Shakespeare’s Marriage Location – Opened for the First Time at All Saints Billesley

- Linked to new exhibition to be opened by Loyd Grossman on 15 September -

The mysterious crypt at All Saints, Billesley, Stratford Upon Avon – one of the Churches rumoured to be William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway’s wedding venue in 1582 – has been opened for the first time as part of ongoing conservation work by charity The Churches Conservation Trust to protect this historic church.  

The findings from the opening will be displayed online at www.visitchurches.org.uk/shakespeare and links to a new exhibition from the Trust called And Thereby Hangs A Tale that explores the mystery surrounding Shakespeare’s wedding venue.  The exhibition will be opened by Loyd Grossman, Chairman, The Churches Conservation Trust, on 15 September at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage before touring across the Midlands.

Billesley is a Grade I listed ancient monument that dates from the 11th Century. It is among a clutch of churches around Stratford including Temple Grafton, Luddington and Holy Trinity Stratford that lay claim to being the venue of William and Anne’s wedding.  The mystery of Shakespeare’s wedding venue has become an international puzzle with historians both professional and amateur exploring the folklore and tales of time for clues.  However, no parish registers survive from that time to prove theories one way or the other.  One of the reasons Billesley is a leading contender in the mystery is the strong historical evidence to suggest that Shakespeare’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Barnard, was married at the church.  Did she choose the church because it was the venue for her grandparents wedding?   Rumour and speculation has also surrounded Billesley Crypt perhaps holding clues to the venue of Shakespeare’s wedding – but no one has ever been into the Crypt, until now   

Inside the Crypt
Billesley is cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust, the national charity protecting historic churches at risk.  The Trust’s Conservation and Archaeological team had to dig their way into the Crypt – eventually squeezing in through a tiny opening, into a dark and sealed space.  Once inside they found five stone and lead coffins and one small wooden child’s coffin dating from early 1700s, as well as stone carvings on the walls and other markings.   These coffins belong to the Whalley family, the owners of the local manor house during this time.  

Jo Cross, Churches Conservation Trust, Midlands Officer, said:  “It was tremendously exciting go into the Billesley Church crypt.  Knowing that we where the first people to enter this space for hundreds of years sent shivers down my spine.  It was moving to come across the burial sites, particularly the child’s coffin.   Once inside we undertook a conservation survey to find out what work is needed from the Trust to ensure this 1,000 year old church has a viable future.  We will know the results of our survey shortly and also know if we’ve learned anything new about the church and its history.

“The markings on the coffins and the inscriptions and other markings in the crypt where photographed and will be analysed and information put on our website.  The mystery of Shakespeare’s wedding venue remains unsolved, but trying to track down where our most famous writer tied the knot still remains as exciting and challenging as before.  We will explore the myths and legends that surround Billsely and the other churches in the frame in our new exhibition – And Thereby Hangs A Tale - and encourage everyone to come along!”

And Thereby Hangs A Tale, to be opened at 1800hrs on 15 September by Loyd Grossman at Anne Hathaway's Cottage
The Churches Conservation Trust has created the new exhibition called And Thereby Hangs A Tale which seeks to sort Shakespearean fact from fiction concerning where Shakespeare may have got married. Exploring Billesley church and other West Midlands contenders, Shakespearean myths and legends the new show will be opened by Loyd Grossman, Chairman of the Churches Conservation Trust, on 15 September at Anne Hathaway's Cottage near Stratford.  The exhibition runs until December 2011, before moving to other major heritage sites across the Midlands including Coventry and Worcester Cathedrals, Holy Trinity Church, Stratford and Coughton Court to name a few.  And Thereby Hangs The Tale has been made possible by a £47,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund,

Billesley crypt has now been resealed and secured.  

Website: www.visitchurches.org.uk/shakespeare

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Press contacts

• CCT press officer:   William Kallaway – 020 7221 7883 or 07966 889 307 or email william@kallaway.com
• Jo Cross, CCT Regional  Officer:  07900 214199 or email jcross@tcct.org.uk
  

Image of church attached credited to Sarah McCarthy. Images of the church and conservation work can be sent to you.  Please contact William Kallaway on the details above to request.

And Thereby Hangs A Tale
Press interested in attending the launch should contact Jo Cross or William Kallaway on the details above to book their space.  Interviews with Loyd will be possible.

About the Churches Conservation Trust (www.visitchurches.org.uk):

• The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) is the national charity protecting historic churches at risk.  Established under Ecclesiastical Law on 1 April 1969 the Trust now cares for 344 historic churches – the largest collection of historic churches in the country.   
• The charity receives its churches in the form of ‘vestings’ from the Church Commissioners. All the CCT’s churches remain consecrated and are often used for occasional worship.   
• The CCT saves churches by working with local people to bring them back into the heart of the community or every day use as a social, tourism, educational or community resource. The CCT’s care of its Grade I and II* buildings has given it an international reputation in conservation and regeneration of buildings.      
• The charity requires a minimum of £9 million (£1.5m per year, for the next six years), to fill its funding shortfall. The charity received £3.1m from the DCMS, prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review. This funding attracted £1.3m of conditional match-funding from the Church Commissioners and a further £1.2m of philanthropic donations, grants and self generated income;
• Chairman of the Trust is Loyd Grossman OBE FSA, who was appointed in 2007. Crispin Truman is Chief Executive.  
  

All Saints, Billesley, Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire, B49 6NF
All Saints rises from a lovely wooded churchyard in the hamlet of Billesley near Stratford-upon-Avon. From its approach through an avenue of limes, it looks like a Georgian country church – but its origins go back 1,000 years.

The church served the thriving village of Billesley for centuries, but by 1428 only four parishioners were left, and the church’s north aisle was demolished. Tradition has it that William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway here in 1582, and that his granddaughter’s wedding also took place at Billesley. Sadly no parish registers survive from this time to prove it.

In 1692, Bernard Whalley rebuilt the church to create a fashionable classical addition to his Billesley estate. He installed a gallery for his staff complete with a butler’s boxed seat. Whalley’s own pew had a fine classical fireplace. His body lies, with his wife Lucy, in a sealed vault beneath the sanctuary floor.

Some remains of the early church survive, in particular the two spectacular 12th century stone carvings, which you can see on the east wall of the vestry. One, a richly decorated tympanum, shows a soldier in a kilt, a snake, a dragon and a bird, all surrounded by wonderfully twisted foliage. The other is part of a stone cross on which is a carved figure of Christ holding the hand of another person.

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