Manor house built where Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on sale

Love’s labour’s found! Manor house built on site where William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway is for sale for £2.7million

• House believed to be where Bard married his wife but the chapel burnt down 

A historic manor house where William Shakespeare is believed to have married his beloved wife is on sale for £2.75million.

The Grade II Listed building, Luddington Manor, is the site of the former All Saints Chapel where The Bard is said to have tied the knot with Anne Hathaway in 1582.

But sadly the chapel, which was built in 1420, burned down in the late 18th or early 19th century and all the records were lost.

So, there is only circumstantial evidence that this is where the playwright wed.

The six-bedroom house in the village of Luddington, near Stratford-Upon-Avon, is listed as being of special architectural historic interest and sits in a conservation area.

Pictured, Luddington Manor which is a Grade II listed building and is on sale for £2.75million

William Shakespeare is believed to have tied the knot with Anne Hathaway on the site but the chapel where they are said to have wed has burnt down

Pictured, a dining area in the huge sprawling manor house complete with wooden beams

The property was once part of the Marquis of Hertford’s Ragley Hall Estate and descendants of the Hathaway family were tenant farmers in Luddington in the 18th century.

The village of Luddington, which is about three miles from the Warwickshire market town where Shakespeare was born, is reputed to be the meeting place of the couple.

When they wed Anne was eight years older at 26 to William’s 18 and already pregnant with their first child.

Shakespeare applied to the Bishop of Worcester to speed up the process, applying for a marriage licence that allowed them to be married outside the parish they lived in and after the banns had only been read once, not the usual three times.

Two documents survive that show when the wedding took place – November 1582 – but neither specify where.

The six-bedroom house in the village of Luddington, near Stratford-Upon-Avon, is listed as being of special architectural historic interest and sits in a conservation area

Pictured, a gigantic kitchen in the property.  It also has a bank sloping down to the River Avon with frontage of about 70 yards

The house has over 7,000 sq ft of accommodation over three floors with a reception hall, kitchen/breakfast room, family room, sitting room, drawing room, dining room, morning room, study and indoor swimming pool on the ground floor

Luddington Manor dates in parts from the 16th century and has fine exposed wall and ceiling timbers dating from this period, with Georgian and Victorian additions.

The current owners carried out an extensive renovation programme in 2017-18.

The house has over 7,000 sq ft of accommodation over three floors with a reception hall, kitchen/breakfast room, family room, sitting room, drawing room, dining room, morning room, study and indoor swimming pool on the ground floor.

The first floor has the master bedroom with an en suite bathroom and a dressing room, as well as two further bedrooms and two bathrooms, and on the second floor there is another bedroom, sitting area, bathroom and dressing room.

Pictured, a goregous lounge area which retains the classic features but with modern decoration

The property was once part of the Marquis of Hertford’s Ragley Hall Estate and descendants of the Hathaway family were tenant farmers in Luddington in the 18th century

There is also an attached two-bedroom cottage, a coachhouse/garage and a garden store. The property sits in 6.6 acres of land with a beautiful lawn, fruit trees, a wildlife pond and a grassland paddock.

It also has a bank sloping down to the River Avon with frontage of about 70 yards.

A spokesman for Knight Frank, who are selling the property, said: ‘Luddington Manor is an attractive Grade II Listed property occupying a prime position within the village.

‘The house has well-balanced, beautifully presented family accommodation, including fine fireplaces, tiled, flagstone and timber floors and original staircases.

‘The property was once occupied by the Hathaway family, who farmed at Shottery, relatives of Anne Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare.

‘The cottage, also beautifully presented, has housed visiting members of the Royal Shakespeare Company for many years.’

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