This project has brought us close to Shakespeare’s day-to-day life in many ways, but the well in particular really sticks with us.
The well stood in the middle of the lawn at New Place when the whole site was a garden. We already knew that it served the Shakespeare family and the entire household. This illustration of a picket well by a historical illustrator is what the whole mechanism may have looked like.
It’s wonderful to think of the well as a piece of visible archaeology. During ‘Dig for Shakespeare’, we recovered thousands of coins - at least 10 buckets full - from countries all over the world (it’s covered up now - but you can look down it. It’s an essential part of Shakespeare’s everyday life which has survived for 400 years, and still takes pride of place today.
Shakespeare’s New Place opens Summer 2016. Come and walk in Shakespeare's footsteps and meet the man behind the works in a fascinating new exhibition. Discover beautiful gardens and specially-commissioned artworks.
Find out more about Shakespeare's New Place.