The Shakespeare Centre

A multi-functional building serving as a study centre and headquarters for the administrative functions of The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, including a library, archive, reading room, exhibition space, conference suite and offices. Built between 1962 and 1964, the Centre was designed by Laurence Williams of Wood Kendrick and Williams.

Materials and Construction

The Centre is constructed of pre-cast and in situ reinforced concrete frames, with sections of red, handmade sand-faced brickwork and De Lank Cornish granite cladding panels. Exposed concrete areas are manufactured using Cornish De Lank granite, bush-hammered to create a textured finish. Ground floor and basement windows are extruded bronze with a wax finish, whilst upper windows are black and gold extruded anodised aluminium. Interior finishes are largely cherrywood with Derbydene marble skirtings; floor surfaces vary between marble, hardwood block, terrazzo and carpet. Exterior paving is brown and grey York stone.

Layout

The plan is almost rectangular, orientated north-east to south-west, with the library forming a projection at the south-western end. A stair tower is positioned roughly at the centre of the north-western side. The basement houses book stores, offices, photographic rooms and services. The ground floor contains the main public and study rooms, centred on The Room, the main entrance and exhibition space. To the south-west are the library and attendant services, the Stratford Room for meetings and exhibitions, and a corridor leading to staff facilities at the rear. The first floor houses the Director's suite with offices and the conference room, plus part of the caretaker's flat to the north-east. A small upward extension provides a second storey for the flat.

Exterior

The building has two storeys and a basement, with a small additional second floor section housing part of the caretaker's flat. The main entrance is from Henley Street through a relatively narrow frontage in two parts: to the right, a projecting porticoed entrance way with concrete piers formed from the main frame, under which shallow steps rise to the main reception area; to the left, the curved brick frontage of the Nuffield Library, adorned with Douglas Wain-Hobson's abstract bronze sculpture. Set back across both bays, the first floor has twelve single-light windows with granite cladding below and concrete mullions between. A ring beam ties the uprights together at roof level, clad externally in hammered concrete panels.

The main elevation faces south-east, overlooking the Shakespeare Birthplace garden. This nine-bay elevation is expressed on the ground floor by a glazed arcade of segmental-headed pre-cast concrete beams tying together pre-cast square-section columns, carrying the cross beams which support the first floor. The glazed panels are engraved with life-sized figures of characters from Shakespeare. Roughly at the centre, a short flight of steps descends into the garden. The first floor has similar fenestration and finishing to the entrance front. The rear is partly brick and partly continues to express the concrete frame.

To the north-west, an entirely separate building added in the 1980s in brick adjoins the 1964 building at the stair tower. This later extension, which replaced an earlier structure on the site, is separate apart from access doorways and is not of special interest.

Interior

The interior divides into public spaces and areas for the exclusive use of the Trustees and administrative staff. The principal public space is the large entrance hall, known as The Room when the building was completed, accessed through a glazed lobby with engraved Shakespeare characters via steps from Henley Street. This has marble flooring in contrasting colours, exposed brick walling and a waffle tile ceiling. The space is dominated by an over-life-size sculpture of William Shakespeare by Douglas Wain-Hobson, standing before a curved wall which conceals cloakrooms accessed from the side.

Beyond, up a ramp over two steps, is the Stratford Room, which now has temporary walling hiding the windows and bookcases, with a segmental barrel vaulted ceiling clad in timber. Beyond these two spaces, the building becomes more intimate. To the rear of The Room runs a corridor in concrete and cherrywood, giving access to the library suite, similarly constructed with exposed textured concrete and a mixture of cherrywood cladding and features. The library suite includes office accommodation for library staff, a catalogue and periodical room, and the Nuffield Library. This room is lit by a central circular lantern, has a curved end with a carved panel by Nicolete Grey, and has bespoke fitted furnishings by Gordon Russell, including low bookcases, reading desks and a circular table. Further along the corridor, the public spaces end and staff facilities begin, finished in cherrywood and Derbydene marble, retaining their original floor coverings.

The first floor is accessed via the main staircase, which opens into a vestibule clad in reeded cherrywood with Derbydene marble skirtings. From this vestibule, doors give access to office accommodation at the front of the building and the Director's suite and conference room to the rear. The Director's suite includes offices for the Director and secretary. The Director's office has furniture by Gordon Russell, including fixed upholstered window seats and bookcases. A doorway from the Director's office provides private entrance to the conference room. This room, glazed on two sides with long rows of high aluminium windows between exposed concrete mullions, has a feature panelled wall of blue tahoe wood, reeded like the vestibule cladding beyond. The conference table and other furnishings were designed by Gordon Russell. The small caretaker's flat is now used for storage.

History

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was founded in 1847 following the acquisition by public subscription of the house where William Shakespeare was born and spent his early years. The Trust's purpose was to preserve the building as a national memorial to Shakespeare. Initially housed in the Birthplace building, the Trust began acquiring a significant library and archive of Shakespeare-related books, manuscripts and other source material. By 1903, the collections had outgrown the building, and the Trust was given an adjoining house in Henley Street, into which the Trust and its collections, now including those of the Royal Shakespeare Company, were moved.

As the library, archives and educational functions continued to grow, the accommodation became insufficient. The Trust was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1961, with primary objectives to promote the appreciation and study of Shakespeare throughout the world, to preserve his Birthplace and related properties, and to maintain a museum and library of books, manuscripts and other items relating to Shakespeare's life, work and times. Though the house was extended twice, by the late 1950s an entirely new building was clearly necessary.

The Executive Committee explored various possibilities with their architects, T. Spender Wood and Laurence Williams, partners in Wood Kendrick and Williams. From the earliest planning stage, a modern design was favoured—a bold decision given the proposed situation adjacent to the 16th-century Birthplace. Not all trustees immediately agreed; some believed a neo-Georgian design would be more appropriate. However, it was recognised that the building would be judged as a product of its time, and the quality of design and workmanship was paramount. The consensus was that the new building should be an outstanding example of the use of basic building materials reflecting contemporary architectural taste, though its scale and massing should respect its neighbour. The designs were referred to the Royal Fine Art Society for approval, and after minor modifications to the initial proposals, the revised plans were passed in October 1959. It was planned that the building should be completed for an official opening on the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, 23 April 1964. Projected costs at the planning stage were £100,000, eventually rising to close to £200,000.

During the following year, detailed plans were drawn up, refining the original outlines. The current building was largely planned by the then Director, Levi Fox, and designed by Laurence Williams. The emphasis was on simplicity, dignity and suitability for purpose, related to the function of each part. Continued use was a key consideration: provision was made for the expansion of collections and for future extension to the north. Materials and designs for interior finishing were carefully considered and sourced, and leading designers were engaged to provide furnishings and artistic embellishments.

A massive fundraising campaign was launched to secure necessary resources. The entire town worked towards celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, with the new centre as the Trust's contribution. As part of the fundraising effort led by Director Levi Fox with professional assistance, Laurence Williams designed a small temporary pavilion erected in the Birthplace garden to house plans and models of the proposed building, acting as a focal point for fundraising. Brass plaques were incorporated around the completed building to indicate the country whose donations paid for particular parts. Donors could contribute modest sums: a single brick for 2s 6d, three for $1.00 for American donors, up to £5 5s 0d for one unit of stone. Component parts were sponsored by larger and corporate donors worldwide; by the end of 1962, 11,500 items had been purchased for the building.

Significant contributions were secured from major donors. The Nuffield Foundation gave £77,000 to fund the entrance exhibition hall and library facilities. The town's community, businesses, schools, societies and clubs were invited to raise £25,000 to fund and equip The Stratford Room, providing a meeting space for various groups and integrating the new centre into the community. International support came after overseas Ambassadors and High Commissioners in London were invited to sponsor various parts of the building.

Demolition of the existing building began on 14 December 1961, and excavation for the basement had begun by February 1962. In June 1962, HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent laid the foundation stone. The main structure was complete by October 1963, when finishing began. The building was officially opened on the planned day, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, by the Hon. Eugene Black, President of the World Bank and Chairman of the American 1964 Shakespeare Committee.

In the 1980s, the building was extended to the north-west, adjoining the original building at the stair tower—always intended as the site for any junction with an extension. The new building incorporated a second reading room, offices and a visitor centre for the Trust's public properties. It incorporated the cellars of the 19th-century inn formerly on the site for use as further archive storage space. During the early 21st century, the Stratford Room was slightly remodelled, with temporary walls hiding the windows and bookcases, which remain intact behind them; at the time of inspection in 2009, this space was in use for changing exhibitions.

Significance

The Shakespeare Centre is designated at Grade II for its cultural significance, having important cultural connections with the heritage of William Shakespeare as the headquarters of the International Shakespeare Society and The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which holds the Shakespeare archive and library. It is a deftly-handled concrete-framed building of high quality in design and construction, forming a bold contrast to the 16th-century timber-framed building (Shakespeare's Birthplace) to which it stands adjacent and with which it forms a group.

The detailing and finishing are of very high quality, with good materials, design and craftsmanship employed in every detail. The quality and extent of artistic embellishment—including life-sized engraved glass figures from Shakespeare by John Hutton, sculpture by Douglas Wain-Hobson, and carved timber work by Nicolete Grey and John Skelton—increases the building's special interest. Fitted furniture specifically designed by Gordon Russell remains in the Conference Room and throughout the building. The building remains almost completely unaltered since completion and continues to function in its original use; the extension added to the north in the 1980s has not compromised the original building, which was always designed to be extended at this point, and is sufficiently detached not to impact on its special architectural interest.