Old Map of Stratford-upon-Avon by J. Ross Brown, 1908

J. Ross Brown’s Pictorial Map of Stratford-upon-Avon

J. Ross Brown’s pictorial map of Stratford-upon-Avon was created in 1908, when the Warwickshire town was already internationally celebrated as the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Entitled Stratford on Avon, it combines a colourful bird’s-eye plan with photographs of historic buildings, hotels, monuments and riverside attractions.

This is not a precisely measured Ordnance Survey plan. Instead, Brown designed an accessible visual guide that allowed visitors to understand the town, identify its Shakespearean landmarks and recognise important buildings from the photographs arranged around the edges.

Map Details

• Original title: Stratford on Avon
• Creator: J. Ross Brown
• Date: 1908
• Place shown: Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
• Map type: Pictorial bird’s-eye town plan with photographic border
• Scale: Not drawn to scale
• Original dimensions: Approximately 490 × 660 mm
• Principal features: Town centre, River Avon, Clopton Bridge, railway lines and surrounding roads
• Key landmarks: Shakespeare’s Birthplace, New Place, Holy Trinity Church, Harvard House, the Guild Chapel and School, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
• Format: Colour-printed map accompanied by monochrome photographic views

Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon

The central map presents Stratford through its close association with Shakespeare. His birthplace in Henley Street is identified prominently, while New Place marks the site of the house in which he spent his later years. Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was baptised and buried, stands beside the Avon.

The Guild Chapel and adjoining school recall the medieval Stratford in which Shakespeare grew up. Harvard House, an elaborately decorated timber-framed building in the High Street, is another recognisable landmark included in Brown’s key.

These buildings are not treated as isolated monuments. Streets, houses, businesses and public buildings surround them, showing how Shakespearean sites formed part of a living and increasingly busy market town.

A Town Shaped by Visitors

By 1908, Stratford-upon-Avon had been attracting literary pilgrims for generations. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust had been founded in 1847, and the arrival of the railway in 1864 made the town considerably easier to reach from Birmingham, London and other parts of Britain.

Brown’s map belongs to this growing culture of Shakespearean tourism. Its clear reference key, picturesque colouring and border photographs made it practical as a guide while also creating an attractive souvenir of a visit.

Hotels and restaurants consequently receive unusual prominence. The White Swan Hotel, Shakespeare Hotel, Golden Bee Restaurant, Fountain Restaurant and Swan’s Nest Hotel all appear in the photographs or reference key. Their inclusion reveals that the map was intended not merely to record the town but to help visitors find their way around it.

The Memorial Theatre and River Avon

The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre appears beside the River Avon. Opened in 1879, this Gothic Revival building was the home of Stratford’s annual Shakespeare festival and an important predecessor of today’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Brown’s map preserves the original theatre before it was severely damaged by fire in 1926. Its replacement opened in 1932 and was later incorporated into the present Royal Shakespeare Company complex.

The river provides one of the composition’s strongest visual features. Clopton Bridge crosses the Avon to the east of the town centre, while the Memorial Theatre, riverside paths and Swan’s Nest boating facilities reflect the importance of the waterfront to Edwardian visitors.

Photographs Around the Map

Small photographs arranged around the upper and side margins turn the map into an illustrated portrait of Stratford. Among the subjects are Shakespeare’s Birthplace and Birth Room, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Holy Trinity Church, Harvard House, the Guild Chapel and School, Clopton Bridge and Gower’s Shakespeare Monument.

The border also records shops, restaurants, hotels and private houses that formed part of the town in 1908. Some survive in recognisable form, while others have disappeared or acquired completely different uses.

Together, these pictures allow the viewer to compare the simplified forms on the map with the buildings as they actually appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Reading the Bird’s-Eye Map

Brown uses an elevated viewpoint rather than the directly overhead perspective of a conventional street plan. Buildings are drawn individually, important landmarks are emphasised and roads have been widened sufficiently to remain clear.

Because the map is not drawn to scale, distances should not be measured from it. Its purpose is visual orientation: showing how the historic centre, railway approaches, river and principal visitor attractions relate to one another.

Letters identify the principal Shakespearean sites, while numbered references locate selected hotels, restaurants and residences. The result is an engaging mixture of map, townscape, photograph album and tourist guide.

Created in 1908, this old map captures Stratford-upon-Avon at a revealing moment in its history. The medieval street pattern and Shakespearean buildings remain at its heart, but railways, hotels, organised sightseeing and the Memorial Theatre demonstrate how the town had developed into an international cultural destination.