The Ghosts of Henley Street
The History
Henley Street is one of the oldest streets in Stratford - predating the layout of the towns streets in the twelfth century.
In fact Henley Street was only included because it was an ancient thoroughfare. There are many "old" buildings here
and consequently a number of strange ghost stories.
Henley Street runs north-westwards from Bridge Street to Birmingham Road. The Birthplace was heavily "restored" in
1858, having previously suffered much damage and change since the 16th century. The building was originally two houses, the
'east' and the 'middle' house, each with two rooms on each floor; the west house was destroyed by fire in 1594. The eastern
room on the first floor of the 'middle' house is exhibited as 'the birth-chamber'; this has a later low ceiling which
has been preserved because, like the plaster infilling of the walls, it is covered by the signatures of generations of visitors.
The roof above the chamber retains no original features. The back wing, probably a later 16th-century addition, is of rectangular
framing and has been much restored.
The house next door, now an office for the Trust, was Hornby's smithy and house in the time of Shakespeare; it is an early-16th-century
building refronted with red brick in the 18th century.
Farther east another house of about the same period but of better finish forms part of the Public Library. The framed front
has a jettied upper story and gablehead towards the street, about 18 ft. wide. All the framing is modern except the projecting
ends of the joists supporting the overhang and the west angle-post. The lower story has the original open-timbered ceiling.
No. 2 is a brick-fronted and heightened building that shows late-16th-century close-set studding in the gabled west wall,
and the posts of the formerly jettied upper stories.
No. 1, the residence of William Smith, haberdasher, who may have been Shakespeare's godfather, is modernized and
has a rough-cast front with a plastered moulded eaves-cornice. The ceilings are open-timbered.
The large black and white fronted house of three stories , now nos. 19,20 and 21, was formerly the White Lion
Inn. According to a book published in 1945 it is first mentioned in 1603 ut there are records that show it existed sometime
before that and was adjoined on the east by a smaller inn called the 'Swan'. In 1745 the latter was purchased by John Payton,
who also acquired the 'Lion' five years later and rebuilt the whole premises on a greatly enlarged scale.
The Hauntings
So where do we begin... Let's start with the ghosts of the White Lion Inn. In order to understand just how haunted
this building is you need to understand that the White Lion Inn was for many years the largest coaching inn in europe strecthing
from Henley Street to Guild Street and from Windsor Street all the way to Shakespeares' birthplace.
The strongest spirit presence is that of John Davies, otherwise known as the Stratford Ripper. Although another building
in town lays claim to "ownership" of this spirit along with that of "Lucy"the simple fact is that this malevolent spirit wanders
wherever he wishes to! Having killed at least six women in and around the towns boundaries in 1788, he was finally caught
and accused of a murder that he insists he did not comit - even to this day. Intrepid ghost hunters at the former Whit
Lion Inn swear that they have been chased from rooms or even followed home by the man with the knife. On one occasion, a woman
insists that he got into bed with her the following night!!
Another very strong presence is that of Alice, the little girl whom he was accused of killing and a very strong protective
spirit that follows her around. Not forgetting the woman he actually killed in the parlour on the first floor!
The former White Lion has more than forty seperate and identified spirits - a record in the town centre!
The building next door used to occupy the position of the stables for the Inn and has a number of interesting stories one
of which is "The Hanged Spy".
