{"id":345484,"date":"2025-11-27T07:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T12:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.sothebysrealty.com\/?p=345484"},"modified":"2025-11-25T16:53:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T21:53:20","slug":"live-a-shakespearean-fantasy-in-these-picturesque-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/live-a-shakespearean-fantasy-in-these-picturesque-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"Live a Shakespearean Fantasy in These Picturesque Homes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the playwright\u2019s work renews its position in the cultural spotlight, we celebrate the most accessible architectural flourishes of the era, writes Florence Hallett<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Verona,<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Verona, Italy<\/a> | Italy Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The much-anticipated release of \u201cHamnet,\u201d the big-screen adaptation of Maggie O\u2019Farrell\u2019s acclaimed novel, is proof\u2014if it were needed\u2014that Shakespeare never grows old. Starring Paul Mescal as William and Jessie Buckley as Agnes, Chlo\u00e9 Zhao\u2019s film reimagines the intimate family history behind Shakespeare\u2019s tragedy \u201cHamlet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From speculative fiction to the most commonplace phrases, the playwright\u2019s influence is woven into the fabric of the English-speaking world. And that includes its architecture: whether original Tudor and Elizabethan period pieces or the arts and crafts style of the late 19th century, many of the coziest, most glorious homes nod to the time of Shakespeare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Plymouth,<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Plymouth, England<\/a> | United Kingdom Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Grade II* listed Langdon Court<\/a>, an Elizabethan manor house hidden deep in the Devon countryside of southwest England, was built c.1577, within Shakespeare\u2019s lifetime. Today, authentic hand-carved fireplaces and wooden floors, a lake and a formal walled garden offer the perfect retreat into old England, with updated facilities\u2014including a professional-standard kitchen\u2014bringing modern-day comfort and convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no coincidence that Shakespeare\u2019s England has such enduring design appeal, says architectural historian Oliver Gerrish. \u201cIt was a time when the country was really flourishing,\u201d he explains. \u201cThese houses were often built by great merchants, and there was an element of showing off, with beautiful lead work in the windows and very ornate plastering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Berkshire,<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Berkshire, England<\/a> | United Kingdom Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tucked away on a private island, on a secluded stretch of the River Thames in Cookham Dean, Berkshire, The Islands<\/a> is just the place to catch a glimpse of Titania, fairy queen of Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream.\u201d Flashes of river can be seen from its gardens, which include croquet lawns, orchards, a paddock and flower meadow, evoking Oberon\u2019s \u201cbank\u00a0where\u00a0the\u00a0wild\u00a0thyme\u00a0blows, \/ Where\u00a0oxlips\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0nodding\u00a0violet\u00a0grows.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built in the arts and crafts style, the house imagines a return to a world unspoiled by industrialisation, its oak detailing and exposed beams, stained glass and open fires all key elements of the aesthetic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a look that\u2019s \u201creally about paneled rooms, deep fireplaces, crisp white decorative plaster, ornamental ceilings, armorial glass heraldry, wooden floors and tapestries,\u201d says Gerrish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"East<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

East Hampton, New York<\/a> | Sotheby\u2019s International Realty – Bridgehampton Brokerage<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, for buyers with a taste for high drama, 64 Huntting Lane<\/a>, in East Hampton, New York, is also a trip back in time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designed by architect Francis Burrall Hoffman Jr., and built in 1916, its 75-foot-long half-timbered salon is a stunning recreation of the great halls of Elizabethan England. The house has a theatrical pedigree of its own, becoming known as the \u201cPlayhouse\u201d because of the performances that were regularly staged there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Verona,<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Verona, Italy<\/a> | Italy Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shakespeare is unlikely to have traveled abroad but in his writing he ventured far and wide. Of his three plays set in Verona, \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d is surely the best known and loved, and it is beautifully evoked in the balconies of this art nouveau villa<\/a> on the banks of the Adige river, right in the heart of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With its loggia and balcony, marble columns and fireplaces, it is a tribute to Shakespeare\u2019s contemporary, the great Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. As Celia in \u201cAs You Like It\u201d says of the forest of Arden: \u201cI like this place, and willingly could waste my time in it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Live like Downton Abbey: an ode to English country house style<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the playwright\u2019s work renews its position in the cultural spotlight, we celebrate the most accessible architectural flourishes of the era, writes Florence Hallett Verona, Italy | Italy Sotheby\u2019s International Realty The much-anticipated release of \u201cHamnet,\u201d the big-screen adaptation of Maggie O\u2019Farrell\u2019s acclaimed novel, is proof\u2014if it were needed\u2014that Shakespeare never grows old. Starring Paul […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232770370,"featured_media":345486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1399,1398],"tags":[1437],"class_list":["post-345484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-and-design","category-featured","tag-england"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Shakespeare_ManorHouse2.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pf4gbL-1rSk","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/232770370"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345484"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":345499,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345484\/revisions\/345499"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}