Shakespeare’s Daughter’s Stratford Home Added to Heritage at Risk Register

Hall’s Croft, the Old Town home of Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna, is one of the new entries on Historic England’s 2026 Heritage at Risk Register, published this week. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT), which owns the Grade I listed house, says a full repair will cost £8 million to £10 million, and it is still raising the money.

The register is Historic England’s yearly list of the buildings and sites in England most in need of help. This year 28 sites in the West Midlands were added and five removed, the BBC reported on Thursday. The trust had already announced in April that it was putting the house forward, calling it a recognition of urgency and a statement of intent. Historic England’s regional director, Deborah Williams, called it “a positive first step in helping bring the building back into use”.

Why Hall’s Croft is at risk

The timber-framed house dates from 1613 and was home to Susanna Hall and her husband, the physician Dr John Hall. The trust bought it in 1949 for £11,000, when it was badly neglected, and opened it to visitors in 1951. Its campaign pages list timber decay, damp and the effects of earlier repairs, and say decades of heavy visitor numbers have strained the old timbers. A vehicle reversed into the building in October 2025; insurance is paying for that damage, but not for the wider conservation work already needed.

What’s being done

• Now: a first phase to stabilise the house and take out temporary steel supports put in in 2012, due to finish in October 2026. It is mostly paid for by a £1 million gift from the playwright Ken Ludwig in 2024, the largest private donation in the trust’s history. A £29,000 Pilgrim Trust grant in July is paying for specialist conservation work.
• 2026 to 2027: more surveys, design work, permissions and fundraising.
• From 2027: the major works, including the outside walls, a new roof, structural timber repairs and drainage.
• The aim: to take Hall’s Croft off the register and reopen it as a cultural and learning centre, according to the trust’s published timeline. No reopening date has been given.

Can you visit Hall’s Croft?

Not at the moment. The house is closed to general visitors while the work goes on, and is used for school, university and adult learning on the ground floor. The trust says tours and talks about the work, and access to a viewing platform, are coming. You can still see the front from Old Town, on the way to Holy Trinity Church. The other Shakespeare family homes are open; our rainy day guide has opening details.

How to help

The trust’s public appeal, A House for All Time, launched in November 2025 with a first target of £500,000, including an Adopt-a-Beam scheme. Donations, and gifts in wills, can be made through the SBT’s Support Us page.

Alex Harrington

Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.