Petitions Launched to Save the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford

The Stratford Herald and a former student have each started a Change.org petition asking the University of Birmingham to keep the Shakespeare Institute at Mason Croft.

By Alex Harrington 1 min read Source: Change.org
The Shakespeare Institute at Mason Croft, a red-brick Georgian house on Church Street, Stratford-upon-Avon
Shakespeare Institute, Mason Croft. Photo: Jeff Gogarty, CC BY-SA 2.0

Two petitions are asking the University of Birmingham to think again about moving the Shakespeare Institute out of Stratford-upon-Avon. The university plans to take the Institute out of Mason Croft on Church Street, its home in the town, and into its Edgbaston campus from September 2027.

On this page
  1. The Herald’s petition
  2. A former student’s petition
  3. What we know so far

The Herald’s petition

The Stratford Herald started its own petition on Change.org on Saturday 14 November, Stop the closure of the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford. It asks the university to “urgently reconsider” its decision, and says the move would be “disastrous” for the town’s economy and culture and for the university’s own reputation. It had 55 signatures by early Saturday afternoon.

A former student’s petition

A day earlier, on Friday 13 November, Paul Wassell started Urge the University of Birmingham to keep Mason Croft open, addressed to the university’s estates department. He studied at the Institute in 2008. His petition asks the university to talk to staff, students, alumni and Stratford residents about ways to keep the Institute in the town. It had passed 100 signatures by Saturday lunchtime.

Change.org petitions carry no formal weight: the university doesn’t have to respond to them. Their value is in showing it how many people object.

What we know so far

Staff were told of the move on Thursday 12 November. The university calls it a move rather than a closure, and says the Institute will carry on at Edgbaston. Its director, Professor Michael Dobson, has said he will resign rather than oversee it, and fears the taught MA courses won’t survive away from Stratford. The university hasn’t yet said what will happen to Mason Croft or the Institute’s library. Our first story has the details.

The Royal Shakespeare Company told us it expects to comment early next week. We’ll add its response, and any from the university, the Birthplace Trust and the councils, as they come in.

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Alex Harrington

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

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