The Shakespeare Club: the last 200 years and the next! 

Susan Brock and Sylvia Morris

Susan Brock is the current chair of the Shakespeare Club while Sylvia Morris is the administrative secretary. Morris used to work for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and writes a blog about Shakespeare: https://theshakespeareblog.com/

Watch the presentation here
(Starts 6.5 mins in after a short update on the South Warwickshire Local Plan)

Margaret Cund gave a brief summary of the South Warwickshire Local Plan, about which there is a consultation from 10th  January to 7th March 2025. It will cover new homes, infrastructure, protection of historical buildings and the use of open spaces. Members are encouraged to take part. For more information see our News page.

Report on the talk

The Shakespeare Club’s history represents Shakespeare as a poet, with the preservation of Stratford as an early objective. The club was formed on 23rd April 1824 in the Falcon Inn, and the 200th. anniversary was celebrated in 2024. Its history is a bit patchy, despite the good work of Robert Bearman, as not many records remain. The speakers have written a book called The Story of the Shakespeare Club of Stratford-upon-Avon, 1824–2016. The club’s early achievements were very good with lectures and public dinners on Shakespeare’s birthday, but Shakespeare's Birthplace was not much mentioned. The club changed Stratfordians’ view of themselves with its activities.

Garrick’s Jubilee was taken as a model, but it was led from London. A book was published in 1824 called An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Birthplace of Shakespeare by RB Wheler and Charles Frederick Green (founders) who did the drawings. Wheler was quite scathing and said that the house was dilapidated! At that time there was a butcher’s shop in part of the building.

Shakespeare became a national hero in the 1740s and the statue in Westminster Abbey was copied for the Town Hall in Stratford, but Green preferred the one in the Holy Trinity Church and refused to accept the gentrification of Shakespeare! The club ensured that important documents remained here and that the club comprised mainly local tradesmen. The club’s members held meetings and dinners at the Town Hall. They were generally very jolly events attended by about 200 men, and they lasted for several hours. It was recorded that one such started at 3pm and finished at about 11. There were speeches, music, food and drink. An example of a ticket with a wax seal from 1828 was shown.

In 1901 women were finally allowed to join the club but they were not always allowed into the dinners, although they were permitted to make decorations and prepare the food in 1839 and allowed into the gallery to observe in 1848! The actress Isabelle Glyn was the first woman to make a speech there in 1873, Mrs. Scriver was the first female committee member in 1918, and Peggy Ashcroft was the first female president.

Dr John Connolly stressed the serious side of the club’s activities, such as taking care of the church monuments, and he promoted the club a lot with his speeches. James Bissett promoted the celebrations and created relevant music using popular ballads; James Saunders’ notebooks refer to them and a collection was published in 1827. The Shakespeare Club Catch was a drinking song, the tune Hark the Merry Christ Church Bells was used, and played to the audience and Rule Britannia was also used for the club’s song. Shakespeare’s birth tune was sung to Crown him with many crowns and the themes of peace and inclusion were stressed.

The 200th anniversary commemoration was intended to replicate some of the historical celebrations of the past, there was a tea at the Town Hall, with all living past presidents included, talks, an exhibition, organised by Lindsay McDonald, and the club members leading the official birthday procession, which KES had normally done since 1893. A pamphlet was prepared, and there were yellow rosettes, banners and souvenirs, such as bookmarks. A medal was also intended but has not yet been struck. The total cost was £2,000. The library also put on an exhibition. An annual bursary, worth £300 for three years, for British students, was established. The first round of applications drew mainly students from the Shakespeare Institute.

To attract attention the club needed to enlist others. The media were slow to respond although there was a local BBC TV interview and a Radio 3 interview on the breakfast programme with Petroc Trelawny. The Shakespeare Hospice Bookshop put on a display and some local organisations supported it. Only one third of the club members attended. However, a similar situation existed in 1924 also.

In conclusion, the club was founded by local tradesmen for the economic benefit of the town. Now the club is more 'cultural' and 'academic' and not many people know about it. Its role as leader of a Shakespeare Club of the World (an idea promulgated in 1894 and 1964, the latter from Dr Levi Fox) has not really taken off. A new website will be launched soon. There are plans for the 1,000th meeting, to be celebrated in 2029.

Following the talk there were questions. The audience enjoyed it and learnt a lot.

Report by Helen Elliott.