William Shakespeare Family Home ‘At Risk’ After Car Crash

The home of William Shakespeare’s family has been deemed officially at risk after being hit by a car.

The car accidentally reversed into the Grade I-listed structure in October 2025, causing “substantial damage” to one wall, and exposing its antique timbers to rain and damp.

The 400-year-old building now faces serious “conservation challenges”, and has been added to Historic England’s official Heritage At Risk register of the nation’s most vulnerable sites.

But the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which is custodian of the Jacobean property, has pledged to restore the site, and have it removed from the register.

Rachael North, the trust’s chief executive, said: “Hall’s Croft is a building of exceptional historical importance, and its condition demands a serious and sustained response.

“We take seriously our responsibility to care for this inheritance, so that it can continue to inspire curiosity, connection and understanding for generations to come.”

Hall’s Croft is one of five properties and gardens directly linked to Shakespeare and managed by the trust, including the original cottage of Anne Hathaway, his wife.

Directors have begun work on a £1m conservation effort to stabilise the damaged wattle and daub building, but plan an extensive restoration, which could cost up to £10m and involve replacing the roof.

And they warned that the project would require “substantial external funding from institutional funders, philanthropists, and partners”.

Susanna, the elder sister to twins Judith and Hamnet, lived in the home with her husband, Dr John Hall, and their only child, Elizabeth.

The little girl was the one grandchild Shakespeare met before his death in 1616, and Hall’s Croft remained tied to Susanna until it was sold in 1632.

In the 19th century it became a boarding school, and it had a succession of owners before it was sold to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1949.

Historic England will monitor work to preserve the site after it was added to the annually updated list of national heritage sites that could be damaged or lost.

Last year, the quango added several significant sites to the list, including buildings at Cromford Mills in Derbyshire which played a key role in the early years of the Industrial Revolution.

Deborah Williams, regional director of the Midlands for Historic England, said: “Halls Croft is an internationally significant building and adding it to the Heritage at Risk Register is a positive first step in helping bring the building back into use.

“Shakespeare Birthplace Trust take their role as custodians of this shared history very seriously and they understand that being added to the at-risk register is the first step on the journey to be removed from it.”