This illustrated 1890 work draws on archival material to provide a history of Stratford up to the time of Shakespeare's death.Sir Sidney Lee (18591926) was a lifelong scholar and enthusiast of Shakespeare, who in 1898 wrote a highly regarded account of the poet's life. This illustrated work of 1890 draws on archival material to provide a history of the town of Stratford up to the time of Shakespeare's death.Sir Sidney Lee (18591926) was a lifelong scholar and enthusiast of Shakespeare, who in 1898 wrote a highly regarded account of the poet's life. This illustrated work of 1890 draws on archival material to provide a history of the town of Stratford up to the time of Shakespeare's death.Sir Sidney Lee (18591926) was a lifelong scholar and enthusiast of Shakespeare, but is also remembered as the 'sub-editor' recruited by Sir Leslie Stephen when he was embarking on the project of the Dictionary of National Biography, and whose editorial and organisational skills were vital in keeping the publication programme close to its planned schedule. His own contributions to the Dictionary included an account of the life of Queen Victoria and (in Volume 51, 1897) William Shakespeare. This study of Stratford-on-Avon was first published in 1885, and the greatly enlarged version, reissued here, in 1890. (In 1898 Lee produced his biography of Shakespeare (also reissued in this series), regarded for much of the twentieth century as the most reliable account of Shakespeare's life.) This illustrated work draws on the archival material then available to provide a history of the town of Stratford up to the time of Shakespeare's death.Introductory; 1. The origin of the town, and its relations with the see of Worcester; 2. Agricultural life; 3. Mediaeval trade, markets, and fairs; 4. John, Robert, and Ralph of Stratford; 5. The Church of the Holy Trinity; 6. The Guild; 7. Sir Hugh Clopton's benefactions; 8. The Reformation at Stratford; 9. The growth of self-government; 10. John Shakespl£