Harvard House
Harvard House
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The ancestral home of John Harvard, founder of America's most famous University.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
202 reviews
Excellent
65
Very good
75
Average
48
Poor
11
Terrible
3
LightPacker37721
Barcelona, Spain1 contribution
Harvard House was the original home of John Harvard who emigrated to the States to avoid religious persecution and eventually founded Harvard University. It has been sympathetically restored by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust who now care for it and have assembled appropriate furniture of the period. It is now used as the Museum of British Pewter to house what is considered the dominant collection in the world, dating from Anglo-Roman times till the present day with multiple pieces that are simply unique. Regular special exhibitions are featured inside the 16th. century house that is regarded as the finest excample of Tudor architecture on the High Street
Written October 5, 2005
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
IAN D
Wigan, UK25,852 contributions
Sep 2020 • Solo
This was the home of John Harvard who was the founder of the famous University in America. Sadly not possible to now look around. It adjoins the old Garrick Inn.
Written September 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
newkruzer
Seattle67 contributions
Jul 2016 • Family
I wouldn't make this a priority, but it's right in the middle of town so it's easy to fit it in if you have a free hour or so.
One terrific, money-saving way to see this and the other four Shakespeare house sites is to get on the hop-on, hop-off tour bus at any of its 11 stops and buy an all-day bus ticket and a five-house voucher. Mary Arden and Anne Hathaway are out of town, which is why you need the bus ticket, so do those first. If you don't get to the other three that day, the five-house voucher is still valid for when you get around to them, and they are all in town within easy walking distance of each other.
One terrific, money-saving way to see this and the other four Shakespeare house sites is to get on the hop-on, hop-off tour bus at any of its 11 stops and buy an all-day bus ticket and a five-house voucher. Mary Arden and Anne Hathaway are out of town, which is why you need the bus ticket, so do those first. If you don't get to the other three that day, the five-house voucher is still valid for when you get around to them, and they are all in town within easy walking distance of each other.
Written July 19, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael O
Orlando, FL32 contributions
Nov 2015 • Couples
This was another great location included in our package tour purchased at our tour of Shakespeare's Birthplace. This is more of a self-paced walking tour than the other locations in Stratford-upon-Avon but well worth the stop in this package tour. :-)
Written December 20, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ian0090
Bournemouth, UK30 contributions
Oct 2015 • Friends
Fascinating experience to be able to walk through such an old building. There was actually not much to see with the most interesting part being at the top of the house, whether Rogers' very large family slept in two rooms, one of which has interesting renovated stuccoed walls. Exit to roof and fire hook seemed to make absolute sense in a wooden building.
We would have liked the staff here to be more proactive, as the story behind the building could have brought everything to life.
Actually the most impressive part of the house is the exterior, which has beautiful carving to show off to the neighbours. The carved bull above the doorway is almost mooing.
We would have liked the staff here to be more proactive, as the story behind the building could have brought everything to life.
Actually the most impressive part of the house is the exterior, which has beautiful carving to show off to the neighbours. The carved bull above the doorway is almost mooing.
Written October 27, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are always interested to receive feedback from our visitors, and all comments are used to aid us in our continued development and improvements across all areas of the Trust. We hope that you enjoyed your visit overall and that you might have the opportunity to come again soon.
Written October 29, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Alwaysonholiday2
Berkshire UK454 contributions
Sep 2015 • Couples
My wife and I each bought a pass for the five properties owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust as we decided to go to them all in one day whilst visiting Stratford-upon-Avon, which can be done comfortably if you have some form of transport as they are not really that far apart. Your entrance ticket is also valid for twelve months from your date of purchase.
In our view this is the least interesting of the five properties to visit, as whilst the building and architecture in themselves are old and interesting, the property has very little to do with William Shakespeare other than it belonged to one of his neighbours!
In our view this is the least interesting of the five properties to visit, as whilst the building and architecture in themselves are old and interesting, the property has very little to do with William Shakespeare other than it belonged to one of his neighbours!
Written September 7, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
R-R2025
Macclesfield, UK40 contributions
Jan 2018
Lovely historic house but in need of significant repair and preservation. Where is the USA and the funding that could preserve this closely associated house ?
Written February 26, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Perry H
San Diego, CA1,794 contributions
Jun 2017 • Family
Of all the times I have been in the town, My daughter which I brought on this trip asked to go inside. Glad we did,But is is very small and if there is a large group it is hard to maneuver. But that being said, It is a fine example of a home from that period and worth the time. The building it self is a great picture from the outside.
Written September 17, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helen K
Oxford, England, United Kingdom254 contributions
Mar 2016 • Business
The museum section will keep you enthralled and the house itself is a wonderful example of tudor architecture.
Written November 17, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kate G
Gulfport, Florida, United States183 contributions
Aug 2016 • Friends
Not much to learn about here other than wander through a lovely old house. It's part of the cluster of offerings and you get a ticket in with the birthplace group. If you need to skip because of time it is not a great loss.
Written August 13, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What do the painted emblems above the fireplace represent please?
Written July 18, 2015
Hi Joyce, thanks for getting in touch.
The emblems above the fireplace in the Joyne Chamber have been created by a technique called pargetting. In general this was used on the outside of a building so it is rather unusual to find some on the inside. It is a symbol of extreme wealth – as is the original oak panelling in the room and the intricate carvings on the front of the house.
The symbols are a lion, a rose, and a fleur-de-lis. Originally the pargetting would not have been painted so we believe the rose was intended to be a Tudor rose which was symbolic of the Tudor dynasty. The lion is also a symbol for England, and is found on many heralds representing bravery, strength, and royalty. The fleur-de-lis is in fact a French icon but it is depicted on the crown jewels of England and Scotland, and was adopted by the Plantagenets in the thirteenth century until the Tudor period.
Written July 21, 2015
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