Race against clock to spruce up Shakespeare's home

Curator Emily White said precious items required care and attention

Conservation experts have said they are racing against the clock to perform repairs, decoration and maintenance at Shakespeare's birthplace.

A two-week conservation programme is taking place before thousands of tourists are allowed to visit again.

The building, in Stratford-upon-Avon, will be closed from 8 January until 19 January.

Those tasked with the effort say ten working days is a tight deadline for all the work to be carried out.

Curator Emily White said items which date back to the 1400s required a lot of care and attention.

She said employees would be working to refresh displays, rest pieces of furniture and compile condition reports.

"Ten days is a very tight deadline for us," she said. "Every object requires our full attention.

"We have to be quite strategic in what items we focus on throughout the year."

Curator Emily White with collections care officer Amy Davies

Amy Davies, collections care officer, explained January was the quietest month of the year for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

She said that allowed bosses to seize the opportunity to perform repairs and conservation.

"We have thousands of visitors coming through the house every day so the building needs ongoing conservation work," she explained.

"Some of our collections are sensitive to environmental conditions such as light."

Some of the collections are sensitive to environmental conditions

The trust plans to show footage of the work being carried out on social media to keep people involved in the process.

Other works carried out annually include flooring, plaster and drainage repairs.