Shakespeare family home damaged as car backs into it

Hall's Croft was undergoing a significant conservation project when the incident happened

A Grade I-listed building once home to a member of William Shakespeare's family has been damaged by a car reversing into it.

Hall's Croft in Stratford-upon-Avon was damaged on Friday morning after the car backed into it, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust said.

The "remarkable" 17th century building, once home to the bard's daughter Susanna and her husband John Hall, was already undergoing a significant conservation project to help preserve it. It would now be assessed for repairs with experts.

The car backing into the building had been an accident, the trust said, and no-one had been injured. The site has since been made safe.

The trust takes care of several of William Shakespeare's family homes in the town and runs visitor and exhibition centres.

Shakespeare was a poet, playwright, and actor born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and his plays are still performed all over the world.

"Every incident like this reminds us how vulnerable our shared heritage is," the trust said.

"Rising conservation costs and a shortage of skilled craftspeople make it ever harder to protect these remarkable buildings."

According to the trust the main part of the timbered building was built in 1613. For most of its history, it was the home of prosperous, professional people and in the mid-1800s it served as a small school.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust bought in 1949 and, after substantial repairs and alterations, opened it to the public in 1951.

There is an appeal to help the trust with its work.

"If you love Shakespeare and his world, please help us repair and preserve Hall's Croft for future generations," the trust said.