Shakespeare's New Place home: Work starts on £5m project

The £5.25m project will see the building of an exhibition centre

A £5.25m project to transform the site of Shakespeare's last home into a "major" tourism site is under way.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust said it had spent 18 months preparing the site at New Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire, and had now commenced work.

The project will see the building of an exhibition centre, a new entrance and the restoration of the garden.

The gardens at New Place will also be restored as part of the project

The work is planned to end by 2016, the anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

The trust has spent several months excavating Shakespeare's living quarters - an area that has never previously been examined.

A contractor has now been appointed to carry out the rest of the work, including the restoration of the sunken Knot Garden.

Julie Crawshaw, project manager, said: "After 18 months of meticulous planning and consulting, the hard work now begins.

"With less than a year to go until opening, all hands are on deck to ensure the project runs to schedule, and work is carried out with minimum disruption."

The project is being supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England.