The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
This film is part of Free
Shakespeareland
Ticking off the tourist attractions of William Shakespeare's old stamping ground in a rather grand Rolls Royce.
From the collection of:
Overview
W.H. Williams of Wootton Wawen in Warwickshire recorded his family's stylish outing in a wonderful Rolls Royce to nearby Stratford-Upon-Avon. In a typically home movie style we are also treated to a preamble at home with the pet dog before the gentle trip in the Rolls. The opening of the new Shakespeare Memorial Theatre by the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) on 23 April 1932 also features in this genteel look at the town's ever popular tourist haunts.
The building opened by the Prince of Wales on Shakespeare's 368th birthday in 1932 replaced an earlier theatre destroyed by fire in 1926. The building was renamed the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1961.