Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Tudor Rose Teacup, Shakespeare's Birthday

Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea!  Happy Birthday William Shakespeare!

Because of today's theme, this is my teacup for today...as William Shakespeare's birthday and death dates are accepted as April 23rd...

so my teacup is a teacup in a pattern called Tudor Rose, because Shakespeare lived during the Tudor period...generally put between 1485 to 1603, and  the dates that Shakespeare lived...as they are known...are from 1564 when he was baptized to April 23rd, 1616 when he died.  

This teacup was made by Grosvenor China, England in the 1920s, a trademark of Copelands...an off again, on again partner of Spode until their final marriage and current production as Spode, but unfortunately in a limited fashion and most of it in Indonesia...

The symbol of the Tudors was the red Tudor Rose. The previous reigning family, the House of York was led by King Richard III whom I recently posted about his reburial...HERE...if you missed it, and would like to read it.  The death in 1485 of Richard III on Bosworth Field by Henry II...was the end of what is called The War Of The Roses and the House of York who  also had a symbol of a rose, the York Rose and that was white....hence the name War Of The Roses. England became a Tudor monarchy, and we all remember Henry VIII just down the line...think Wolf Hall....

Damien Lewis at Henry VIII PBS

The Tudors loved their Rose symbols, and they were everywhere...this is a photo from King's College, Cambridge which was finished by Tudor king Henry VII in 1512....

Also built in Tudor times, is Anne Hathaway's home...Shakespeare's sweetheart, in Stratford-upon-Avon, near my Husband's birthplace at Lady Wood...which is now a museum...

Until 3 years ago, we used to go to England for a month every year combining family visits and buying for our business, and after always spending a week in Londn one end of the trip or the other for the various antiques markets there, would head our rental car up north to the midlands, avoiding the motorways and sticking to A or even B roads...English roads are coded...A roads are major roads but not motorways, what the US calls highways, and B roads are progressively smaller, but in our opinion much more interesting and scenic. And if you want to get to the family in Walsall, Solihull, Redditch, Erdington and Sutton Coldfield, you have to go through the Cotswolds, which is no hardship...unless you are in a hurry!

And Tudor architecture, many dating from Shakespeare's time, line the roads....

This is the Queen's Head pub in Stratford where we have stopped often for lunch.

This is the Royal Shakespeare Theater in Stratford which is a wonderful year round venue. We have seen Judi Dench and other famous actors at work here. The tour is fun too!

I thought this sign was fun, and certainly shows you the options. All the major Shakespeare sites are quite walkable.

Above is a favorite...Harvard House, the founder of Harvard University who emigrated to escape religious prosecution.

Just outside Stratford is the Bancroft Boat Basin on The Avon River where several canals cross the river. We love canals, and often stop here with a picnic lunch before heading through Stratford.

Here is Shakespeare's grave and monument in Holy Trinity Church.

So thanks for joining me to tea today...in honor of the area and Shakespeare, here is my husband's favorite tea, also born, like he was,  from not far from Stratford...Typhoo Tea. The name is taken from an Indian word meaning medicine, which tea was at first believed to be...still is in my opinion! This is a special Gold Blend they had available recently...

I will be with friends this week, out and about from Canada, so may be slow returning comments...although I will do them as soon as possible. We have a lot planned, laugh and eat a lot, tire ourselves out and love every minute of our time together. But your comments mean a lot, so I am not neglecting you if I am slow....my apologies in advance if I can't keep up and lag a bit...

Below is the list of some of the blog parties I will be part of and there is the linky for your tea related posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are patient...it's there! And I love to read your comments, and can find you to visit!

Mosaic Monday with Judith
 Tea Time Tuesday with Sandi 

A Return to Loveliness
 Tea Cup Tuesday 
 Friends Sharing Tea
 Share Your Cup Thursday

Roses Of Inspiration

An InLinkz Link-up