Fit for The Bard: Shakespeare devotees will love this historic home near Bicester in Buckinghamshire, for sale for £1.5m

Once a stopover point between Stratford-upon-Avon and London, this former inn is now for sale as a seven-bedroom home. 
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A Buckinghamshire home, which served as William Shakespeare's inspiration for A Midsummer Night's Dream, has been listed for sale.

The Grade II-listed property is part-Elizabethan, part-Jacobean and was used as a stopover between Stratford-upon-Avon and London by England's most famous playwright and poet.

Formerly a coaching inn known as "The Ship", Shakespeare House is in the village of in Grendon Underwood in Buckinghamshire.

It dates back to the 16th century with Tudor touches, later Georgian additions and more modern features in situ throughout.

Shakespeare is thought to have stayed at the hostelry several times on his travels between London and Stratford-upon-Avon, the Warwickshire market town where he was born.

Local rumour has it that Shakespeare House, and the quintessentially English countryside surrounding it, was where the bard first got his inspiration for his play A Midsummer Night's Dream.

After extensive restorations by the current owners, the seven-bedroom home showcases such period features as gables, exposed brick, beams and fireplaces, with more contemporary accents like marble-topped counters in the L-shaped kitchen, full-length windows overlooking the terrace and a bright study above the garage.

Other notable living spaces include a huge ground floor, with utility, snug, family, dining and drawing rooms; and a dressing room on the second floor with built-in storage.

There are six bathrooms spread over three floors, an acre of landscaped gardens and a 300sq ft cellar – perfect for housing the ultimate wine collection.

After a stint as a successful B&B, Shakespeare House lay empty for years before current owner Sheila Kronfeld and her family – who all wanted to buy near friends in West Wickham two hours away – were persuaded to go and see it.

"We could see the enormous potential straight away," says Sheila, "We walked in, fell in love with it – and thought sod our friends."

"It's the best hide-and-seek house in the world, our children love it," she adds.

"It's a reluctant move," admits Sheila, who says the family's next home will be one with more land where they can keep horses, "It's such a wonderful family home, though, as we haven't done anything to the layout, it could easily be run as a B&B again."

The village of Grendon Underwood, Bucks, is located between Bicester and Aylesbury and is popular with day-trippers and commuters.

Trains from Aylesbury Vale Parkway, nine miles away, to London Marylebone take just under an hour. Oxford is 15 miles away, Stratford-upon-Avon is 52 miles and London is 70 miles away — or a 90-minute drive.

The grand property is for sale for £1.5million with Knight Frank.