William Shakespeare coined a lot of phrases that we use all the time. “All of a sudden”, “fair play”, “good riddance”, “love is blind”, and “night owl” were all first used by Mr S. It’s only fitting that we name a few places in his honour. Take a look below at some choice locations named after the bard with a capital B.
Shakespeare’s Globe, London
We have to start with this reconstruction of his Elizabethan theatre. Located next to the Tate Modern in London’s Bankside, Shakespeare’s Globe accurately recreates how people watched plays back in the early 1600s by making visitors stand for four hours. There’s no roof, so take an umbrella if you’re expecting rain.
Shakespeare, New Mexico
This ghost town used to be a more significant back in the 1800s and today you can take tours of what’s left – guides will tell all about the many famous names of the wild west that paid a visit, including Billy the Kid. Maybe they’ll explain why it’s named after Shakespeare too, because that’s far less clear.
Shakespeare by the Sea, Canada / California
Every time there’s a Shakespeare festival on the side of some sea somewhere, it surprises not a single soul when it gets called Shakespeare by the Sea – the alliteration is just too tempting. In Halifax in Nova Scotia, there’s a theatre company called SBTS that holds plays in the ruins of an old artillery battery in a park. It’s also the name of a festival over summer in the Newfoundland capital of St John’s. Outside of Canada, there is also an SBTS company that generously puts on a string of free plays throughout Los Angeles and Orange County in California.
Shakespeare’s grave, Warwickshire
Ok, technically Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon isn’t called “Shakespeare’s grave”, but that’s all anybody asks for when they want directions to it. The grave is housed inside the church because moneybags Shakespeare paid for an interior plot. You have to pay a small fee to visit it, so we’re pretty sure the church has done all right out of the bard’s death and are happy for people to refer to it as Shakespeare’s grave as much as they like.
Shakespeare, Ontario
This small town of around 750 people was renamed Shakespeare in the mid 1800s pretty much on a whim after somebody said he liked William’s plays. Located in the southern end of Ontario, Shakespeare is in the middle of Perth County and surrounded by the Great Lakes that border Canada and the USA. Almost unsurprisingly, the capital of Perth is called Stratford and sits upon a river called the Avon. Fittingly, Stratford hosts a large Shakespeare festival every year (in honour of the playwright, not the neighbouring town).
Shakespeare Rock, Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a famous chunk of water that sits between the states of California and Nevada in the USA. A large bluff on the Nevada side of the lake was named Shakespeare Rock because a preacher’s wife reckoned it looked like big Will. For over 150 years since, people have been coming from miles around to look upon it and predictably saying to themselves: “Well, that just looks like a rock.” Other than being a great place for climbers, the rock has also become the setting of an annual festival in honour of… yes, you guessed it… William Shakespeare.
Stratford, New Zealand
Not only is the town of Stratford in Taranaki named after the bard, but 67 of Shakespeare’s roads have been given the names of his characters. You can drive down Hamlet Street, Lear Street, Tybalt Street, and even Romeo Street. Fun fact: the glockenspiel clock tower in the middle of town plays the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet three times a day, with the character’s lines booming from loudspeakers.
Almost all of Uranus’ moons
Nineteen out of Uranus’ twenty-one moons are named after characters from Shakespeare’s plays. The Tempest has given rise to eight names, A Midsummer’s Night Dream three and then there are individual names from King Lear, Hamlet, Taming of the Shrew, Troilus and Cressida, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Merchant of Venice and As You Like It. Some do sound quite moonish, like Oberon and Sycorax, but let’s face it, Bianca and Ophelia are rubbish names for huge rocks floating in outer space.
Featured Image by Jack Dorsey
