Mary Arden - Mary Arden's Farm, also known as Mary Arden's House, is the farmhouse owned by Mary Shakespeare, the mother of Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare. Located in the village of Wilmcote, about three miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, the house has been maintained in good condition because it had been a working farmhouse over the centuries. It was bought by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1930 and refurnished in the Tudor style.
In 2000 it was discovered that the building preserved as Mary Arden's house had belonged to a friend and neighbour Adam Palmer and the house was renamed Palmer's Farm. The house that had belonged to the Arden family which was near to Palmer's Farm had been acquired by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1968 for preservation as part of a farmyard without knowing its true provenance.
The house and farm reflect life in the 16th century, specifically 1573. The farm contains many rare breeds of animals including Mangalitza and Tamworth Pigs, Cotswold Sheep, Long Horn Cattle, Baggot and Golden Guernsey Goats, Geese and Birds of Prey including a Hooded Vulture.
Source & More Information: Wikipedia, Mary Arden's Farm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Arden%27s_Farm