Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford Upon Avon sits just outside the famous Cotswolds Hills, where wool was the primary industry. It’s even thought that shepherds in the area taking care of their sheep are responsible for the first discovery of graphite that would go on to be used in pencils. In Shakespeare’s plays, there are references to sheep, lambs, fleeces, wool, and shepherds in almost all of his works, leading us to wonder how personally connected to sheep and the wool industry William Shakespeare might have been.

Here as our guest this week to help us explore Shakespeare’s history with sheep is the person in charge of the actual living sheep kept in Shakespeare’s name, and a representative part of his history at Mary Arden’s Farm in Stratford Upon Avon, is Lizzy Dobbin [Assistant Farm Manager at Mary Arden’s Farm], at Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.