TO mark William Shakespeare’s birthday, Royal Mail has identified that there are over 12,000 addresses in the UK linked to the Bard and his various works.

Aside from the man himself (there are over 1,500 ‘William Shakespeare’-linked addresses), the sparring Montague family from ‘Romeo & Juliet’ has served as the biggest influence for the nation’s Shakespeare-related street and house names.

More than 1,000 ‘Montague’ Streets, Ways and Avenues span our fair isle, from Basildon to Bideford.  

Some of the more unusual street and house names on the list include the ‘As You Like It’ residence in Oxfordshire and ‘Bagot Avenue’ in Warrington. 

Of all the Bard of Avon’s works, ‘Hamlet’ has had the greatest impact on the naming of our addresses, with 500 streets and houses honouring the play - including ‘Hamlet Gardens’ in Andover and Colchester’s ‘Claudius Road’.

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is also very influential (there are over 300 related addresses including ‘Titania Close’ in Bilston and ‘Midsummer Common’ in Cambridge).

The nation’s top twenty ‘Shakespeare Hotspots’ are as follows:

London (over 2,000)

Leeds (237)

Nottingham (215)

Bristol (162)

Warwick (128)

Westcliff-On-Sea (124)

Birmingham (119)

Salford (85)

Bedford (67)

Gloucester (58)

Barnet (50)

St. Albans (46)

Stratford-Upon-Avon (45)

Shanklin (45)

Swindon (40)

Lincoln (31)

Reading (27)

Rugby (25)

Southend-On-Sea (25)

Worthing (24)

Other fascinating snippets from the research include:

Boasting Shakespeare’s birthplace Stratford-Upon-Avon, the Midlands is officially the most densely populated region for related street and house names (over 4,000). This is particularly prevalent in the county of Warwickshire, which possesses over 2,000 addresses including ‘Falstaff Grove’ in Warwick and ‘Shakespeare’s Barn’ in Leamington Spa.

There are over 400 ‘Octavia’-related addresses across the UK, indicating a Julius Caesar connection.

The various houses that The Bard lived in throughout his life, including 22 Chapel Street and Hall’s Croft, have inspired over 200 street and house names. 

Some of the more unusual names on the list include a straightforward ‘Titania’ in Alloa, and ‘Macbeth Moir Road’ in Mountain Ash.

Steve Rooney, Head of Royal Mail’s Address Management Unit, said: “Delivering mail to over 30 million addresses, six days a week, gives us an unparalleled view of the nation’s street and house names, and sometimes the results are fascinating.

“It’s no secret that William Shakespeare and his works form an enormous part of British history and identity, but it’s fascinating to see that his legacy is felt so profoundly across the entire country.”