Short answers, pulled from the story.
Local oak from the Forest of Arden formed the wooden frame of a house on Henley Street. Blue-grey stone from Wilmcote filled the gaps between timbers. Workers mixed clay and straw to create wattle and daub walls around 1564.
William Shakespeare inherited the main house after his father died. Ownership passed to Susanna Shakespeare under terms of her father's will. Elizabeth Hart received the property in 1649 then Thomas Hart took over in 1670.
P.T. Barnum proposed buying the home and shipping it brick-by-brick to America in 1847. The American showman wanted to export the entire structure across the Atlantic Ocean. Local authorities rejected this plan when they learned of his intentions.
Restoration work began between 1857 and 1864 under direction of the new Trust. Architects used surviving evidence to return the exterior to its mid-sixteenth century state. Workers restored the half-timbered design using traditional materials and methods.
The property holds Grade I listed status since the 25th of October 1951. A glass window displays signatures collected over centuries by visiting guests. Visitors can view the second-story room believed to be Shakespeare's birthplace.