The Painted Room is a hidden gem in the middle of Oxford that thousands of people pass each day and don’t even know exists. But on Sunday and on Thursday, Shakespeare’s Birthday, the room will be unlocked and open to visitors.

At Number 3 Cornmarket, a stone's throw from Carfax, stands a 14th-century timber-framed building that once cantilevered out over the street but is now concealed by an undistinguished eighteenth century façade.

Around 1600 John Davenant and his wife Jane moved here from a tavern they ran in London’s theatre-land. The historian Anthony Wood wrote: “John Davenant was a sufficient vintner, kept the tavern now known by the name of the Crowne, was mayor of the said city in the year 1621…was a grave and discreet citizen (yet an admirer of plays and play-makers, especially Shakespeare, who frequented his house in his journies between Warwickshire and London).”

Two independent witnesses confirmed to Oxford writer John Aubrey that Shakespeare stayed in the Painted Room. One was William, son of John Davenant and godson of Shakespeare who said Shakespeare used to bounce him on his knees and give him hundreds of kisses.

This show of affection may seem a bit excessive, but Shakespeare was rumoured to be the actual father of William Davenant, who went on to become the first Poet Laureate.

According to Nuala Young from the Oxford Guild of Guides, Jane Davenant was beautiful and vivacious and could have been a sufficient reason why Shakespeare travelled to London through Oxford instead of using the route his father regularly took through Banbury.

The only room where there is reason to believe that Shakespeare slept was painted between 1564 and 1581 with a trellis in ochre, yellow, brown and black hues, probably created from local pigment, clay and soot.

Each link in this Elizabethan design is filled with different flowers of the fields from Oxfordshire. Artisans have covered the walls and the beams with beautiful, delicate and delightful designs that transport you straight back to Tudor times on cloud nine.

But Shakespeare would not even have known this extraordinary design was there. Around the time Davenant moved in to run the Crown Tavern, an inventory was taken by the freeholder New College, and we know that oak panelling had been installed to hide what were then considered old-fashioned wall paintings. The panels were covered with canvas and paper and the paintings were lost for more than 300 years and not discovered until 1927. But the Painted Room had a chequered history. These delicate designs disappeared again. For 50 years the site was turned into a Lyon’s café until the late 1970s.

Finally the Oxford Preservation Trust were given a lease on the room from Oxford City Council and held its meetings there. They decided to put an arm around the room. The old oak panels have now been re-hung on rollers so they can be pushed aside to display the remarkably preserved wall painting in all their glory and the trust wants to make them more widely accessible.

The Painted Room is a minor miracle. It’s minor because Shakespeare didn’t live there, he was only passing through Oxford. It’s a miracle because this exquisite example of Elizabethan wall painting has survived the ravages of Betfred, a bookmakers that occupies the premises now, and the attentions of Oxford Aunts, a company providing nannies and house cleaners, which worked out of the room in the 1970s and 80s.

Oxford Mail:

There is a second room adjacent to the bedroom that was the central area of Oxford Aunts and it has a feel about it reminiscent of the decade that taste forgot, with garish neon lights and row on row of white plastic electrical sockets for Hoovers, typewriters, photocopiers and other office equipment.

To find the Painted Room, stand at Carfax and face Cornmarket. On your right is a Lloyds TSB bank, then Pret a Manger. Next to that is a dingy door with stairs leading up to the first floor. Above the door is a sign that says simply “Betfred”. The stairs are covered in the kind of grey-green linoleum that hides scuff marks and is designed to be hosed down quickly if anyone has an accident.

On the first floor is a set of 14 large TV screens, four betting machines and a cage-like box where two people attend cash registers. No smoking is allowed but you can still detect tobacco with a hint of chocolate in the air.

Next to Betfred is a locked door leading to circular, creaking stairs that wind around a timber beam to the Painted Room. The Oxford Preservation Trust holds the keys to this treasure and will open the doors on Sunday, but booking is essential.

Visit oxfordpreservation.org.uk for details.