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diff --git a/26315-8.txt b/26315-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a3bbedf --- /dev/null +++ b/26315-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12369 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Shakespeare's Family, by Mrs. C. C. Stopes + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Shakespeare's Family + +Author: Mrs. C. C. Stopes + +Release Date: August 14, 2008 [EBook #26315] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHAKESPEARE'S FAMILY *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Josephine Paolucci, Janet +Blenkinship and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at http://www.pgdp.net. (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian +Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + +SHAKESPEARE'S FAMILY + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration: William Shakespeare from the Drocshout painting now in +the Shakespeare Memorial Gallery at Stratford-on-Avon.] + + + + +SHAKESPEARE'S FAMILY + + +BEING + + +A Record of the Ancestors and Descendants +of William Shakespeare + + +WITH + +_SOME ACCOUNT OF THE ARDENS_ + + +BY + +MRS. C. C. STOPES + +AUTHOR OF +"THE BACON-SHAKESPEARE QUESTION ANSWERED," "SHAKESPEARE'S WARWICKSHIRE +CONTEMPORARIES," "BRITISH FREEWOMEN," ETC. + + +LONDON +ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. +NEW YORK +JAMES POTT & COMPANY +1901 + + +Transcriber's note: Minor typos have been corrected. Footnotes have been +moved to the end of the chapter. Letters that are preceeded by a caret +(^) are superscripted in the text. + + + + +PREFACE + + +When I was invited to reprint in book-form the articles which had +appeared in the _Genealogical Magazine_ under the titles of +"Shakespeare's Family" and the "Warwickshire Ardens," I carefully +corrected them, and expanded them where expansion could be made +interesting. Thus to the bald entries of Shakespeare's birth and burial +I added a short life. Perhaps never before has anyone attempted to write +a life of the poet with so little allusion to his plays and poems. My +reason is clear; it is only the genealogical details of certain +Warwickshire families of which I now treat, and it is only as an +interesting Warwickshire gentleman that the poet is here included. + +Much of the chaotic nonsense that has of late years been written to +disparage his character and contest his claims to our reverence and +respect are based on the assumption that he was a man of low origin and +of mean occupation. I deny any relevance to arguments based on such an +assumption, for genius is restricted to no class, and we have a Burns as +well as a Chaucer, a Keats as well as a Gower, yet I am glad that the +result of my studies tends to prove that it is but an unfounded +assumption. By the Spear-side his family was at least respectable, and +by the Spindle-side his pedigree can be traced straight back to Guy of +Warwick and the good King Alfred. There is something in fallen fortune +that lends a subtler romance to the consciousness of a noble ancestry, +and we may be sure this played no small part in the making of the poet. + +All that bear his name gain a certain interest through him, and +therefore I have collected every notice I can find of the Shakespeares, +though we are all aware none can be his descendants, and that the family +of his sister can alone now enter into the poet's pedigree with any +degree of certainty. + +The time for romancing has gone by, and nothing more can be done +concerning the poet's life except through careful study and through +patient research. All students must regret that their labours have such +comparatively meagre results. Though sharing in this regret, I have been +able, besides adding minor details, to find at last a definite link of +association between the Park Hall and the Wilmcote Ardens; and I have +located a John Shakespeare in St. Clement's Danes, Strand, London, who +is probably the poet's cousin. I have also somewhat cleared the ground +by checking errors, such as those made by Halliwell-Phillipps, +concerning John Shakespeare, of Ingon, and Gilbert Shakespeare, +Haberdasher, of London (see page 226). I hope that every contribution to +our store of real knowledge may bring forward new suggestions and +additional facts. + +In regard to his mother's family, I thought it important to clear the +earlier connections. But it must not be forgotten that until modern +times no Shakespeare but himself was connected with the Ardens. Yet, +having commenced with the family, I may be pardoned for adding to their +history before the sixteenth century the few notes I have gleaned +concerning the later branches. + +The order I have preferred has been chronological, limited by the +advisability of completing the notices of a family in special +localities. + +Disputed questions I have placed in chapters apart, as they would bulk +too largely in a short biography to be proportionate. Hence the Coat of +Arms and the Arden Connections are treated as family matters, apart from +John Shakespeare's special biography. I have done what I could to avoid +mistakes, and neither time nor trouble has been spared. I owe thanks to +many who have helped me in my long-continued and careful researches, to +the officials of the British Museum and the Public Record Office, to the +Town Council of Stratford-on-Avon and Mr. Savage, Secretary of the +Shakespeare Trust, to the Worshipful Company of the Haberdashers, for +allowing me to study their records; to the late Earl of Warwick, for +admission to his Shakespeare Library, and to many clergymen who have +permitted me to search their registers. + + CHARLOTTE CARMICHAEL STOPES. + + + + +CONTENTS + + PART I + +CHAPTER PAGE + + I. THE NAME OF SHAKESPEARE 1 + + II. THE LOCALITIES OF EARLY SHAKESPEARES 4 + + III. LATER SHAKESPEARES BEFORE THE POET'S TIME 10 + + IV. THE SHAKESPEARE COAT OF ARMS 17 + + V. THE IMPALEMENT OF THE ARDEN ARMS 24 + + VI. THE ARDENS OF WILMECOTE 35 + + VII. JOHN SHAKESPEARE 50 + +VIII. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 61 + + IX. SHAKESPEARE'S DESCENDANTS 87 + + X. COLLATERALS 110 + + XI. COUSINS AND CONNECTIONS 113 + + XII. CONTEMPORARY WARWICKSHIRE SHAKESPEARES 118 + +XIII. SHAKESPEARES IN OTHER COUNTIES 132 + + XIV. LONDON SHAKESPEARES 142 + + + PART II + + I. THE PARK HALL ARDENS 162 + + II. THE ARDENS OF LONGCROFT 183 + + III. OTHER WARWICKSHIRE ARDENS 188 + + IV. THE ARDENS OF CHESHIRE 196 + + V. BRANCHES IN OTHER COUNTIES 213 + + TERMINAL NOTES 222 + + INDEX 239 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + PAGE +PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE _Frontispiece_ + +SHAKESPEARE'S ARMS 17 + +OLD HOUSE AT WILMECOTE, BY SOME SUPPOSED TO BE + ROBERT ARDEN'S _To face_ 35 + +PRESENT VIEW OF SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHPLACE " 55 + +THE GUILD CHAPEL, FROM THE SITE OF NEW PLACE " 67 + +THE CHANCEL, TRINITY CHURCH " 83 + +SHAKESPEARE'S EPITAPH 84 + +ANNE HATHAWAY'S COTTAGE _To face_ 88 + +ANNE SHAKESPEARE'S EPITAPH 90 + +SNITTERFIELD CHURCH _To face_ 113 + +NORDEN'S MAP OF LONDON, 1593 " 142 + +WARWICK CASTLE " 162 + +SWAN THEATRE (BY DR. GAIDERTY) " 214 + +THE BEAR GARDEN AND HOPE THEATRE " 216 + +SWAN THEATRE " 216 + + + When, from the midst of a people, there riseth a man + Who voices the life of its life, the dreams of its soul, + The Nation's Ideal takes shape, on Nature's old plan, + Expressing, informing, impelling, the fashioning force of the whole. + + The Spirit of England, thus Shakespeare our Poet arose; + For England made Shakespeare, as Shakespeare makes England anew. + His people's ideals should clearly their kinship disclose, + To England, themselves, the more true, in that they to their + Shakespeare are true. + + + + +Shakespeare's Family + + + + +_PART I_ + +CHAPTER I + +THE NAME OF SHAKESPEARE + + +The origin of the name of "Shakespeare" is hidden in the mists of +antiquity. Writers in _Notes and Queries_ have formed it from Sigisbert, +or from Jacques Pierre,[1] or from "Haste-vibrans." Whatever it was at +its initiation, it may safely be held to have been an intentionally +significant appellation in later years. That it referred to feats of +arms may be argued from analogy. Italian heraldry[2] illustrates a name +with an exactly similar meaning and use in the Italian language, that of +Crollalanza. + +English authors use it as an example of their theories. Verstegan +says[3]: "Breakspear, Shakespeare, and the like, have bin surnames +imposed upon the first bearers of them for valour and feates of armes;" +and Camden[4] also notes: "Some are named from that they carried, as +Palmer ... Long-sword, Broadspear, and in some respects Shakespear." + +In "The Polydoron"[5] it is stated that "Names were first questionlesse +given for distinction, facultie, consanguinity, desert, quality ... as +Armestrong, Shakespeare, of high quality." + +That it was so understood by his contemporaries we may learn from +Spenser's allusion, evidently intended for him, seeing no other poet of +his time had an "heroic name"[6]: + + "And there, though last, not least is Aëtión; + A gentler shepherd[7] may nowhere be found, + Whose Muse, full of high thought's invention, + Doth like himself heroically sound." + +If the parts of the name be significant, I take it that the correct +spelling at any period is that of the contemporary spelling of the +parts. Therefore, when spear was spelt "spere," the cognomen should be +spelt "Shakespere"; when spear was spelt "speare," as it was in the +sixteenth century, the name should be spelt "Shakespeare." Other methods +of spelling depended upon the taste or education of the writers, during +transition periods, when they seemed actually to _prefer_ varieties, as +one sometimes finds a proper name spelt in three different ways by the +same writer on the same page. "Shakespeare" was the contemporary form of +the name that the author himself passed in correcting the proofs of the +"first heirs of his invention" in 1593 and 1594; and "Shakespeare" was +the Court spelling of the period, as may be seen by the first official +record of the name. When Mary, Countess of Southampton, made out the +accounts of the Treasurer of the Chamber after the death of her second +husband, Sir Thomas Heneage, in 1594, she wrote: "To William Kempe, +William Shakespeare,[8] and Richard Burbage," etc. + +I know that Dr. Furnivall[9] wrote anathemas against those who dared to +spell the name thus, while the poet wrote it otherwise. But a man's +spelling of his own name counted very little then. He might have held +romantically to the quainter spelling of the olden time as many others +did, such as "Duddeley," "Crumwell," "Elmer." + +[Illustration] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] _Notes and Queries_, 2nd Series, ix. 459, x. 15, 86, 122; 7th +Series, iv. 66; 8th Series, vii. 295; 5th Series, ii. 2. + +[2] See Works of Goffredo di Crollalanza, Segretario-Archivista dell' +Accademia Araldica Italiana, which were brought to my notice by Dr. +Richard Garnett. + +[3] Verstegan's "Restitution of Decayed Intelligence," ed. 1605, p. 254. + +[4] Camden's "Remains," ed. 1605, p. 111. + +[5] Undated, but contemporary. _Notes and Queries_, 3rd Series, i. 266. + +[6] Spenser's "Colin Clout's Come Home Again," 1595. + +[7] It was a fashion of the day to call all poets "shepherds." + +[8] "Declared Accounts of the Treasurer of the Chamber," Pipe Office, +542 (1594). See my English article, "The Earliest Official Record of +Shakespeare's Name."--"Shakespeare Jahrbuch," Berlin, 1896, reprinted in +pamphlet form. + +[9] "On Shakespere's Signatures," by Dr. F.J. Furnivall, in the _Journal +of the Society of Archivists and Autograph Collectors_, No. I., June, +1895. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE LOCALITIES OF EARLY SHAKESPEARES + + +We find the name occurs in widely scattered localities from very early +times. Perhaps a resembling name ought to be noted "in the hamlet of +Pruslbury, Gloucestershire,[10] where there were four tenants. This was +at one time an escheat of the King, who gave it to his valet, Simon +_Shakespeye_, who afterwards gave it to Constantia de Legh, who gave it +to William Solar, the defendant." If this represents a 1260 +"Shakespere," as there is every reason to believe it does, this is the +earliest record of the name yet found. This belief is strengthened by +the discovery that a _Simon Sakesper_ was in the service of the Crown in +1278, as herderer of the Forest of Essex,[11] in the Hundred of +Wauthorn, 7 Edward I. Between these two dates Mr. J. W. Rylands[12] has +found a Geoffrey Shakespeare on the jury in the Hundred of Brixton, co. +Surrey, in 1268.[13] + +The next[14] I have noted occurs in Kent in the thirteenth century, +where a John Shakespeare appears in a judicial case, 1278-79, at +Freyndon. + +The fifth notice is in the north.[15] The Hospital of St. Nicholas, +Carlisle, had from its foundation been endowed with a thrave of corn +from every ploughland in Cumberland. These were withheld by the +landowners in the reign of Edward III., for some reason, and an inquiry +was instituted in 1357. The jury decided that the corn was due. It had +been withheld for eight years by various persons, among whom was "Henry +Shakespere, of the Parish of Kirkland," east of Penrith. This gives, +therefore, really an entry of this Shakespere's existence at that place +as early as 1349, and an examination of Court Records may prove an +earlier settlement of the family. + +There was a transfer of lands in Penrith described as "next the land of +Allan Shakespeare," and amongst the witnesses was William +Shakespeare,[16] April, 21 Richard II., 1398. + +In the "Records of the Borough of Nottingham,"[17] we find a John +Shakespere plaintiff against Richard de Cotgrave, spicer, for deceit in +sale of dye-wood on November 8, 31 Edward III. (1357); Richard, the +servant of Robert le Spondon, plaintiff against John Shakespere for +assault. John proves himself in the right, and receives damages, October +21, 1360. + +The first appearance yet found of the name in Warwickshire is in 1359, +when Thomas Sheppey and Henry Dilcock, Bailiffs of Coventry, account for +the property of Thomas Shakespere,[18] felon, who had left his goods and +fled. + +Halliwell-Phillipps[19] notes as his earliest entry of the name a Thomas +Shakespere, of Youghal, 49 Edward III. (1375). A writer in _Notes and +Queries_[20] gives a date two years later when "Thomas Shakespere and +Richard Portingale" were appointed Comptrollers of the Customs in +Youghal, 51 Edward III. (1377). This would imply that he was a highly +trustworthy man. Yet, by some turn of fortune's wheel, he may have been +the same man as the felon. + +In Controlment Rolls, 2 Richard II. (June, 1377, to June, 1379), there +is an entry of "Walter Shakespere, formerly in gaol in Colchester +Castle."[21] John Shakespeare was imprisoned in Colchester gaol as a +perturbator of the King's peace, March 3rd, 4 Richard II., 1381.[22] At +Pontefract, Robert Schaksper, Couper, and Emma his wife are mentioned as +paying poll-tax, 2 Rich. II.[23] + +The Rev. Mr. Norris,[24] working from original documents, notes that on +November 24 (13 Richard II.), 1389, Adam Shakespere, who is described as +son and heir of Adam of Oldediche, held lands within the manor of +Baddesley Clinton by military service, and probably had only just then +obtained them. Oldediche, or Woldich, now commonly called Old Ditch +Lane, lies within the parish of Temple Balsall, not far from the manor +of Baddesley. + +This closes the notices of the family that I have collected during the +fourteenth century. The above-noted Adam Shakespere, the younger, died +in 1414, leaving a widow, Alice, and a son and heir, John, then under +age, who held lands until 20 Henry VI., 1441. It is not clear who +succeeded him, but probably two brothers, Ralph and Richard, who held +lands in Baddesley, called Great Chedwyns, adjoining Wroxall. Mr. Norris +says that no further mention of the name appears in Baddesley, but one +notice of the property is given later. Ralph and Joanna, his wife, had +two daughters--Elizabeth, married to Robert Huddespit, and Isolda, +married to Robert Kakley. Elizabeth Huddespit, a widow, in 1506 held the +lands which Adam Shakespeare held in 1389. + +The family of Shakespeare appears in the "Register of the Guild of +Knowle,"[1] a semi-religious society to which the best in the county +belonged: + + 1457. Pro anima Ricardi Shakespere et Alicia uxor + ejus de Woldiche.[25] + + 1464. Johanna Shakespere. + Radulphus Shakespere et Isabella uxor ejus et + pro anima Johannæ uxoris primæ. + Ricardus Schakespeire de Wroxhale et Margeria + uxor ejus. + + 1476. Thomas Chacsper et Christian cons. sue de + Rowneton. + Johannis Shakespeyre de Rowington et Alicia + uxor ejus. + + 1486. 1 Hen. VII. Thomæ Schakspere, p aiaei. + Thomas Shakspere et Alicia uxor ejus de + Balsale. + +Mr. Yeatman has studied the Court Rolls of this period. It is to be +wished he had published his book in two volumes, one of facts and one of +opinions. He says that the earliest record of the Court Rolls of +Wroxall[26] is one dated 5 Henry V. (1418). It is a grant by one +Elizabeth Shakspere to John Lone and William Prins of a messuage with +three crofts. (The same Rolls tell us that in 22 Henry VIII. Alice Love +surrendered to William Shakespeare and Agnes his wife a property +apparently the same.) + +In 1485 John Hill, John Shakespeare and others, were enfeoffed in land +called "Harveys" in Rowington, and John appears as witness in 1492 and +1496.[27] + +There were Shakesperes at Coventry and Meriden in the fifteenth century. +John Dwale, merchant of Coventry, left legacies by will to Annes Lane +and to Richard Shakespere, March 15, 1499.[28] + +Among the "foreign fines" of the borough of Nottingham,[29] Robert +Shakespeyr paid eightpence for license to buy and sell in the borough in +1414-15. The same Robert complains of John Fawkenor for non-payment of +the price of wood for making arrows. And French[30] tells us there was a +Thomas Shakespere, a man at arms, going to Ireland on August 27, 18 +Edward IV., 1479, with Lord Grey against the king's enemies. + +John Shakespere, a chapman in Doncaster,[31] paid on each order 12d. +Among the York wills, John Shakespere of Doncaster mentions his wife, +Joan, 1458. In the same year Sir Thomas Chaworth leaves Margery +Shakesper six marks for her marriage.[32] + +In 1448, William Shakspere, labourer, and Agnes, his wife, were legatees +under the will of Alice Langham, of Snailswell, Suffolk.[33] + +A family also belonged to London. Mr. Gollancz told me of a certain +"William Schakesper" who was "to be buried within the Hospital of St. +John of Jerusalem, in England," in 1413.[34] On reference to the +original, I found there was no allusion to profession, locality or +family. He left to an unnamed father and mother twenty shillings each, +and six shillings and eightpence to the hospital. The residue to William +Byrdsale and John Barbor, to dispose of for the good of his soul; proved +August 3, 1413. There was also a Peter Shakespeare who witnessed the +deed of transfer of the "Hospicium Vocatum le Greyhounde, Shoe Alley, +Bankside, Southwark, February 16, 1483."[35] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[10] Coram Rege Roll, St. Barthol., 45 Henry III., Memb. 13, No. 117. +_Notes and Queries_, 5th Series, ii. 146. + +[11] Fisher's "Forest of Essex," p. 374. _Notes and Queries_, 9th +Series, ii. 167. + +[12] Records of Rowington. + +[13] Coram Rege Roll, 139, M. 1, 52-53 Hen. III. + +[14] Roll of 7 Edward I.: "Placita Corone coram Johanne de Reygate et +sociis suis, justiciariis itinerantibus in Oct. St. Hil. 7 Edward I., +_apud_ Cantuar." See also _Notes and Queries_, 1st Series, vol. xi., p. +122. Mr. William Henry Hart, F.S.A., contributes a note on the subject +and gives the entry. + +[15] _Notes and Queries_, 2nd Series, vol. x., p. 122. + +[16] _Notes and Queries_, 6th Series, iv. 126. + +[17] "Records of the Borough of Nottingham," by Mr. W. Stevenson. + +[18] See Dr. Joseph Hunter's MSS., Addit. MSS., Brit. Mus. 24,484, art. +246. + +[19] In Shakespeare's "Life," prefixed to the folio edition. + +[20] _Notes and Queries_, J. F. F., 2nd Series, x. 122; see "Rot. Pat. +Claus. Cancellariæ Hiberniæ Calendarium," vol. i., part i., p. 996. + +[21] _Notes and Queries_, 5th Series, i. 25. + +[22] Close Rolls, 4 Richard II.; _Notes and Queries_, 7th Series, ii. +318. + +[23] _Yorksh. Archæological Journal_, vol. vi., p. 3. Lay-Subsidies, +206/49, Osgodcrosse, West Riding. + +[24] _Notes and Queries_, 8th Series, vol. viii., December 28, 1895; +"Shakespeare's Ancestry," by the Rev. Henry Norris, F.S.A. + +[25] Mr. W. B. Bickley's "The Register of the Guild of St. Anne at +Knowle," 1894. Mr. Bickley, in the _Stratford-on-Avon Herald_, November +9, 1895, shows that "Woldiche," "Oldyche" and "Oldwich" are the same, +being a farm in the hamlet of Balsall, in the parish of Hampton in +Arden, and about three miles from Knowle. + +[26] Mr. Yeatman's "Gentle Shakespeare," p. 135. + +[27] Mr. J. W. Ryland's "Records of Rowington." + +[28] Proved May 26, 1500, Somerset House; Moone, f. 2. + +[29] Stevenson's "Transcript of Records of the Borough of Nottingham." + +[30] French's "Shakespeareana Genealogica," p. 350, and 39/48 "Ancient +Miscellanea Exchequer," Treasury of Receipt, Muster Roll of Men at Arms +going with Lord Grey. At Conway, 18 Edward IV., August 24. + +[31] Records of the House of Grayfriars. _Yorksh. Archæological +Journal_, vol. xii., p. 482. + +[32] _Notes and Queries_,6th Series, iv. 158. + +[33] "Camden Soc. Publ.," 1851, _Notes and Queries_, 6th Series, vi. +368. + +[34] Commissary Court of London Wills, Reg. II., 1413, f. 12. + +[35] The deed is preserved at Cordwainers' Hall. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +LATER SHAKESPEARES BEFORE THE POET'S TIME + + +In the sixteenth century there were Shakespeares all over the country, +in Essex, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Nottingham,[36] but chiefly in +Warwick. + +There the family had spread rapidly. But it is only the first half of +the century that concerns us at present. There have been Shakespeares +noted in Warwick, Alcester, Berkswell, Snitterfield, Lapworth, Haseley, +Ascote, Rowington, Packwood, Beausal, Temple Grafton, Salford, Tamworth, +Barston, Tachbrook, Haselor, Rugby, Budbrook, Wroxall, Norton-Lindsey, +Wolverton, Hampton-in-Arden, Hampton Lucy, and Knowle.[37] + +Most students, recognising Warwickshire as the ancestral home of the +poet's family, exclude the town of Warwick from the field of their +consideration, and select the Shakespeares of Wroxall, partly because +more is known about them, and partly because what is known of them +suggests a higher social status than is granted the other branches. From +the "Guild of Knowle Records" we learn that in 1504 the fraternity was +asked to "pray for the soul of Isabella Shakespeare, formerly Prioress +of Wroxall,"[38] that the name of Alice Shakespere was entered, and +prayers requested for the soul of Thomas Shakespere, of Ballishalle, in +1511; and in the same year Christopher Shakespere and Isabella, his +wife, of Packwood, Meriden, are mentioned. The name of "Domina Jane +Shakspere" appears late in 1526. She is often spoken of as another +Prioress. Now, it is important to notice that Dugdale mentions neither +of these ladies. He records that D. Isabella Asteley was appointed July +30, 1431, and that D. Jocosa Brome, daughter of John Brome,[39] +succeeded her. She resigned in 1524, and died on June 21, 1528. + +Agnes Little was confirmed Prioress November 20, 1525, and at the +dissolution of the house a pension of £7 10s. was granted her for life. +The rest of her fellow nuns were exposed to the wide world to seek their +fortunes. Now Dugdale, with all his perfections, occasionally makes +mistakes. He either mistook Asteley for Shakespeare, or another +Shakespeare prioress intervened between the two that he mentions. The +"Guild of Knowle Records" give unimpeachable testimony as to the +existence and date of the Prioress, Isabella Shakespeare. In the edition +of Dugdale's "Warwickshire" by Dr. W. Thomas, 1730, and the edition of +his "Monasticon," published 1823, there is mentioned in a note that a +license for electing to the office was granted Johanna Shakespere, +Sub-Prioress, September 5, 1525. So she might have had the empty title +of Domina, without the usual pension allowed to the Prioress on +dissolution.[40] + +After the name of Domina Johanna Shakspere in the Knowle Records occur +those of Richard Shakspere and Alice, his wife; William Shakespere and +Agnes his wife; Johannes Shakespere and Johanna his wife, 1526; Richard +Woodham and Agnes his wife, who was the sister of Richard. This Richard +Shakespere was probably the Bailiff[41] of the Priory, who shortly +before the Dissolution collected the rents and held lands from the +Priory. He, however, was replaced in his office by John Hall, who +received a patent for it on January 4, 26 Henry VIII. Among the tenants +of the dissolved Priory were mentioned[42] "Richard Shakespeare," +"William Shakespeare," and "land in the tenure of John Shakespeare, +demised to Alice Taylor, of Hanwell, in the county of Oxford." + +Mr. Yeatman[43] transcribes a grant of land in Wroxall by the Prioress +Isabella Shakespere to John Shakespere and Elene, his wife, in 23 Henry +VII. (Richard Shakespere on the jury).[44] But there seems to be some +error in the date, as the "Guild of Knowle Records" distinctly state +that Isabella the Prioress was either dead in 19 Henry VII. or had +retired from office. + +Elena Cockes, widow, late wife of John Shakespere, and Antony, her son, +appear about this land in a court held by Agnes Little, Prioress of +Wroxhall, April 21, 25 Henry VIII. William Shakespeare and Agnes were +concerned in it, Alice Lone, and many other connected names. A Richard +Shakespere was on the jury, and a Richard Shakespere was appointed +Ale-taster. The Subsidy Rolls do not give a John resident in Wroxall at +any date, but in 14, 15, and 16 Henry VIII. John, senior, and John, +junior, were resident in the adjoining village of Rowington, and in 34 +and 37 Henry VIII. there was one John Shakespeare there. In 16 Henry +VIII.[45] there was a Richard Shakespere in Hampton Corley. The name +also occurs at Wroxall in that year and in Rowington in 34-5 Henry VIII. +There were also a Thomas and a Lawrence (mentioned as a cousin in a will +of a John Shakespere, 1574), at Rowington at that time, and the name of +William appears repeatedly in Wroxall. A Robert Shakespere was presented +for non-suit. Rev. Joseph Hunter[46] gives a rental of Rowington 2 +Edward VI. Among the free tenants of Lowston End was John Shakespere; at +Mowsley End, Johanna Shakespere, a widow, who seems to have died 1557, +as her will, though lost, is mentioned in the index at Worcester; a +William Shakespere and a Richard Shakespere are also mentioned. In 3 +Elizabeth Thomas Shakespere held a messuage in Lowston. In Rowington End +John Shakespere held a cottage called "The Twycroft," and Richard +Shakespere a messuage in Church End at the same time. In the reign of +Edward VI. a Richard Shakespere was on the jury for Hatton, a Court in +the Manor of Wroxall. The Wroxall Parish Registers begin too late to be +of any use (1586). The Wroxall Court Rolls mention in 1523, Richard of +Haseley; 1530-36, Richard and William; 1547, Ralph of Barston. + +Ralph[47] Shakespere was on the jury for Berkswell November 11, 4 Edward +VI. and 5 Edward VI. In 1560 Laurence was presented, because he +overburdened the commons with his cattle. John is mentioned in a +transfer of property. Mr. J. W. Ryland gives us invaluable help in his +publication of "The Records of Rowington." John Shakespeer and Robert +Fulwood, gent., are mentioned as feoffees in the will of John Hill of +Rowington, September 23, 1502. John Shakespeare elder and younger are +frequently mentioned in the Charters of Rowington as feoffees or as +witnesses, and a John had a lease of the Harveys for twenty-one years in +1554. A Joan Shakespeare, widow, and her son Thomas, lived at Lyannce in +Hatton in 1547. In the Rental of Rowington, 1560-1, there are mentioned +Thomas, William, John and Richard. Mr. Hunter mentions a Richard +Shakespeyre, at Mansfield, co. Notts, about 1509; a Peter, in 1545; and +a John at Derby, 36 Henry VIII. A Richard Shakespere was assessed at +Hampton Carlew 16 Henry VIII.; Richard Woodham and Richard Shakspere had +a farm at Haseley. The Haseley Registers begin in 1538, and are +interesting for the fact that they record on October 21, 1571, the death +and burial of "Domina Jane," formerly a nun of Wroxall, who would seem +to have been the last sub-prioress, probably connected with Richard +Shakespere, the Bailiff. In 1558 a Roger Shakespere was buried--by some +supposed to be the old monk of Bordesley[48]--who received 100s. +annuity. + +The earliest Shakespeare will at Worcester, proved at _Stratford_, was +that of Thomas Shakespere, of Alcester, 1539, who left 20s. each to his +father and mother, Richard and Margaret. He had a wife Margaret and a +son William.[49] Among other Worcester wills is that of Thomas +Shakespere of Warwick, shoemaker, May 20, 1557, who left his wife Agnes +lands in Balsall for life; his daughter Jone, wife to Francis Ley, £4; +to his sons Thomas and John 4 nobles each; and his son William was to be +his heir. Richard Shakysspere of Rowington, weaver, June 15, 1560, left +his property to his sons Richard and William. His brothers-in law John +and William Reve were executors and Richard Shakespeare was a witness. +In 1561 this William Reve in his will left a sheep to Margaret +Shakspere, and in 1565 Robert Shakespeere of Rowington made his will. + +But among all these Shakesperes we cannot certainly fix upon any one +that is directly connected with our Shakespeare. It seems _almost_ +certain that John Shakespeare was son of Richard Shakespeare, of +Snitterfield. And yet many doubt it on grounds worthy of consideration, +which are treated later in the notice of John Shakespeare. Mr. Yeatman +found that an Alice Griffin, daughter of Edward, and sister of Francis +Griffin of Braybrook, married a Shakespeare. He takes it for granted +that she married Richard of Wroxall, and that it was he who came to +Snitterfield. We must beware of drawing definite conclusions, of making +over-hasty generalizations. We only collect the bricks to help future +investigators to build the edifice. + +The Sir Thomas Schakespeir, Curate, of Essex, Bristol and London, who +died 1559, is treated later among the Essex Shakespeares. + +There is one curious mention of the name which no student seems to have +worked out. A certain Hugh Saunders, _alias Shakespere_,[50] of Merton +College, Oxford, became Principal of St. Albans Hall in 1501. He was +Vicar of Meopham, in Kent, Rector of Mixbury, Canon of St. Paul's, and +Prebendary of Ealdstreet, in 1508; and Rector of St. Mary's, +Whitechapel, in 1512. He died 1537. Now, such an alias was common at the +time, when a man's mother was of higher social station than his father. +We may therefore, seeing he was somehow connected with Shakespeare, +imagine Hugh Saunders' mother to have been a Shakespeare. He is styled +"vir literis et virtute percelebris." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[36] "George Shaksper complains against Agnes Marshall that she detains +two rosaries," June 18, 1533.--"Common Trained Soldiers in Nottingham," +Peter Shakespear, etc., 1596-97. Stevenson's "Nottingham Records." + +[37] Halliwell-Phillipps' "Outlines," vol. ii., p. 252. + +[38] Guild of Knowle Register. + +[39] John Brome was Lord of the Manor of Baddesley Clinton, but was +murdered in the porch of the Church of the White Friars, London, +November 9, 1468, leaving a wife, Beatrice, three sons and two +daughters, one of whom was Jocosa. His son Thomas succeeded, and died +without heirs, and his second son Nicholas then inherited the property. +Eight of his children are registered in the guild of Knowle. His +son-in-law was Sir Edward Ferrers, who married Constance, to whom the +property afterwards came. Their son was Henry Ferrers, the great +Warwickshire antiquary, who succeeded at sixteen, and was Lord of the +Manor for sixty-nine years ("Baddesley Clinton," Rev. H. Norris, p. +234). + +[40] Nam Licentia concessa fuit Johanne Shakespere Sub priorisse ad. +eligend., 5 Sept., 1525; et 20 Nov., 1525, Agnes Little confirmata fuit +Priorissa de Wroxall. Vac. per resign. Joc. Brome. Dugdale's +"Monasticon," ed. 1823, vol. iv., p. 89, and "Warwickshire," ed. 1730, +p. 649. + +[41] "Valor Ecclesiasticus," 26 Henry VIII. (1535). + +[42] Ministers' Accounts, April 24, 28 Henry VIII., and Augmentation +Books, Public Record Office. + +[43] Yeatman's "Gentle Shakespeare," pp. 138-142. + +[44] Court Rolls, General Series, Portfolio 207, No. 99. + +[45] Addit. MSS., Brit. Mus. (24,500). + +[46] Mr. Yeatman's "Gentle Shakespeare," p. 142. + +[47] Court Roll, No. 10, p. 207. + +[48] Nash's "Worcestershire," vol. ii., account of Tardebigg. See +Augmentation Books, October 14, 1539, 233, f. 8. + +[49] Hunter's "Prolusions," p. 9. + +[50] Wood's Colleges. Fasti Oxoniensis, Bliss, 1815. Wood, Antiq. Oxon., +L. 2, 341. Boase, Reg. Univ. Oxon. Newcourt's "Repertorium." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE SHAKESPEARE COAT OF ARMS + + +[Illustration: NON SANZ DROICT.] + +None of the family seem to have risen above the heraldic horizon till +John Shakespeare applied for his coat of arms. Into the contest over +that application it is well to plunge at once, and thence work backwards +and forwards. Four classes of writers wage war over the facts: the +Baconians, like the late Mr. Donnelly, who deny everything; the +Romanticists, who accept what is pleasant, and occasionally believe +manufactured tradition to suit their inclinations; the agnostic +Shakespeareans, like Halliwell-Phillipps, who really work, but believe +only what they can see and touch, if it accords with their opinions; and +the ingenuous workers who seek saving truth like the agnostics, but +bring human influences and natural inferences to bear on dusty records. +Now, Halliwell-Phillipps does not scruple to affirm that three +heralds,[51] the worthy ex-bailiff of Stratford, and the noblest poet +the world has ever produced, were practically liars in this matter, +because they make statements that do not harmonize with the limits of +his knowledge and the colour of his opinions. From his grave the poet +protests-- + + "Good name in man or woman, dear my lord, + Is the immediate jewel of their souls. + Who steals my purse steals trash.... + But he who filches from me my good name + Robs me of that, which not enriches him, + But leaves me poor indeed." + + _Othello_, Act III., Scene 3. + +We must therefore at least start inquiry with the supposition that these +men thought they spoke truth. There was no reason they should not have +done so. Sir John Ferne[52] writes: "If any person be advanced into an +office or dignity of publique administration, be it eyther +Ecclesiasticall, Martiall or Civill ... the Herealde must not refuse to +devise to such a publique person, upon his instant request, and +willingness to bear the same without reproche, a Coate of Armes, and +thenceforth to matriculate him with his intermarriages and issues +descending in the Register of the gentle and noble.... In the Civil or +Political State divers Offices of dignitie and worship doe merite Coates +of Armes to the possessours of the same offices, as ... Bailiffs of +Cities and ancient Boroughs or incorporated townes." John Shakespeare +had certainly been Bailiff of Stratford-on-Avon in 1568-9; the draft +states that he then applied for arms, and that the herald, Cooke, had +sent him a "pattern." Probably he did not conclude the negotiations +then, thinking the fees too heavy, or he might have delayed until he +found his opportunity lost, or he might have asked them for his year of +office alone. No doubt John Shakespeare was deeply impressed with the +dignity of his wife's relatives, and wished, even then, to make himself +and his family more worthy for her sake. The tradition of this draft, or +the sight of it, may have stimulated the heart of the good son to honour +his parents by having them enrolled among the _Armigeri_ of the county. +John had appeared among the "gentlemen" of Warwickshire in a government +list of 1580.[53] + +The Warwickshire Visitations occur in 1619, after the death of the poet, +without male heirs, and are no help to us here. In the first 1596 draft +the claims are based on John's public office, on a grant to his +antecessors by Henry VII. for special services on marriage with the +daughter and heir of a gentleman of worship (_i.e._, entitled to +armorial bearings). Then a fuller draft was drawn out, also in 1596, +correcting "antecessors" into "grandfather." Halliwell-Phillipps only +mentions one at that date, but Mr. Stephen Tucker,[54] Somerset Herald, +gives facsimiles of both. Halliwell-Phillipps calls these ridiculous +assertions, and asserts that both parties were descended from obscure +country yeomen. The heralds state they were "solicited," and "on +credible report" informed of the facts. We must not forget that all the +friends intimately associated either with the Ardens or the Shakespeares +(with the exception of the Harts) were armigeri. + +Nobody now knows anything of that earlier pattern, nor of the patents of +the gifts "to the antecessors." But seeing, as I have seen, that sacks +full of old parchment deeds and bonds, reaching back to the fifteenth +century, get cleared out of lawyers' offices, and sold for small sums to +make drumheads or book-bindings, and seeing that this process has been +going on for 400 years, it does not seem to me surprising that some +deeds do get lost. Generally, it is those we most wish to have that +disappear. Lawyers do not, as a rule, concern themselves with historical +fragments, but with the soundness of the present titles of their clients +and their own modern duties. (I do think that historical and antiquarian +societies should bestir themselves to have old deeds included among the +"ancient monuments of the country" and entitled to some degree of +protection.) + +We must also consider how illiterate the inhabitants of the country were +in the reign of Henry VII., how the nation was bestrid by officials of +the Empson and Dudley type, and we have reason to believe that various +accidents, intentional or otherwise, caused many an old grant to +disappear at that period. + +It has struck me as possible that John Shakespeare may have intended +ancestors through the female line. The names of his mother and +grandmother are as yet unknown, and the supposition has never been +discussed. But in support of John Shakespeare's claim, and in opposition +to Halliwell-Phillipps's contradiction, we can prove there _were_ +Shakespeares in direct service of the Crown, not merely as common +soldiers, though in 28 Henry VIII. (1537), Thomas, Richard, William and +another Richard were mentioned as among the King's forces.[55] + +But one Roger Shakespeare was Yeoman of the Chamber to the King, and on +June 9, 1552, shared with his fellows, Abraham Longwel and Thomas Best, +a forfeit of £36 10s.[56] This post of Yeoman of the Chamber was one of +great trust and dignity; it was the same as that held earlier by Robert +Arden, of Yoxall, the younger brother of Sir John Arden, and the +election to it suggested either inherited favour, Court interest, or +signal personal services. His ancestors might have been also the missing +ancestors of John Shakespeare. He himself may be the Roger who was +buried in Haseley in 1558, supposed by some to have been the monk of +Bordesley. He may also have been the father of Thomas Shakespeare, the +Royal Messenger of 1575, noticed later. + +This record proves nothing beyond the inexactitude of +Halliwell-Phillipps's sweeping statements, but it gives us a hope that +something else may somewhere else be found to fit into it and make a +fact complete. One of the facts brought forward as a reason for the +grant of arms to John Shakespeare was "that he hath maryed Mary daughter +and one of the heires of Robert Arden in the same countie, Esquire." +"Gent" was originally written, and was altered to "Esquire."[57] + +Some have doubted that the grant ever really took place, but Gwillim, in +his "Display of Heraldrie," 1660, notes, "Or, on a bend Sable, a tilting +Spear of the field, borne by the name of Shakespeare, granted by William +Dethick, Garter, to William Shakespear the renowned poet." Shakespeare's +crest, or cognizance, was a "Falcon, his wings displayed, Argent, +standing on a wreath of his colours, supporting a speare, gold." His +motto was, "Non Sans Droict." + +It is said there were objections made to this pattern on the ground that +it was too like the old Lord Mauley's.[58] Probably they were only notes +of a discussion among the heralds, when it was decided that the spear +made a "patible difference," and a résumé of the qualifications was +added. + +This was answered on May 10, 1602, before Henry Lord Howard, Sir Robert +Sidney, and Sir Edward Dier, Chancellor of the Order of the Garter: "The +answere of Garter and Clarencieux Kings of arms, to a libellous scrowle +against certen arms supposed to be wrongfully given. Right Honorable, +the exceptions taken in the Scrowle of Arms exhibited, doo concerne +these armes granted, or the persons to whom they have been granted. In +both, right honourable, we hope to satisfy your Lordships." (They +mention twenty-three cases.) "Shakespere.--It may as well be said that +Hareley, who beareth gould, a bend between two cotizes sables, and all +other that (bear) or and argent a bend sables, usurpe the coat of the +Lo. Mauley. As for the speare in bend, is a patible difference; and the +person to whom it was granted hath borne magestracy, and was justice of +peace at Stratford-upon-Avon. He married the daughter and heire of +Arderne, and was able to maintaine that estate" ("MS. Off. Arm.," W. Z., +p. 276; from Malone). + +It has struck me that the attempt to win arms for his father was in +order to _continue_ them to his mother. + +In the Record Office I found the other day a note that explains what I +mean: "At a Chapitre holden by the Office of Armes at the Embroyderers +Hall in London Anno 4^o Reginæ Elizabethæ it was agreed, that no +inhiritrix eyther mayde wife or widdow should bear or cause to be borne +any Creast or Cognizaunce of her Ancestors otherwise than as followeth. +If she be unmaried to beare in her ringe, cognizaunce or otherwise, the +first coate of her Ancestors in a Lozenge. And during her Widdowhood to +Set the first coate of her husbande in pale with the first coate of her +Auncestor. And if she mary one who is noe gentleman, then she to be +clearly exempted from the former conclusion."[59] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[51] Cooke, Dethicke and Camden. + +In the description of England prefixed to Holinshed's Chronicles it is +stated: + +"A gentleman of blood is defined to descend of three descents of +nobleness, that is to saie, of name and of armes both by father and +mother" (p. 161). "Moreover as the King doth dubbe Knights and createth +the barons and higher degrees, so gentlemen whose ancestors are not +knowen to come in with William Duke of Normandie (for of the Saxon races +yet remaining wee now make none accompt, much lesse of the British +issue), doe take their beginning in England, after this manner in our +times. Whosoever studieth the lawes of the realme, whoso abideth in the +Universitie giving his mind to his booke, or professeth physicke and the +liberall sciences, or beside his service in the roome of a captaine in +the warres, or good counsell given at home, whereby his commonwealth is +benefited, can live without manuall labour, and thereto is able and will +beare the port, charge, and countenance of a gentleman, he shall for +monie have a cote and armes bestowed upon him by heralds (who in the +charter of the same doo of custome pretend antiquitie and service, and +manie gaie things) and thereunto being made in good cheape be called +master, which is the title men give to esquires and gentlemen, and +reputed for a gentleman ever after" (Ed. 1586, pp. 161-2). + +The same is repeated in "The Commonwealth of England and Maner of +Government thereof," by Sir Thomas Smith, London, 1589-1594, Chap. XX. + +In a contemporary play, quoted by John Payne Collier, the herald is made +to say: + + "We now are faine to wait who grows in wealth, + And comes to beare some office in a towne, + And we for money help them unto armes, + For what can not the golden tempter doe?" + + ROBERT WILSON: _The Cobbler's Prophecy_. + + + +[52] Sir John Ferne in "The Glory of Generositie," 1586. + +[53] State Papers, Dom. Ser., Eliz., cxxxvii. 68. The gentlemen and +freeholders in the countye of Warwick. Among the freeholders of +Barlichway, John Shakespeare, father of William and Thomas Shakespeare, +69. In Stratford-on-Avon John Shaxspere, and at Rowington Thomas +Shaxpere, April, 1580. + +[54] "Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica," 2nd Series, 1886, vol. i., +p. 109, since published in a volume. + +[55] The Musters. Archers of Rowington and Wroxall, S.P.D.S. + +[56] State Papers, Domestic Series, Edward VI., vol. xiv., Docquet. + +[57] Nichols's "Herald and Genealogist," vol. i., p. 510, 1863; and +"Miscel. Gen. et Herald.," Series II., vol. i., p. 109. + +[58] See the papers in the Bodleian Library, Ashmol. MS. 846, art. ix., +f. 50 _a_, _b_. "The answers of Garter and Clarencieux Kings of Arms, to +the Scrowle of Arms, exhibited by Raffe Brookesmouth, caled York +Herald," wherein they state that there is "a patible difference." + +[59] State Papers, Domestic Series, Eliz., xxvi. 31, 1561. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE IMPALEMENT OF THE ARDEN ARMS + + +In the later application to impale the Ardens' arms in 1599, the 1596 +draft is repeated in only slightly altered terms. "Antecessors" is +changed to "great-grandfather," and the dignity of Mary Arden's family +further elucidated. Some writers consider that, following a custom of +the day, John Shakespeare treated as _his_ antecessors his wife's +ancestors. The word "_great-grandfather_" tends to exclude this notion, +as may be seen later, but the word "grandfather" would imply, if this +had been intended, that Thomas Arden himself had had the grants. It has +always been supposed that Brooke, York Herald, had exhibited some +complaint against this grant also, as he very possibly did.[60] He was +severely critical of the heraldic and genealogic matter in Camden's +"Britannia," and very bitter at the slighting way the author speaks of +heralds. He wrote a book called "The Discoveries of Certaine Errours in +the edition of 1594," which he seems to have begun at once, as on page +14 he states, "If the making of gentlemen heretofore hath been greatly +misliked by her Majestie in the Kinges of Armes; much more displeasing, +I think, it will be to her, that you, _being no Officer of Armes_, +should erect, make and put down Earles and Barons at your pleasure." It +must have been peculiarly galling to him that by the influence of Sir +Fulke Greville, afterwards Lord Brooke, Camden was advanced over his +head to the dignity he himself desired. After being appointed, for +form's sake, Richmond Herald for one day, Camden was made Clarenceux, +October 23, 1597, between the first and second Shakespeare drafts. This +probably decided Brooke to publish his "Pamphlet of Errors," which, as +he dedicated it to the Earl of Essex, "Lord General of the Royal Forces +in Ireland," must have appeared in 1599. He wrote another book against +Camden, which was forbidden to be published. + +The draft for the impalement is also heavily corrected, probably in +comparison and discussion. Of the Shakespeare shield a note adds: "The +person to _whom it was granted_ hath borne magistracy in +Stratford-on-Avon, was Justice of the Peace, married the daughter and +heir of Arderne, and was able to maintain that estate." The Heralds +first tricked the arms of the Ardens of Park Hall, Ermine a fesse chequy +or and az., but scratched them out, and substituted a shield bearing +three cross crosslets fitchée and a chief or, with a martlet for +difference. + +I put forward several suggestions concerning this question in an article +in the _Athenæum_.[61] + +The critical strictures against the Shakespeare-Arden claim are best +summed up by Mr. Nichols:[62] + +1. That the relation of Mary Arden to the Ardens of Park Hall was +imaginary and impossible, and those who assert it in error. 2. That the +Ardens were connected with nobility, while Robert Arden was a mere +"husbandman." 3. That the Heralds knew the claim was unfounded when they +scratched out the arms of Arden of Park Hall, and replaced them by the +arms of the Ardens of Alvanley, of Cheshire. This was equally +unjustifiable, but as the family lived further off, there was less +likelihood of complaint. + +Now we must work out the case step by step on the other side. + +Robert Arden, of Park Hall, spent his substance during the Wars of the +Roses, and was finally brought to the block (30 Henry VI.,[63] 1452). +His son Walter was restored by Edward IV., but he would probably be +encumbered by debts and "waste"; at least, he had but small portions to +leave to his family when he made his will[64] (31 July, 17 Henry VII., +1502). Besides his heir, Sir John, Esquire of the Body to Henry VII., he +had a second son,[65] Thomas, to whom he leaves _ten_ marks annually; a +third son, Martin, who was to have the manor of Natford; if not, then +Martin and his other sons--Robert, Henry, William--should each of them +have _five_ marks annually. This is an income too small even for younger +sons to live on in those days, so it is to be supposed the father had +already either placed them, married them well, or otherwise provided for +them during his life. Among the witnesses to the will are "Thomas Arden +and John Charnells, Squires." Thomas, being the second son, might have +had something from his mother Eleanor, daughter and coheir of John +Hampden, of Great Hampden, county Bucks. This Thomas was alive in 1526, +because Sir John Arden then willed that his brothers--Thomas, Martin, +and Robert--should have their fees for life. Henry, and probably also +William, had meanwhile died, though a William seems to have been +established at Hawnes, in Bedfordshire. Seeing that Sir John was the +Esquire of the Body to Henry VII., it seems very probable that his +brother Robert was the Robert Arden, Yeoman of the Chamber, to whom +Henry VII. granted three patents: First, on February 22, 17 Henry VII., +as Keeper of the Park at Altcar,[66] Lancashire; and second, as Bailiff +of Codmore, Derby,[67] and Keeper of the Royal Park there; the third[68] +gave him Yoxall for life, at a rental of £42--afterwards confirmed. +Indeed, Leland in his "Itinerary" mentions the relationship,[69] and the +administration of Robert's goods proves it. + +Martin's family became connected with the Easts and the Gibbons, and his +name and arms appear in the "Visitations of Oxfordshire." Where +meanwhile was Thomas? There is no record of any Thomas Arden in +Warwickshire or elsewhere, ever supposed to be the son of Walter Arden, +save the Thomas who, the year before Walter Arden's death, was living at +Wilmecote, in the parish of Aston Cantlowe, on soil formerly owned by +the Beauchamps. On May 16, 16 Henry VII., Mayowe transferred certain +lands at Snitterfield to "Robert Throckmorton, Armiger, Thomas Trussell +of Billesley, Roger Reynolds of Henley-in-Arden, William Wood of +Woodhouse, Thomas Arden of Wilmecote, and Robert Arden, the son of this +Thomas Arden." This list is worth noting. Thomas Trussell, of an old +family, is identified by his residence.[70] He was Sheriff of the county +in 23 Henry VII. No Throckmorton could take precedence of him save the +Robert Throckmorton of Coughton, who was knighted six months later.[71] + +These men were evidently acting as trustees for the young Robert Arden. +Just in the same way this same Robert Throckmorton was appointed by +Thomas's elder brother, Sir John Arden of Park Hall, as trustee for his +children, in association with John Kingsmel, Sergeant-at-Law, Sir +Richard Empson, and Sir Richard Knightley.[72] That a man of the same +name, at the same time, in the same county, retaining the same family +friends, in circumstances in every way suitable to the second son of +Walter Arden, should be accepted for that man seems just and natural, +especially _when no other claimant has ever been brought forward_. + +But we _know_ this Thomas Arden was Mary Arden's grandfather; this +Robert was her father; this property, that tenanted afterwards by the +Shakespeares, and left by Robert's will to his family. + +As the deed of conveyance of the premises at Snitterfield from Mayowe to +Arden has been often referred to, occasionally quoted, but never, so far +as I know, printed _in extenso_, I should like to preserve the copy. It +may save trouble to future investigators, and help to clear up the +connection between the Shakespeares and the Ardens. It certainly +strengthens very much Mary Arden's claim to connection with the Ardens +of Park Hall, and her descent from "a gentleman of worship," a claim the +heralds allowed. + +"Sciant presentes et futuri quod ego Johannes Mayowe de Snytterfeld +dedi, concessi, et hac presenti carta mea confirmavi, Roberto +Throkmerton Armigero, Thome Trussell de Billesley, Rogero Reynoldes de +Henley in Arden, Willelmo Wodde de Wodhouse, Thome Arderne de Wylmecote, +et Roberto Arderne filio eiusdem Thome Arderne, unum mesuagium cum suis +pertinenciis in Snytterfeld predicta, una cum omnibus et singulis terris +toftis, croftis, pratis, pascuis et pasturis eidem mesuagio spectantibus +sive pertinentibus in villa et in campis de Snytterfeld predicta cum +omnibus suis pertinenciis; quod quidem mesuagium predictum quondam fuit +Willelmi Mayowe et postea Johannis Mayowe et situatum est inter terram +Johannis Palmer ex parte una et quandam venellam ibidem vocatam +Merellane ex parte altera in latitudine et extendit se in longitudine a +via Regia ibidem usque ad quendam Rivulum, secundum metas et divisas +ibidem factas. Habendum et tenendum predictum mesuagium cum omnibus et +singulis terris Toftis, Croftis, pratis, pascuis, et pasturis predictis, +ac omnibus suis pertinenciis prefatis Roberto Throkmerton, Thome +Trussell, Rogero Reynoldes, Willelmo Wodde, Thome Arderne et Roberto +Ardern heredibus et assignatis suis de capitalibus dominis feodi illius +per servicia inde debita et de jure consueta imperpetuum. Et ego vero +predictus Johannes Mayowe et heredes mei mesuagium predictum cum omnibus +et singulis terris Toftis Croftis, pratis, pascuis et pasturis +supradictis ac omnibus suis pertinenciis prefatis Roberto Throckmerton, +Thome Trussell, Rogero Reynoldes, Willelmo Wodde, Thome Arderne et +Roberto Arderne heredibus et assignatis suis contra omnes gentes +Warrantizabimus et defendemus imperpetuum. + +"Et insuper sciatis me prefatum Johannem Mayowe assignasse, constituisse +et in loco meo posuisse dilectos michi in Christo Thomam Clopton de +Snytterfeld predicta gentilman et Johannem Porter de eadem meos veros et +legitimos Attornatos conjunctim et divisim ad intrandum vice et nomine +meo in predictum mesuagium cum omnibus et singulis premissis et +pertinenciis suis quibuscunque et ad plenam et pacificam seisinam pro me +ac vice et nomine meo inde capiendam et postquam hujusmodi seisina dicta +capta fuerit ad deliberandam pro me ac vice et nomine meo prefatis +Roberto Throkmerton, Thome Trussell, Rogero Reynoldes, Willelmo Wodde, +Thome Arderne et Roberto Arderne plenam et pacificam possessionem et +seisinam de et in eodem mesuagio ac omnibus et singulis premissis, +secundum vim, formam et effectum huius presentis carte mee. Ratum et +gratum habens et habiturus totum et quicquid dicti attornati mei vice et +nomine meo fecerint seu eorum alter fecerit in premisses. In cuius rei +testimonium huic presenti carte mee et scripto meo sigillum meum +apposui. Hiis testibus Johanne Wagstaffe de Aston Cauntelowe Roberto +Porter de Snytterfield predicta Ricardo Russheby de eadem, Ricardo +Atkyns de Wylmecote predicta, Johanne Alcokkes de Newenham et aliis. +Datum apud Snytterfield predictam die lune proximo post festum +invencionis Sancte Crucis Anno Regni Regis Henrici Septimi post +conquestum Sexto decimo."[73] + +Mr. Nichols' second objection was that in records he is styled +"husbandman"; but the word is an old English equivalent for a farmer, in +which sense it is often used in old wills and records. And in the +examination of John Somerville,[74] Edward Arden's son-in-law (also of +high descent), he stated "that he had received no visitors of late, but +certain 'husbandmen,' near neighbours." The Arden "husbandman" of +Wilmecote in 1523 and 1546[75] paid the same amount to the subsidy as +the Arden Esquire of Yoxall[76] in 1590, when money was of less value. + +Mr. Nichols' third assertion, that the heralds scratched out the arms of +the Ardens of Park Hall, because they _dared_ not quarter them with +those of the Shakespeares, shows that he omitted certain considerations. +That family was under attainder then. + +Drummond[77] exemplifies many arms of Arden, and traces them back to +their derivation. He notices that the "elder branch of the Ardens took +the arms of the old Earls of Warwick; the younger branches took the arms +of the Beauchamps, with a difference. In this they followed the custom +of the Earls of Warwick." The Ardens of Park Hall therefore bore ermine, +a fesse chequy, or, and az., arms derived from the old Earls of Warwick; +and this was the pattern scratched out in John Shakespeare's quartering. +But the reason lay in no breach of connection, but in the fact that Mary +Arden was an heiress, not in the eldest line, but through a _second +son_. A possible pattern for a younger son was three cross crosslets +fitchée and a chief or. As such they were borne by the Ardens of +Alvanley, with a crescent for difference. They were borne without the +crescent by Simon Arden of Longcroft,[78] the second son of the next +generation, and full cousin of Mary Arden's father. It is true that +among the tombs at Yoxall the fesse chequy appeared, but there is +evident confusion in their use. Martin Arden of Euston was probably in +the wrong to assume when he did the arms of his elder brother; William +Arden of Hawnes, if the sixth son, county Bedford, bore the same arms as +those proposed for Mary Arden, and it is implied that Thomas, her +father, had borne them. In the Heralds' College is the draft: +"Shakespere impaled with the Aunceyent armes of the said Arden of +Willingcote" (volume marked R. 21 outside and G. XIII. inside). + +If the three cross crosslets fitchée were the correct arms for Thomas +Arden as the second son of an Arden, who might bear ermine, a fesse +chequy or, and az., the crescent would have been the correct difference, +but it had long been borne by the Ardens of Alvanley, in Cheshire, who +branched off from the Warwickshire family early in the thirteenth +century. The heralds therefore differenced the crosslets with a martlet, +usually, but by no means universally, the mark of cadency for a fourth +son at that time.[79] Thus, Glover[80] enumerates among the arms of +Warwickshire and Bedfordshire: "Arden or Arderne gu., three cross +crosslets fitchée or; on a chief of the second a martlet of the first. +Crest, a plume of feathers charged with a martlet or." If heraldry has +anything, therefore, to say to this dispute, it is to support the claim +of Thomas Arden to being a cadet of the Park Hall family, and thereby to +include Mary Arden and her son in the descent from Ailwin, Guy of +Warwick, and the Saxon King Athelstan. Camden and the other heralds were +only seeking correctness in their draft of the restitution of the +Ardens' arms. The hesitation as to exactitude among the varieties of +Arden arms was the cause of the notes. See "The Booke of Differ.," 61; +see "Knights of E.I.," folios 2, 28, etc., on the draft. + +It has been considered strange that, after the application and even +after the grant (preserved in MS. "Coll. of Arms," R. 21), no use +thereof can be proved, though the heralds added to the former grant: +"and we have lykewise uppon an other escucheon impaled the same with the +auncient arms of the said Arden of Wellyngcote, signifying thereby that +it maye and shalbe lawfull, for the said John Shakespeare, gent., to +beare and use the same shields of arms, single or impaled, as aforesaid, +during his natural lyfe, and that it shalbe lawful for his children, +issue, and posterity, to beare, use, quarter, and shewe the same with +their dewe difference, in all lawfull warlyke faites and civill use" +(_Ibid._, G. XIII.). + +John Shakespeare did not live long after his application, dying in 1601. + +Whether or not the grant of the impaled Arden arms was completed before +his death, there is no record of his using them. Whether his son ever +used the impalement we do not now know, but it does not appear on any of +the tombs or seals that have been preserved. But the Shakespeare arms +have been certainly used. + +William Shakespeare was mercilessly satirized by his rivals, Ben Jonson +and others,[81] about his coat of arms; but it was the recognition of +his descent that secured him so universally the attribute of "gentle." +As Davies, addressing Shakespeare and Burbage in 1603, says: + + "And though the stage doth stain pure gentle blood, + Yet generous ye are in mind and mood."[82] + +We must not forget there would be possible ill-feeling among the +families of the Arden sisters, when the youngest, whom they had probably +always pitied and looked down on, because of her comparatively +unfortunate marriage, should have the audacity to think of using the +arms of their father, to which they had never aspired. + +[Illustration: OLD HOUSE AT WILMECOTE, BY SOME SUPPOSED TO BE ROBERT +ARDEN'S. + +_To face p. 35._] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[60] He tried in every way to prove Camden wrong, but his bitterness +only hurt himself. His strictures were confuted before the highest +authority. + +[61] August 10, 1895, p. 202. + +[62] "Herald and Genealogist," vol. i., p. 510, 1863; and _Notes and +Queries_, Series III., vol. v., p. 493. + +[63] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," p. 925. + +[64] Preserved at Somerset House, 8 Porch. + +[65] Dugdale places the sons in another order. + +[66] Pat. Henry VII., second part, mem. 30, February 22. + +[67] Same series, mem. 35, September 9. + +[68] Pat. 23 Henry VIII., September 24, first part, mem. 12. + +[69] "Arden of the court, brother to Sir John Arden of Park Hall." +"Itinerary," vi. 20, about 1536-42. + +[70] Sir Warine Trussell held Billesley 15 Edward III. The will of Sir +William Trussell of Cublesdon, 1379, mentions a bequest to his cousin, +"Sir Thomas d'Ardene" ("Testamenta Vetusta," Sir N. H. Nicolas, vol. i., +p. 107). William Trussell was made a brother of the Guild of Knowle +1469, and there is an entry in 1504 of a donation "for Sir William +Trussell and for his soul": "To Thomas Trussell, farmer of the said +Bishop of Worcester; in Knowle for the Worke-silver 4/4" (37 Henry +VIII., Report. "Register of the Guild of Knowle," Introduction, p. +xxvi., by Mr. W. B. Bickley). Alured Trussell, born 1533, married +Margaret, daughter of Robert Fulwood, and their daughter Dorothy married +Adam Palmer, Robert Arden's friend. French thinks that the wife, either +of Thomas or of Robert, was a Trussell. + +[71] His son George succeeded him in 1520. Edward Arden, of Park Hall, +was brought up in his care, and married Mary, his son Robert's daughter. + +[72] See p. 184. + +[73] Deed of Conveyance of Premises at Snytterfield. (Transcribed from +the Miscellaneous Documents of Stratford-on-Avon), vol. ii., No. 83. + +[74] State Papers, Domestic Series, Elizabeth, 1583, clxiii., 21. + +[75] In the Subsidy Rolls 15 Henry VII., Thomas Arden was assessed on +£12, and Robert Arden on £8 (192/128). Subsidy, Aston Cantlowe, March +10, 37 Henry VIII., 1546, Robert Arden, assessed on property valued at +£10; Walter Edkyns, £10; John Jenks, £6; John Skarlett, £8; Thomas +Dixson, £8; Roger Knight, £8; Richard Ingram, £6; Thomas Gretwyn, £5; +Margaret Scarlet, £5; Richard Edkyns, £6; Robert Fulwood, £5; Nicholas +Gibbes, £5; Richard Green, £5; William Hill, £5 (Mr. Hunter's +"Prolusions," 37, note). Thomas Arden of Park Hall at the same time was +assessed on £80; but Simon Arden was only assessed on £8 (192/179). + +[76] French, "Genealogica Shakespeareana," p. 423; and Nichols' "History +of Leicestershire." + +[77] H. Drummond's "Noble British Families," vol. i. (2). + +[78] See Fuller's "Worthies of Warwickshire." + +[79] "The several marks of cadency which have _of late years_ been made +use of for the distinction of houses ... for the second son a crescent, +the third a mullet, the fourth a martlet" (Glover's "Heraldry," vol. i., +p. 168, ed. 1780). + +[80] _Ibid._, vol. ii., ed. 1780. + +[81] In the "Return from Parnassus," 1606, Studiosus says of the +players: + + "Vile world that lifts them up to high degree, + And treads us down in grovelling misery, + England affords these glorious vagabonds + That carried erst their fardels on their backs + Coursers to ride on through the gazing streets, + Sweeping it in their glaring satin suits, + And pages to attend their masterships. + With mouthing words that better wits have framed, + They purchase lands and now esquires are made." + + ACT V., SC. 1. + +The satire in "Ratsey's Ghost" also may refer to Shakespeare, though +Alleyn and others might be intended. + +Freeman, in his "Epigrams," 1614, asks: + + "Why hath our age such new-found 'gentles' found + To give the 'master' to the farmer's son?" + +But his high praise of Shakespeare elsewhere shows he does not refer to +him. + +[82] John Davies of Hereford's "Microcosmus, The Civil Warres of Death +and Fortune." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE ARDENS OF WILMECOTE + + +It is unfortunate that we know so little about Thomas Arden, Mary +Shakespeare's "antecessor." A quiet country gentleman he seems to have +been, marrying for love, and not for property, or his wife's descent +might have helped us to clear his own. I do not think she was a +Throckmorton, but I think she was very probably a Trussell, which Mr. +French also suggests. Joane was a Trussell name, and Billesley held some +attraction to the family. We are not sure of anything about Thomas +except the purchase of Snitterfield, the year before Sir Walter Arden's +death, and his payment of the subsidies in 1526 and 1546. It is probable +he was the "Thomas Arden, Squier," who witnessed the will of Sir Walter +in 1502; it is _possible_ he was the Thomas Arden who witnessed the will +of John Lench[83] of Birmingham in 1525, though it is more likely that +this latter Thomas was his nephew, the heir of Park Hall. Thomas of +Wilmecote is supposed to have died in 1546, but no will has been +discovered. Probably he had handed over his property to his son in his +lifetime. There is no trace of another child than Robert. + +Robert was probably under age when his father purchased Snitterfield, +and hence the need of trustees in association with the purchase. On +December 14 and 21, 1519, Robert Arden purchased another property in +Snitterfield from Richard Rushby and Agnes his wife,[84] and he bought +also a tenement from John Palmer on October 1, 1529.[85] One of his +tenants was Richard Shakespeare. He and his tenant were both presented +for non-suit of court in 30 Henry VIII. + +He contributed to the subsidy in Wilmecote in 1526 and 1546. We know no +more of his first wife than we know of his mother. She might have been +either a Trussel or a Palmer. But we know that he had seven[86] +daughters, who all bore Arden family names: _Agnes_, who married first +John Hewyns, and secondly Thomas Stringer, by whom she had two sons, +John and Arden Stringer; _Joan_, who married Edmund Lambert, of +Barton-on-the-Heath, who had a son, John Lambert; _Katharine_, who +married Thomas Edkyns of Wilmecote, who had a son, Thomas Edkyns the +younger; _Margaret_, who married first Alexander Webbe of Bearley (by +whom she had a son Robert), and secondly Edward Cornwall; _Joyce_, of +whom there is no record but in her father's settlement and will;[87] +_Alice_, who was one of the co-executors of her father's will, but of +whom there is no further record; and _Mary_, the other executor, who +married John Shakespeare. The exact dates of their birth are not known. +Robert may be supposed to have been married about 1520, and it is +probable that Mary was born about 1535. It is _likely_ that she was of +age when made executor in 1556, but not at all _necessary_. + +Robert Arden married again when his family had grown up--probably in +1550--Agnes Webbe, who had been assessed as the widow of Hill of Bearley +on £7, in 37 Henry VIII., 1546. On July 17, 1550, Robert Arden made two +settlements of the Snitterfield estates, probably upon his marriage.[88] +In the first,[89] he devised estates at Snitterfield in trust to Adam +Palmer and Hugh Porter, for the benefit, after the death of himself and +his wife, of his three married daughters--Agnes, Joan and Katharine. In +the second, a similar deed,[90] in favour of three other +daughters--Margaret (then married to Alexander Webbe of Bearley), Joyce +and Alice. Mary is not mentioned, probably because the Asbies estate was +even then devoted to her. + +Robert Arden, sick in body, but good and perfect of remembrance, made +his last will and testament[91] November 23, 1556, and he must have died +shortly after. This will of itself answers the question as to his +worldly position, and as to the meaning of the word "husbandman" in his +case. The wage of a working "husbandman" at the time was from 25s. to +33s. a year.[92] His will discloses property on a level with many +"_gentlemen_" of his time and his county. It gives a strong suggestion +that Mrs. Arden was not on the best of terms with her stepchildren. +Robert bequeathed his soul "to God and the blessed Lady Saint Mary, and +all the holye company of heaven," and his body to be buried in the +churchyard of Saint John the Baptist at Aston Cantlowe. "Also I +bequeathe to my youngest daughter Marye all my land at Willincote +caulide Asbyes, and the crop upon the grownde sown and tythde as hitt is +... and vi^li xiii^s iiii^d of money to be paid her or ere my goodes be +devided. Also I gyve and bequeathe to my daughter Ales, the thyrde parte +of all my goodes moveable and unmoveable in fylde and towne after my +dettes and leggessese performyde, besydes that goode she hath of her +owne all this tyme. Allso I give and bequethe to Agnes my wife vi^li +xiii^s iiii^d upon this condysion that she shall sofer my dowghter Ales +quyetly to ynjoye half my copyhold in Wyllincote during the tyme of her +wyddewoode; and if she will nott soffer my dowghter Ales quyetly to +occupy half with her, then I will that my wyfe shall have but iii^li +vi^s viii^d, and her gintur in Snytterfelde. Item, I will that the +residew of all my goodes, moveable and unmovable, my funeralles and my +dettes dyschargyd, I gyve and bequeathe to my other children to be +equaleye devidide amongeste them by the descreshyon of Adam Palmer, Hugh +Porter of Snytterfelde, and Jhon Skerlett, whom I do orden and make my +overseers of this my last will and testament, and they to have for their +peynes takyng in this behalfe xx^s apece. Allso I orden and constitute +and make my full exequtores Ales and Marye my dawghters of this my last +will and testament, and they to have no more for their paynes takyng now +as afore geven to them. Allso I gyve and bequethe to every house that +hath no teeme in the paryche of Aston, to every house iiii^d. Thes being +witnesses Sir William Bouton Curett, Adam Palmer, Jhon Skerlett, Thomas +Jhenkes, William Pytt, with other mo." Proved at Worcester, December 16, +1556, by Alice and Mary Arden. It is interesting to learn from the +inventory the nature of the furniture, and the prices of the period. +There were eleven "painted cloths" in the various rooms, the substitutes +for ancient tapestry even in good homes. + +The value of the goods, movable and unmovable, independently of the +landed property, was calculated to be £76 11s. 10d. This was a large sum +for the period. Probably even then the goods were worth much more, as +the prices entered are relatively low for the date. Certainly it is +necessary to multiply the value by ten to translate it into modern +figures, and that would give a good estimate for the saleable value of a +houseful of furniture now. + +After her sister's and her stepmother's legacies of £6 13s. 4d., after +the payment of 4d. to every family in the parish, and of 20s. to the +overseers, all debts being paid, Alice was to have a third--that is, the +third that by old English law belonged to the dead. She would thus have +at least £13 worth in kind, along with her interest in Snitterfield and +what goods "she had of her own." The others would have about £5 each. It +may be noted the widow was left no furniture or goods. She may have +claimed the widow's third, though the effect of her jointure was to +disturb the law of dower. She seems to have had furniture of her own. +She evidently stayed on in her husband's home, and apparently brought +her own children there. + +Mary Hill was married to John Fulwood, November 15, 1561, at Aston +Cantlow. Agnes Arden, widow, made her will in 1578. The opinion that +there was no great friendliness with her husband's family is +strengthened thereby, yet there was not the absolute estrangement some +writers have supposed. Halliwell-Phillipps states that she does not +mention a member of her husband's family. She left legacies to the poor, +to her godchildren, to her grandchildren, and the residue to her son and +son-in-law in trust for their children. She left twelve pence to John +Lambert, her stepdaughter Joan's son, and twelve pence to each of her +brother Alexander Webbe's children, one of whom, at least, was the son +of her stepdaughter Margaret. She left nothing to any of her +stepdaughters, and nothing to any of the young Shakespeares. The +overseers were Adam Palmer and George Gibbs; so she had been able to +keep friendly with her husband's friend. The witnesses were Thomas +Edkins (a stepdaughter's husband), Richard Petyfere, and others. She was +buried on December 29, 1580, and the inventory of her goods was taken +January 19, 1580-81. The low rate at which it is calculated is +remarkable. "Item 38 sheep £3; fivescore pigs £13 4s.," etc. The sum +total was £45. The will was proved on March 31, 1581. + +The friendliness between the Shakespeares and the other Arden families +seems to have been unstable. Aunt Joan's husband, Edmund Lambert, of +Barton-on-the-Heath, and their son John, through rather sharp practice +for cousinly customs, became owners of Asbies. There is a hazy suspicion +even about the bonâ fides of the Edkins. Agnes had settled rather far +off at the home of the Stringers, in Stockton, co. Salop. In February, +1569, Thomas Stringer devised to Alexander Webbe his share of +Snitterfield. John Shakespeare was one of the witnesses to the +indenture. Alexander Webbe, it is true, made John Shakespeare, his +brother-in-law, the overseer of his will at his death in 1573. + +Joyce Arden and Alice Arden seem both to have died unmarried, without +leaving a will. There is no further mention of Alice, the wealthier of +the two maiden sisters, resident at Aston Cantlow, neither has there +hitherto been made any suggestion concerning Joyce, and her death does +not appear in the parish registers. Now, it was an exceedingly common +custom of the time for poorer single relatives to enter into the service +of wealthier members of the family; for "superfluous women" even, who +were not poor, to go where they were wanted in other homes. Might she +not have gone in such a capacity to one of the houses of the Ardens of +Park Hall? In Worcestershire, near Stourbridge, there is a parish called +Pedmore, and a hall of the same name, then inhabited by the Arden +family. The registers there record the death of a "Mistress Joyce Arden" +in 1557, to whose family there is no clue: and I cannot but think she +was Shakespeare's aunt, as the Joyce of Park Hall was married. + +The Webbes[93] gradually bought up the reversionary shares of the other +Arden sisters in Snitterfield, and held the whole as tenants under Mrs. +Arden, widow. But the story of the Shakespeares' transfer is so +curiously mixed up with their other actions that they must be taken +together, in order to get a contemporary view of the matter. We find +that John Shakespeare had apparently pinched himself in 1575 to purchase +two houses in Stratford-on-Avon for £40, believed to be in Henley +Street[94]. By 1578, for some reasons not explained, he was excused his +share in municipal charges[95], and by a will of "Roger Sadler" Baker in +that year, we know that he was in debt to him, and under circumstances +that necessitated a security. "Item of Edmund Lambert and ---- Cornish +for the debte of Mr. John Shakesper v^li[96]." John Shakespeare +mortgaged Asbies to Edmund Lambert for a loan of £40 on November 14, +1578[97], the fine being levied Easter, 1579, the mortgagee treating the +matter as a purchase[98]. + +There is a curious complexity caused by a lease of the same property +being apparently granted to George Gibbes, and a double fine +levied[99]--_i.e._, parties brought in who were strangers to the title; +and a double fine appears to have been levied for technical purposes +when the estate was entailed[100]. These other names were Thomas Webbe +and Humphrey Hooper[101]. The mortgage loan was made repayable at +Michaelmas, 1580, when the lease commenced to run, and things seemed to +have been made safe for the Shakespeares. Then they proceeded to sell a +parcel[102] of the Snitterfield property to Robert Webbe for £40 on +October 15, 1579. The description is worded loosely: "John Shakespeare +yeoman and Mary his wife ... all that theire moietye, parte and partes, +be yt more or lesse, of and in twoo messuages," etc. The indenture is +long[103], and written in English, and would seem to have been signed at +Wilmcote[104]. + +A bond was drawn up on the 25th of the same month, carrying a penalty of +twenty marks against the Shakespeares if they infringed the above +conditions, also signed in the presence of Nicholas Knolles, the Vicar +of Auston or Alveston[105]. Another deed, the final concord,[106] is +drawn up in Latin: "in curia domine Regine apud Westmonasterium a die +Pasche in quindecim dies anno regnorum Elizabethe ... vicesimo secundo +... inter Robertum Webbe querentem et Johannem Shackspere et Mariam +uxorem ejus, deforciantes _de sexta parte duarum partium duorum +messuagiorum_ ... idem Robertus dedit predictis Johannis et Marie +quadraginta libras sterlingorum." On this sale Robert Webbe paid a fine +of 6s. 8d. for licence of entry to the Sheriff of the County.[107] + +Now, this apparently second sale has puzzled many Shakespeareans, as +well as the "fraction." Even Halliwell-Phillipps[108] supposes that +"John Shakespeare had some small interest in Snitterfield of his own," +which he parted with for £4, and that "Mary Shakespeare was entitled +to a share through an earlier settlement." Others have thought, however, +that the first was but a draught deed of the indenture, the £4 the +earnest money, and the "final concord" for £40 the conclusion of the +whole. This is supported by the absolute indefiniteness of the first as +to part or parts in two messuages, and by the apparent definiteness of +the second. But the peculiar wording has further puzzled many writers. +In referring to Robert Arden's settlements, we find that one tenement is +settled upon three daughters, and the other tenement settled upon other +three daughters, Mary's name not being mentioned. How, then, was she +empowered to sell any share? It could only be by inheritance or by gift +from some of her other sisters. The course of events showed it was not +of free gift. But Joyce and Alice had apparently vanished from the +scene. If they left no will, their shares would be divisible into equal +parts among their surviving sisters by common law, and through her +fraction of their shares Mary Shakespeare could step in as part owner of +Snitterfield. Now, it is quite possible that the first sale of 1579 was +an indefinite sale of Mary's share of Joyce's portion; and it is +possible that Alice died in that year, and increased the share of her +sisters, so that the two portions were treated together in the deed of +1580. Seeing that the two portions of the property had long been held +together by the Webbes, it is quite natural to read "the sixth part of +two" rather than "the third of one," as each sister originally read her +share. Now, if Mary had lost both of her sisters, it is quite natural to +read her share as "the sixth part of two _parts_ or portions of two +tenements." This has not yet been thus simply explained. But it is not +strictly correct; for while the share of the first sister would bring +Mary "the sixth part of one part of two tenements," the death of the +second sister should have secured her the _fifth part_ of one part of +two tenements, plus the fraction already inherited by the second from +the first, or, more simply, the fifth part of two parts of two +tenements. It was near enough, however, for all practical purposes, and +Robert Webbe seems duly to have handed over the money to John +Shakespeare. Robert Webbe's eagerness to buy, and the Shakespeares' need +of the money, seems to have determined the price. Forty pounds was a +large sum for such a fraction of the whole. Robert Webbe's readiness may +be accounted for, because he was on the eve of marriage. There was a new +settlement[109] of estates at Snitterfield on the occasion of his +marriage to Mary, daughter of John Perkes, September 1, 23 Elizabeth, +and an agreement between Edward Cornwall[110] (stepfather to Robert +Webbe) and William Perkes, respecting an estate in Snitterfield, and a +proviso against any claim from the Ardens. + +But it was not from the Ardens that any difficulty arose. Before the +death of Mrs. Agnes Arden, she was called to support her claim and that +of all her stepdaughters, based on a supposition of entail, against the +descendants of the Mayowe who had sold his property to Thomas and Robert +Arden in 1501. Being described as old and infirm, a Commission was +directed to Bartholomew Hales, Lord of the Manor of Snitterfield, and +Nicholas Knolles, Vicar of Alveston, to take her deposition concerning +it, in July, 1580.[111] She died in December of that year; and in 1582 +John Shakespeare,[112] and his brother Henry, and Adam Palmer, with +others, were called on to give evidence in the case between Thomas +Mayowe and Robert Webbe, before Sir Fulk Grevyle, Sir Thomas Lucy, +Humphrey Peto, and William Clopton, Commissioners. Their depositions in +support of the deed of transfer seem to have been sufficient, and we +hear no more of Mayowe. The newly-married couple settled down on the +inheritance of the Ardens, and the old home of the Shakespeares. + +Concerning Mary Arden's special inheritance at Asbies, there is a sadder +story to tell. Whether John Shakespeare could read or not, he was +certainly not a Latin scholar, and though not ignorant of many points of +common law, was not up to all the technicalities used at times to +confuse the truth. It is evident that there had been some verbal +agreement between him and Edmund Lambert on which he relied, but that +the written deed was all that John Lambert accepted.[113] On selling the +main portion of his wife's property at Snitterfield, John Shakespeare +seems to have walked right off with the money to Edmund Lambert, of +Barton-on-the-Heath, to redeem his mortgage, and reinstate himself as +owner of Asbies, free to grant a lease or sale on his own terms. But +through a quibble, which "was not in the bond," Edmund Lambert refused +to accept this until certain other debts were also paid. Thereby he +gained the shelter of time, which "was in the bond," and put Shakespeare +at a legal disadvantage, though it is evident from the later papers that +a verbal agreement had taken place to extend the time, seeing that the +money had been tendered. We may be sure that the property was worth more +than £40 in hard cash to either, and more, in romantic associations, to +the Shakespeares. For it was a part of Thomas Arden's original property. +How he came by it, no one is sure. French[114] suggests it might have +been given him by the Beauchamps of Bergavenny, who had intermarried +with the Ardens, and had been more than once known to have been in +friendly relations. The guardian of Robert Arden, his grandfather, had +been the Lady of Bergavenny, and Elizabeth Beauchamp was godmother to +Elizabeth Arden, daughter of Walter and sister of Thomas, whom we take +to be the Thomas of Aston Cantlow. + +Edmund Lambert died in 1587, and his son John seems to have been +threatened by the Shakespeares with a law-suit for the recovery of +Asbies, and proposed as a compromise to pay a further sum of £20, +thereby securing Asbies as by purchase. To this, however, the consent, +not only of Mary, but of William, her heir, was necessary, and the poet +is supposed to have come down to Stratford on the occasion to act with +his parents. But probably there was some other hitch: the £20 may have +been held to be covered by the "other debts," which already had done +service for Edmund Lambert; or the Shakespeares weighed their desire to +have back the land, which they probably then wished, with their growing +family, to farm themselves. Nothing seems then to have been settled, and +they were too poor to risk the perils of a great law-suit. Doubtless, +with sad hearts and bitter retrospect, they regretted their unlucky +purchases in 1575, which seemed to have pinched them so, and wished at +least they had been contented with the half, with the one tenement in +Henley Street that formed part of their residence. For, had they only +spent £20 then instead of £40, they could have repaid their hard-dealing +relative not only the smaller mortgage, but the "other debts," out of +the £40 they received for Snitterfield from the more liberal Robert +Webbe. + +Finding John Lambert even harder to deal with than his father, John +Shakespeare brought a Bill of Complaint against him in the Court of +Queen's Bench,[115] 1589, by John Harborne, attorney, in which his wife +and son are mentioned. Nothing seems then to have been done. On November +24, 1597, backed by their son's influence and money, John and Mary +Shakespeare, plaintiffs, without associating their son's name, made a +formal complaint to the Right Honourable Sir Thomas Egerton,[116] +stating that Edmund Lambert was to hold it only until repaid the loan, +that the money had been duly tendered to him on the agreed date, that he +had refused it, and that his son John holds the land still, and makes +secret estates of the premises, the nature of which they cannot +describe, as the papers have been withheld them; that their papers and +evidences are open to the court. They add further that "the sayde John +Lamberte ys of greate wealthe and abilitie, and well frended and allied +amongst gentlemen and freeholders of the county ... and your saide +oratores are of small wealthe and very fewe frendes and alyance in the +said countie. They pray a writ of subpoena to be directed to John +Lambert to appear in the Court of Chancery." + +John Lambert, pointing out the uncertainty and insufficiency of the +plaintiff's bill, also that the bill had _already been exhibited against +him_ in the same court, and he had fully answered it, asserts that the +arrangement was a deed of sale, with the conditional proviso that if +John Shakespeare should pay £40 on the Feast of St. Michael the +Archangel, 1580, to Edmund Lambert, in Barton-on-the-Heath, the bill of +sale should be void. He did not pay the money on the day, and therefore +his father was legally seized of the estate. + +To this John and Mary Shakespeare replied, and again explained that the +money was tendered at the date, and that Edmund Lambert refused to +receive it unless other moneys also were paid, of which no condition had +been fixed; that on the death of Edmund, John had stepped into +possession, and refused to hear anything from them.[117] John Lambert +had another quibble, that John Shakespeare had exhibited two bills +against him, one in his own name, and one associating his wife's. On +July 5, 1598, July 10, 1598, and May 18, 1599, further steps were taken, +but still no decision was reached. Therefore, on June 27, 1599, a +commission was appointed to examine both parties. In the Index Trin. +Term, 41 Elizabeth, there is the entry "Shackspeere contra Lambert," but +the page that contained further notice is lost. + +On October 23, 1599, another entry of the case is recorded: "Yf the +defendant show no cause for stay of publicacion by this day sevenight, +then publicacion ys granted"; but nothing more has come to us. Probably +delay helped the more powerful, certainly possession proved nine-tenths +of the law, and the expenses of legal action even then were +paralyzing.[118] It is strange that the fate of Asbies as a property is +unknown. There are traces of its being in the possession of Adam Edkins +in 1668, of one John Smith after him, and of Clement Edkins in +1699,[119] but the name seems to have vanished, and with it all +remembrance of the boundary of the inheritance of the Ardens of +Wilmcote. + + * * * * * + + MARY ARDEN'S FAMILY. + + Walter Arden, = Eleanor, 2nd dauther and coheiress +of Park Hall, 16th in descent from | of John Hampden of + the Saxon Sheriff Ailwin. See his | Great Hampden, co. Bucks. + tomb at Aston _juxta_ Birmingham. | + |----------|-----------------------|--------|-------|--------|---------|------| + | | | | | | | | +Sir John. Thomas, = wife Martin. Robert. Henry. William. Alicia. Margaret. + 2nd son | unknown + Of Aston | + Cantlow; | + bought | + Snitter- | + field 1501.| + Robert Arden = 1st wife unknown + | 2nd wife, Agnes Webbe, + | widow of W. Hill + |---------------|-------------|------------|------------|----------|----------| + | | | | | | | +1st dau., 2nd dau., 3rd dau., 4th dau., 5th dau., 6th dau., 7th dau., +Agnes Arden, Joan Arden, Katharine Margaret Joyce Alice Mary +m. 1st, John m. Edmund Arden, m. Arden, m. Arden. Arden. Arden, +Hewyns: Lambert, of Thomas 1st, m. John + | | Barton-on- Edkins, of Alexander Shake- +Thomas. the-Heath Wilmecote. Webbe, of speare. +Margaret. | | Snitterfield; | +2nd, Thomas John Lam- Thomas 2nd, | +Stringer. bert. Edkins. Edward | + | | | Cornwall | +Ellice. (had a son, | +John Stringer. Robert | +Arden Stringer. Webbe, m. | + Mary | + Perkes). | + | + |------------|----------|------------|---------|---------|---------|-----------| + | | | | | | | | +Joan, Margaret, William Gilbert, Joan, Anne, Richard, Edmund, +b. 1558; b. 1562; Shakespeare, b. 1566; b. 1569; b. 1571; b. 1573; b. 1580; +d. infant. d. infant. the poet d. 1611. d. 1646. d. 1579. d. 1612. d. 1607. + b. April 23, _s.p._ _s.p._ _s.p._ + 1564; d. + April 23, 1616. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[83] See "Survey of Birmingham," 1553, Clement Throckmorton, p. 3, +edition by Mr. W. B. Bickley. + +[84] Stratford Miscellaneous Records, No. 436. + +[85] _Ibid._ + +[86] Halliwell Phillipps mentions Elizabeth Skerlett as an eighth, +surely in error. + +[87] I believe that I have found the register of her death in +association with the Ardens of Park Hall, see p. 41. + +[88] This supposition is strengthened by the language of the lease which +Mrs. Arden granted her brother of a farm in Snitterfield, May 21, 1560, +of which "estate was made to me the said Agnes by my late husband in the +fourth year of the raigne of the late King Ed. VI., 1550;... now in +tenure of Richard Shakespeare, John Henley, and John Hargrave." + +[89] See Records of Stratford-on-Avon. + +[90] _Ibid._ + +[91] Worcester Wills. Consistory Court. + +[92] See Sir George Nichols' "History of the English Poor Law." + +[93] See "Release from Thomas Stringer of Stockton, co. Salop, to +Alexander Webbe of Snitterfield, _husbandman_, 12th Feb., 11 Eliz., +witness John Shaxpere," confirmed after the marriage of Margaret to +Edward Cornwall, October 16, 18 Elizabeth. "A transfer from John +Shakespeare and Mary his wife" of her shares of Snitterfield, 21 Eliz., +for £4; 15 Oct., 22 Eliz., for £40; and 23 Eliz., 6s. 8d. "Release from +Thomas Stringer and Thomas Edkins to Robert Webbe, 23rd Dec., 21 Eliz." +"A grant from Edmund Lambert and Joane his wife to Robert Webbe of their +interest in Snitterfield, 2nd May, 23 Eliz." (Stratford-on-Avon +Records). + +[94] Stratford-on-Avon Miscellaneous Papers. + +[95] Chamberlain's Accounts, Stratford-on-Avon. + +[96] Worcester Wills. + +[97] Reply of John Lambert in 1597, Chancery Proceedings. + +[98] Note of the fine (Halliwell-Phillipps' "Outlines," ii., 11 and +202). + +[99] _Notes and Queries_, 8th Series, vol. v., pp. 127, 296, 498. + +[100] West's "Symboleography Concords," pp. 10, 11. + +[101] Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," ii. 202. Wilmcote Fines, Hilary +term, 21 Eliz. + +[102] Halliwell-Phillipps points out that it is for £4, which is an +evident error ("Outlines," ii. 179). + +[103] _Ibid._, p. 179. + +[104] "Sealed in the presence of Nycholas Knooles, Vicar of Auston." + +[105] Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," ii. 182. Dugdale, Alveston. + +[106] _Ibid._, ii. 176. + +[107] Warr. Fines. "In onere Georgii Digbie Armigeri Vicecomitis +comitatu prædicti de anno vicesimo tercio Regine Elizabethe, fines de +Banco anno vicesimo secundo Regine Elizabethe pro termino Pasche," etc. +"Recepta per me Johannem Cowper sub vice comitem." + +[108] Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," ii. 179. + +[109] Stratford-on-Avon Miscellaneous Documents. + +[110] _Ibid._ + +[111] Stratford Miscellaneous Papers. + +[112] _Ibid._ + +[113] Court of Chancery Records. + +[114] French, "Genealogica Shakespeareana," p. 484. + +[115] Coram Rege Rolls, Term Mich., 31 and 32 Elizabeth; also +Halliwell-Phillipps, ii. 11. + +[116] Chancery Cases, 40-41 Elizabeth, S.s. 24 (21), Stratford, P. R. +O.; also Halliwell-Phillipps, ii. 14. + +[117] Chancery Papers, S.s. 24 (21), Stratford, _in dorso_, "40-41 +Eliz."; Halliwell-Phillipps, ii. 204. + +[118] _Notes and Queries_, 8th Series, v. 127, 296, 478. + +[119] Halliwell-Phillipps, ii. 205. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +JOHN SHAKESPEARE + + +Richard Shakespeare was in tenure of the property at Snitterfield, which +Robert Arden settled on his wife and daughters July 17, 4 Edward VI., +Adam Palmer and Hugh Porter being trustees. On November 26, 1557, he, +along with the executors of Robert Arden and Thomas Stringer, was +returned as indebted to the late Hugh Porter of Snitterfield. On +September 13 he prised the goods of Richard Maydes, and on June 1, 1560, +of Henry Cole, of Snitterfield. He is believed to have been the father +of John, Henry, and possibly of Thomas Shakespeare. + +John Shakespeare must have come to Stratford-on-Avon, probably from +Snitterfield, some time before 1552, for in that year he is described as +a resident in Henley Street, and fined for a breach of the municipal +sanitary regulations, along with Humphrey Reynolds and Adrian Quyney, +twelvepence a piece.[120] This relatively large sum implies that he must +have been even then a _substantial_ householder. The determination of +the house he then dwelt in becomes interesting in its bearing on the +tradition as to the poet's birthplace. Nothing is recorded of John for +the next few years, but he seems to have prospered in business, trading +in farmers' produce. In a law-suit of 1556, with Thomas Siche of Arscot, +Worcester, he was styled a "glover." In that year he bought from George +Turner a freehold tenement in Greenhill Street, with garden and croft, +which is not mentioned in any of his later transactions, and from Edward +West a freehold tenement and garden in Henley Street, the eastern half +of the birthplace messuage. Each of these was held by the payment of +sixpence a year to the lord of the manor and suit of court. Whether he +had previously lived in this eastern tenement, or in the western half, +as a tenant has not been absolutely decided. + +He was summoned on the Court of Record Jury this year, and was party to +several small suits, in all of which he was successful. In 1557 he was +elected ale-taster, and curiously enough he was amerced for not keeping +his gutters clean, in company with Francis Harbage, Chief Bailiff, +Adrian Quyney, Mr. Hall, and Mr. Clopton. He is believed to have married +Mary Arden in 1557. The registers of Aston Cantlow, where it is likely +that Mary was married, do not begin so early. She was single at the time +of her father's death in 1556, and on September 15, 1558, "Jone[121] +Shakespeare, daughter to John Shakespeare, was christened at Stratford +by Roger Divos, minister." In 1558 John Shakespeare was elected one of +the four Constables of the town,[122] and, in 1559, one of the affeerors +or officers appointed to determine the imposition of small arbitrary +fines. In 1561 he was elected one of the Chamberlains, as well as one of +the affeerors. He remained Chamberlain for two years, and apparently so +well did he discharge his financial duties in that office that he was +called on to assist later Chamberlains in making up their accounts. It +is generally supposed that he could not write, because in attesting +documents he made his mark. But I am not sure that this habit is a +certain sign of his ignorance of the art. Camden himself chose a _mark_ +as a signature based on his horoscope. (See his letter to Ortelius, +Sept. 14, 1577.) + +In 1561 Richard Shakespeare of Snitterfield died, and his goods were +administered by his son, "John Shakespeare, _Agricola_, of +Snitterfield," Feb. 10, 1561-62.[123] Many doubt that, even if he had +any interest in Richard's property, such a description would have been +given of the Chamberlain of Stratford-on-Avon. It must not be forgotten +that there had been a John Shakespeare presented and fined twelvepence +on October 1, 1561, in Snitterfield Court, but he may have been the +Stratford John. In the description of a neighbouring property in 1570, +we learn that there was a "John Shakespeare of Ingon," a farm in the +neighbourhood of Snitterfield; and John Shakespeare of Ingon was buried +September 25, 1589, according to Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps.[124] Hence +arose reasonable doubts of the identity of John of Stratford with John, +the heir of Richard Shakespeare of Snitterfield. Still, the evidence is +much stronger in support of his identity than against it. + +On December 2, 1562, the Stratford baptismal register records the +christening of "Margaret, daughter of John Shakspere." At the making up +of the Chamberlain's accounts for 1562-63 in January, 1563-64, the +Chamber was found in debt to John Shakespeare 25s. 8d., as if he had +been the finance Chamberlain of the two. Both of his daughters were dead +when, on April 26, he christened his firstborn son William. That summer +the plague raged in Stratford; the Council meetings were held in the +garden, to avoid infection, and collections were made among the +burgesses for the relief of the poor, to each of which John Shakespeare +contributed. + +In 1565 he was chosen alderman, and not only rendered the Chamberlain's +accounts, but seems to have borne their financial liabilities, as in the +accounts for the year is noted, "Item, payd to Shakspeyr for a rest of +old det £3, 2, 7-1/2," the sum which was really entered as a debt in +favour of the acting Chamberlains. The following year he again made up +the accounts for the Chamberlains, and the Chamber was found to be in +debt to him 6s. 8d., a sum that was not repaid until January, 1568. + +From the number of petty actions for debt in which he appeared, either +as plaintiff or defendant, one would believe that the business men of +Stratford did not care to pay up until they were obliged to do so. In +1566 there occurs an interesting suit, which shows that John Shakespeare +was even then acquainted with the Hathaways. In two actions against +Richard Hathaway--one for £8, and one for £11--John Shakespeare had been +security, and his name was substituted in the later proceedings for that +of the defendant. + +On October 13, 1566, his son Gilbert was christened. + +In 1567 he was assessed on goods to the value of £4[125] for the subsidy +3s. 4d.; and in another entry on £3, 2s. 6d. This was not at all a small +entry for a tradesman of the time. Everyone tried to make his estimate +as small as possible, as men do to-day, when taxes depend on it. He was +nominated that year, though not elected, to the post of High Bailiff, to +which office, however, he was elected on September 4, 1568. In the +precepts that he issued he is styled "Justice of the peace and Bailiff +of the Town."[126] In the Chamberlain's accounts of January 26, 1568-69, +there is mentioned, "Item to Mr. Balyf that now is 14/-," a sum not +explained or accounted for; and in 1570 the Chamberlains "praye +allowance of money delivered to Mr. Shaxpere at sundry times £6," during +their year 1569-70, as if he had been doing work for the town.[127] On +April 15, 1569, another daughter Joan was christened; and on September +28, 1571, his daughter Anna. After his year of office, John Shakespeare +was always called "Master," a point to be remembered in determining the +meaning of various little records in a town where others of the name +came to reside. In 1571 he was elected Chief Alderman, and in 1572 he +attained what may really be considered as his chief honour. "At this +Hall yt is agreed by the asent and consent of the Aldermen and burgeses +aforesaid, that Mr. Adrian Queney now bailif and Mr. John Shakespeare, +shall at Hilary term next ensuing deale in the affairs concerninge the +commen wealthe of the Borroughe according to their discrecions." This +was an important consideration to devolve on the shoulders of a man if +he could not read or write, and it very probably involved a visit to +London.[128] In 1574, March 11, his son Richard was born; and in 1575 we +find the locality of his house in Henley Street determined by William +Wedgewood's sale, September 20, to Edward Willis for £44, of his two +tenements "betwyne the tenement of Richard Hornbee on the east part, and +the tenement of 'John Shakesper yeoman' on the weste part"--the street +on the south, and the waste ground called Gilpittes on the north. This +shows, therefore, that the east tenement of the birthplace was then in +his occupation, and that somehow he was entitled yeoman. But in October +he himself also bought two houses for £40 from Edmund and Emma Hall, the +locality not specified. One of these has been supposed by some to have +been the birthplace, or perhaps both, seeing that later entries make +John Shakespeare responsible to the lord of the manor for 13d. for his +western tenement, and the garden or toft to the west of it, as against +the 6d. due for his eastern tenement. + +[Illustration: PRESENT VIEW OF SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHPLACE. + +_To face p. 55._] + +We must then face the question, either John Shakespeare owned the +birthplace in 1552, and resided in it until he added the wool-shop in +1556; or he rented the wool-shop in 1552, which he purchased in 1556; or +he rented the birthplace in 1552, which he purchased in 1575 from the +Halls. Under whatever circumstances he secured these, both remained free +to him during all his financial difficulties, and descended to his son. +But these uncertainties create the doubt that remains in the mind of +some, _Was the poet really born in the birthplace which tradition has +assigned to him, or not?_ To me it seems that the balance of all +considerations remains in favour of the birthplace. It is hard to +account for a purchase in 1575 (that evidently galled him) of any other +premises save those in which he resided. Little is known of John +Shakespeare or his family during 1576 and 1577, but in 1578 begin the +records of his temporary poverty, which I have noted under the account +of his relations to his wife's relatives. For the Town Council, +doubtless in consideration of his past services, excused him paying 3s. +4d., as his share of "the furniture of the pikemen," etc.; and, along +with Mr. Robert Bratt (the poorest member of the Corporation), he was +excused the 4d. a week imposed on the aldermen for relief of the poor. +Then came the mortgage of Asbies in 1578-79.[129] The following year he +again left unpaid his share of the levy for armour--3s. 4d.; and he +began, probably through shamefacedness, not to show himself at the +Halls, though the State Papers still enter him among the gentlemen and +freeholders of Warwickshire. But another influence began to affect his +circumstances prejudicially about this time, and that is, the evil +fortunes of his brother Henry of Snitterfield. How his biographer, in +the "Dictionary of National Biography," could call this brother "_a +prosperous farmer_," I know not. + +In 1574 there had been a free fight, wherein blood was drawn, between +him and Edward Cornwall, who afterwards became the second husband of his +brother's sister-in-law, Margaret Webbe, _née_ Arden. In the year 1580 +there was an extra long series of actions against him for debt; threats +of excommunication for withholding tithes; fines for refusing to wear +the statute caps on Sunday; fines for not doing suit of court. +Altogether he seems to have been a high-spirited fellow, who brought on +himself, through lack of prudence, much of his ill-luck, and who had the +unfortunate knack of involving other people in his troubles. + +In 1582 both brothers were summoned as witnesses in support of Robert +Webbe against the Mayowe appeal. + +In November of that year John's eldest son William, of whom no earlier +direct mention had been preserved, added to his embarrassments by a +premature marriage, and in the following year John was made a +grandfather by the birth of Susanna Shakespeare. In 1584 the twins +Hamnet and Judith were added to his anxieties. About this time the +Stratford Records notice how a John Shakespeare was worried by suits +brought against him by John Brown, in whose favour a writ of distraint +was issued against Shakespeare in 1586. But the answer was returned that +"he had nothing whereon to distrain." + +There are several reasons for believing that this John was not the +poet's father. The prefix Mr. is not used in the entries; it is certain +that he retained his freeholds in Henley Street all his life, and if he +had "no goods whereon to distrain," he could hardly have been received +as sufficient bail at Coventry, on July 19 of that year, for Michael +Price, tinker, of Stratford-on-Avon, or as security for his brother +Henry's debts. In 1586 he was removed from his office of alderman.[130] + +Just in the year of the death of Edmund Lambert, when the possession of +money would have given him power to have renewed his efforts to regain +Asbies, Henry Shakespeare became a defaulter, and Nicholas Lane, by +Thomas Trussell, his attorney, sued John Shakespeare in his place, 1587. +William Court was his attorney in a weary case, which must have led both +sides into heavy costs, over the recovery of £22.[131] + +On September 1, 1588, he paid a visit to John Lambert at +Barton-on-the-Heath, in the vain hope of inducing him to surrender +Asbies; instituted proceedings against those who owed him money in +Stratford, and, in 1589, against Lambert in the Queen's Bench at London, +probably acting in the latter case through William. From the inquisition +post-mortem of the Earl of Warwick, in 1590, we know Mr. John +Shakespeare still owned the two houses in Henley Street. + +In 1592 Mr. John Shakespeare appraised the goods of two important +neighbours--of Ralph Shawe, wool-driver, July 23, and Henry Field, +tanner, August 21. Thomas Trussell, the attorney, drew up the inventory, +and denominated his associate as Mr. John Shaksper, _Senior_, for no +clear reason, but possibly to distinguish him from the shoemaker John. +The attestation is witnessed only by a cross. During this year Sir +Thomas Lucy and others were drawing up the lists of Warwickshire +recusants[132] that had been "heretofore presented." Among these they +included several members of the sorely-oppressed family of the Ardens of +Park Hall, and in Stratford-on-Avon "Mr. John Shackspere" and eight +others. Probably some friendly clerk, wishing to spare them fines, +added: "it is sayd that these last nine coom not to Churche for feare of +process for debte." But it is quite possible it might refer to John +Shakespeare the shoemaker, who, having been Master of the Shoemakers' +Company, _might_ have been called "Mr."[133] In the earlier undated +draught from which this was taken the Commissioners state: "wee suspect +theese nyne persons next ensuinge absent themselves for feare of +processes, Mr. John Wheeler, John his son, Mr. John Shackespeere," etc. + +Away up in London in 1593 the tide was beginning to turn for the family +through the efforts of the poet and the affection of the Earl of +Southampton. + +In this year Richard Tyler sued a John Shakespeare for a debt, but it is +not at all certain it was not one of the others of the name. In a case +brought by Adrian Quyney and Thomas Barker against Philip Green, +chandler, Henry Rogers, butcher, and John Shaxspere, in 1595, for a debt +of £5, the absence of a trade after Shakespeare's name has made Mr. +Halliwell-Phillipps suppose that he had retired by this date. A John +Shakespeare attested by a cross the marriage settlement of Robert +Fulwood and Elizabeth Hill in 1596, which represents probably the name +of the poet's father. In 1597 he sold, to oblige his neighbour, George +Badger, a narrow strip of land at the western side of his Henley Street +garden, 1-1/2 feet in breadth, but 86 feet in length. For this he +received £2 10s., and his ground-rent was reduced from 13d. to 12d., the +odd penny becoming Badger's responsibility. He also sold a plat, 17 feet +square, in the garden, behind the wool-shop, to oblige his neighbour on +the other side, Edward Willis. + +The application made for coat-armour, initiated in 1596, ostensibly by +John Shakespeare, but really by William Shakespeare, as well as the +Lambert case, dragged on through the later years of the century. + +That he had not lost credit with his fellow-townsmen may be seen by +John's latest recorded piece of work. + +Early in 1601 an action was brought by Sir Edward Greville[134] against +the Corporation respecting the toll-corn; and John Shakespeare, with +Adrian Quyney and others, assisted to draw up suggestions for the use of +the counsel for the defendants. On September 8 of that year the funeral +of the old burgess took place at Stratford-on-Avon, but there is no +trace now left of any sepulchral monument or memorial of any kind. No +will or inventory, or even inquisition post-mortem, has come down to us. + +It is quite possible that the Henley Street houses were entailed upon +his eldest son, or that he may have bought up all rights during his +father's lifetime to such an extent that "inheritance" could hardly be +talked of. He seems to have indeed supported all the family, as there is +no trace[135] of any of them, except Edmund the player, engaging in any +trade or profession. Whether his mother resided in Henley Street or at +New Place is not clear. There is nothing further known of her save the +register of her burial: "September 9th, 1608, Mayry Shaxspere Wydowe." + +No sepulchre or memorial of her has come down to our time. We only know +that somewhere in the consecrated ground by Stratford Church lies the +dust of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, the parents of the poet. + +[Illustration: SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTH-HOUSE BEFORE THE RESTORATION IN +1857.] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[120] Stratford-on-Avon Chamberlain's Accounts, April 29, 6 Edward VI. + +[121] Stratford-on-Avon Baptismal Register. + +[122] All these references are from the Chamberlain's Accounts, and +accounts of the Halls at Stratford-on-Avon. Those who have not had +access to them may refer to Halliwell-Phillipps's "Outlines," i. 29; ii. +179 _et seq._ + +[123] Worcester administration bonds, 1561. _Notes and Queries_, 8th +Series, xii. 413. + +[124] This statement is, however, evidently erroneous. + +[125] Roll for Stratford, Longridge MS. + +[126] Stratford Borough Records. + +[127] The first notice of municipal employment of players appears during +his year of office, the Queen's Company and that of the Earl of +Worcester having performed before the council. A case was tried at the +Warwick assizes, Easter, 11 Elizabeth, concerning the tithes of +Rowington, and John Shakespeare, of Stratford-on-Avon, was on the +jury.--Ryland's "Records of Rowington." + +[128] See Chamberlain's accounts for "the expenses of Mr. Queeney in +London," also for the expenses of the dinner given to Sir Thomas Lucy +and others, at which Quiney and Shakespeare presided. + +[129] In 1579 he buried his daughter Anne "with the pall and the great +bell." On May 3, 1580, his youngest child Edmund was christened. + +[130] "At this halle William Smythe and Richard Court are chosen +Aldermen in the places of John Wheler and John Shaxspere, for that Mr. +Wheler doth desire to be put out of the company, and Mr. Shaxspere doth +not come to the Halles when they be warned, nor hath not done of long +tyme."--Borough Reports. It is noteworthy that he was never fined for +absenting himself as others were. + +[131] Controlment Rolls, 29 Elizabeth, Stratford-on-Avon. + +[132] State Papers, Domestic Series, Elizabeth. It may be noted that +there was no Mrs. Shakespeare among the recusants. Other wives were +noted, as Mrs. Wheeler. + +[133] It remains a fact that John Shakespeare, shoemaker, is heard of no +more in Stratford-on-Avon, and shortly afterwards his house was tenanted +by another man. + +[134] Stratford Corporation Records. + +[135] Halliwell-Phillips is in error in stating that Gilbert was a +London haberdasher. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE + + +William Shakespeare was thirty-seven when he became head of the family +in 1601. His previous life must have been a stirring one, though we know +only too little about it. Still, certain inferences may be soundly based +on known facts. He must have been educated at the Stratford Grammar +School, free to the sons of the burgesses, a high-class school for the +time. Its head-master had a salary then double that of the Master of +Eton. A taste for learning had certainly imbued William's spirit even in +early years, but he doubtless warmly shared in the difficulties of his +father's life, and knew the anxieties of debt, the oppression of the +strong hand--the "cares of bread," as Mazzini calls it--and the +sickening weariness of the law's uncertainty and delay. Most of his +relatives were farmers, and his actions show that he would gladly have +followed the same course of life, with the relaxation of field sports, +of course, if he could have attained his desire. But the genius within +him was to be welded by fiery trials, and he was driven on a course that +seemed at discord with his nature, and yet led to its own fulfilment. In +the enthusiasm of a first love, he married early, not, it must +emphatically be noted, over-early for the custom of the period, when the +means of support were assured, but over-early, as it would then have +been considered, solely from a financial standpoint. He had no assured +means of support. His hope of securing his inheritance of Asbies was +fading. He did not marry an heiress. Many vials of wrath have been +poured on the devoted head of Anne Hathaway by those who do not consider +all sides of the question. Harrowing pictures of the relations of young +Shakespeare and "his aged wife" are drawn, even by such writers as Dr. +Furnivall. Now, it is a well-known fact that almost all very young men +fancy girls older than themselves, and it is an artistic fact that a +woman under thirty does look younger, and not older, than a man of the +same age, if she has led a natural and simple life. It is much more than +likely that the well-grown, responsible eldest son of anxious John +Shakespeare looked quite as old as Anne Hathaway, seven years his +senior, especially if she was slight and fair and _delicate_, as there +is every reason to believe she was. And the masterful spirit marks its +own age when it goes forth to woo, and determines to win the first real +fancy of his life. It must not be forgotten, in association with the +situation, that Richard Hathaway of Shottery (for whom John Shakespeare +had stood surety in 1566) had made his will on September 1, 1581, and +died between that time and July 9, 1582, when it was proved, leaving his +daughter Agnes, or Anne, the small but very common marriage portion of +£6 13s. 4d. A break had come into her home life; doubtless she went off +to visit some friends, and the young lover felt he could not live +without his betrothed, and determined to clinch the matter. + +Much unnecessarily unfavourable comment has been made on the peculiar +circumstances of the marriage. People forget the complexity of religious +and social customs of the time, the binding force of betrothals, the +oppression of Catholics. In Robert Arden's settlement of July 17, 1550, +he speaks of his daughter Agnes as the _wife_ of Thomas Stringer, though +she did not marry him until October 15, 1550.[136] The perplexity is +increased by the entry of the marriage license of a William Shakespeare +and Anne Whately of Templegrafton, the day previous to that of William +Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway of Stratford, November 28, 1582.[137] It +all seems possible to explain. Travelling was inconvenient on November +roads; Will set out for the license alone, as bridegrooms were often +wont to do, when they could afford the expense of a special license. He +might give his own name, and that of his intended wife, at a temporary +address. The clerk made an error in the spelling, which might have been +corrected; but meanwhile discovered that Shakespeare was under age, was +acting without his parents--that the bride was not in her own home, and +that no marriage settlement was in the air. No risk might be run by an +official in such a case; the license was stayed; sureties must be found +for a penalty in case of error. So poor Will would have to find, in +post-haste, the nearest friends he could find to trust him and his +story. And who so likely to ask as Fulk Sandells and John Richardson, +friends of the Hathaways--the one supervisor, and the other witness to +the will of Anne's father Richard? They might have been at Worcester +market with him. + +They were both "good men" in the financial sense, and their bond for £40 +was accepted at the Bishop of Worcester's Registry in support of the +assertion that there was no impediment against this marriage by ground +of consanguinity or pre-contract. If this were all right, and if the +bride's friends were willing, by which must have been intended her +mother and brothers, then the marriage might be solemnized. It was +clearly a question in which the woman's friends were the proper parties +to summon. The bond of John Shakespeare would not then have been good +for £40, and the would-be bridegroom had nothing of his own. The place +where they were married has not yet been discovered; it is quite +possible to have been at "a private mass," as was the case in another +marriage with a similar bond at the same registry.[138] But they were +married somehow, and William probably brought home his fatherless bride +to his father's house, and there her little portion of £6 13s. 4d. might +go the further. But a wife and a family of three children sorely +handicapped a penniless youth, not yet of age, bred to no trade, heir to +no fortune, whose father was himself in trouble. + +The after-date gossip of wild courses, deer-stealing, and combats with +Sir Thomas Lucy, are, I think, quite unfounded on fact. I have discussed +this fully in my article in the _Athenæum_[139] on "Sir Thomas Lucy," +and in my chapter on "The Traditional Sir Thomas and the Real."[140] It +is much more than likely Shakespeare was concerned in the religious +turmoil of the times, was somewhat suspected, and was indignant at the +cruel treatment of Edward Arden, head of the house, the first victim of +the Royal Commission[141] in 1583. + +Eventually he went to London, probably with introductions to many people +supposed to be able and willing to help him. There were both Ardens and +Shakespeares in London, and many Warwickshire men, and they thought that +some place might be found even for him, the landless, unapprenticed, +untrained son of a straitened father. But there were so many in a +similar case. It is evident he succeeded in nothing that he hoped or +wished for. His own works prove that. He was unable to act the +gentleman, but was determined to play the man. He may have dwelt with, +and certainly frequently visited, his old Stratford friend Richard +Field, the apprentice, son-in-law, and successor of Vautrollier, the +great printer. In his shop he learned not only much technical detail of +his art, but refreshed his education--or, rather, went through another +course, reading with a new inspiration and a kindled enthusiasm. + +I have shown elsewhere how very much his mental development owed to +books published by Vautrollier and Field,[142] sole publishers of many +Latin works, including Ovid, of Puttenham's "Art of Poetrie," of +Plutarch's "Lives," and many another book whose spirit has been +transfused into Shakespeare's works. We know that he had tried his hand +at altering plays, at rewriting them, and making them popular; we know +that he had translated them upon the stage before 1592, because of +Greene's notice then published by Chettle, of "the upstart crow."[143] +And he probably had written some. But his first firm step on the +staircase of fame was taken in the publication of his "Venus and Adonis" +by his friend Richard Field in April, 1593, and his first grip of +success in his dedication thereof to the young Earl of Southampton. The +kindness of his patron between 1593 and 1594 had ripened his admiration +into love; and the dedication of the "Rape of Lucrece" in the latter +year placed the relations of the two men clearly before the world. A +careful study of the two dedications leads to the conviction that the +"Sonnets" could only have been addressed to the same[144] patron. A +study of the poems and sonnets together shows much of the character, +training, and culture of the author--love of nature, delight in open-air +exercise and in the chase, sympathy with the Renaissance culture, and a +moral standard of no common order. + +In his first poem he shows how preoccupation preserves Adonis from +temptation; in the second how the spiritual chastity of Lucrece is +triumphant over evil. The one poem completes the conception of the +other, and both lead into the sonnets. In these the author explains much +of his thought and circumstance-- + + "Alas, 'tis true, I have gone here and there, + And made myself a motley to the view; + Gor'd mine own thoughts, sold cheap what is most dear, + Made old offences of affections new." + + "Oh, for my sake do you with Fortune chide, + The guilty goddess of my harmful deeds, + That doth not better for my life provide + Than public means, which public manners breeds."[145] + +Southampton did not only chide with Fortune, but took her place. Through +his stepfather, Sir Thomas Henneage, who had succeeded Sir Christopher +Hatton in 1589[146] as Vice-Chamberlain of the Royal Household, he was +able to assist the players, and Shakespeare is for the first time +recorded as having played twice before the Queen, at Greenwich on St. +Stephen's Day, December 26, 1594, and on Innocents' Day, December 28 of +the same year.[147] On the latter day at night, amid the turmoil of the +Gray's Inn revels, Shakespeare's play of the "Comedy of Errors" was +represented by his company, doubtless through the interest of the Earl +of Southampton, then a student at Gray's Inn. At his coming of age in +October, 1594, the young nobleman would be the better able to assist his +poet. Tradition has reported that he gave Shakespeare a large sum of +money, generally said to be £1,000. + +[Illustration: THE GUILD CHAPEL, FROM THE SITE OF NEW PLACE. + +_To face p. 67._] + +However it was, the tide of Shakespeare's fortunes turned with his +introduction to the Earl of Southampton, and his exertions during the +remaining years of the century began to tell in financial returns. It is +significant that the first known use to which he put his money was the +application for the _coat of arms_. In that same year fortune gave him a +cruel buffet in the death of his only son.[148] Nevertheless, he went on +with his purchase of the largest house in his native town; so that, if +the bride of his youth had waited long for a home of her own, he did +what he could to make up for the delay by giving her the best he could +find.[149] That he was cautious in his investments was evident. He had +seen too much suffering through rashness in money affairs not to benefit +by the experience. Thereby he made clear his desire for the +rehabilitation of himself and family in the place where he was born. By +1598 we have irrefragable testimony to the position he had already +taken, alike in the world of letters as in the social life of Stratford. +In the autumn of that year appeared the perennial advertisement of +Meres, the Professor of Rhetoric at Oxford, Master of Arts of both +Universities, who ranks him among the first of his day, as an epic and +lyric poet, and as a writer of both tragedy and comedy. "As the soule of +Euphorbus was thought to live in Pythagoras, so the sweet wittie soul of +Ovid lives in mellifluous and honey-tongued Shakespeare.... As Plautus +and Seneca are accounted the best for Comedy and Tragedy among the +Latins, so Shakespeare ... among the English is the most excellent in +both kinds for the stage ... witness his 'Gentlemen of Verona,' his +'Errors,' his 'Love's Labour's Lost,' his 'Love's Labour Wonne,' his +'Midsummer Night's Dream,' and his 'Merchante of Venice'; for tragedy +his 'Richard II.,' 'Richard III.,' 'Henry IV.,' 'King John,' 'Titus +Andronicus,' and 'Romeo and Juliet.'"[150] + +On the other hand, the Quiney correspondence shows the estimation in +which his fellow-townsmen held him--that he had money, that he wanted to +invest, and was already styled "master." He was considering the policy +of buying "an odd yard land or other" in Stratford, when Richard Quiney, +who was in the Metropolis, was urged by his brother-in-law, Abraham +Sturley, to induce Shakespeare to buy one of the tithe leases. "By the +friends he can make therefore, we think it a fair mark for him to shoot +at; it obtained, would advance him in deed, and would _do us much +good_." Richard Quiney was in the Metropolis at the end of 1598 on +affairs of the town, trying to secure the grant of a new charter, and +relief from subsidy; but either on his own account, or the affairs of +the town, he applied to Shakespeare for a loan. As there are no letters +of Shakespeare's extant, and this is the only one addressed to him, it +is worth noting very specially. It could hardly have been sent, as it +was found among the Corporation Records. Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps +suggests that Shakespeare may have called to see Quiney before the +letter was sent off, and given his reply verbally. + +"Loveinge contreyman, I am bolde of yow, as of a ffrende, craveinge yowr +helpe with xxx^li uppon Mr. Bushells and my securytee, or Mr. Myttons +with me. Mr. Rosswell is nott come to London as yeate, and I have +especiall cawse. Yow shall ffrende me muche in helpeing me out of all +the debettes I owe in London, I thancke God, and muche quyet my mynde, +which wolde nott be indebeted. I am nowe towardes the Cowrte, in hope of +answer for the dispatch of my buysness. Yow shall nether loase creddytt +nor monney by me, the Lord wyllinge; and nowe butt persuade yourselfe +soe, as I hope, and you shall nott need to feare, butt, with all hartie +thanckefullness, I wyll holde my tyme, and content yowr ffrende, and yf +we bargaine farther, you shal be the paie-master yowrselfe. My tyme +biddes me hastene to an ende, and soe I comitt thys (to) yowr care, and +hope of yowr helpe. I feare I shall nott be backe thys night ffrom the +Cowrte. Haste. The Lorde be with yow and with us all, Amen. From the +Bell in Carter Lane the 25th October, 1598. Yowrs in all kyndeness Ryc. +Quyney. + +"To my loveinge good frend and contreymann Mr. Wm. Shackespere deliver +thees."[151] + +And Shakespeare then befriended the man whose son was to marry his +daughter. The reply seems to have been as prompt as satisfactory, for on +the very same day Quiney wrote to his brother-in-law Sturley, who +replied on November 4: "Your letter of the 25th of October came to my +hands, the last of the same at night per Greenway,[152] which imported +that our Countryman Mr. William Shakespeare would procure us money; +which I will like of, as I shall hear when and where and how; and I pray +let not go that occasion, if it may sort to any indifferent conditions." + +It is evident that Shakespeare had at some time or other associated +himself with Burbage's company. Now, James Burbage, "was the first +builder of playhouses" who had planned in 1576, and in spite of evil +report and professional rivalry, of municipal and royal restrictions, +legal and other expenses, had successfully carried on "The Theatre" in +Finsbury Fields. In 1596 he had purchased the house in Blackfriars, +against the use of which as a theatre was sent up to the Privy Council a +petition, which Richard Field signed.[153] The Burbages let this house +for a time to a company of "children," but eventually resumed it for +their own use, and in it placed "men-players, which were Hemings, +Condell, Shakespeare," etc. On Burbage's death in 1597, there was a +dispute about "The Theater" lease, and his sons transferred the +materials to Southwark, and built the Globe in 1599. On the rearing of +the Globe at heavy cost, they joined to themselves "those deserving men +Shakespeare, Hemings, Condell, Philips and others, partners in the +Profits of what they call the House, but making the leases for +twenty-one years hath been the destruction of ourselves and others, for +they, dying at the expiration of three or four years of their lease, the +subsequent yeares became dissolved to strangers, as by marrying with +theire widdowes, and the like by their children." (See the papers +concerning the shares in the Globe, 1535: 1. Petition of Benfield, +Swanston and Pollard to the Lord Chamberlain Pembroke (April). 2. A +further petition. 3. The answer of Shank. 4. The answer of C. Burbage, +Winifred, his brother's widow, and William his son. 5. Pembroke's +judgment thereon (July 12). 6. Shanke's petition (August 7). 7. +Pembroke's final decision.)[154] + +Burbage, Shakespeare, Condell, Hemings had been housekeepers with four +shares each. These originally died with the owner, but in later years +could be inherited. Shakespeare's income therefore arose from: + +1. Possibly some small sum allowed him by Richard Field and the +publishers for various editions of his poems, as well as the liberality +of the Earl of Southampton on their account. + +2. Direct payments by the proprietors for altering and writing plays. +Shares in their publication he never seems to have had. + +3. His share as a player of the money taken at the doors. + +4. His share as a partner in the house of the money taken in the +galleries, etc. + +5. His share of royal largesse in performances before the Queen, or +similar gifts from noblemen.[155] + +6. His share of performances in various performing tours. + +And thence he acquired money enough to buy New Place; to appeal to the +heralds for his father's coat of arms, and to pay the costs; to contest +the Lamberts' claim through successive applications for Asbies; and to +buy land and tithe leases. The death of his only son Hamnet did not +deter him in his earnest efforts to regain social position, and to +restore the fortunes of his family. An almost exact parallel may be +found in the efforts and aims of Sir Walter Scott. But Shakespeare, +having borne the yoke in youth, had acquired the experience and prudence +necessary to steer himself past the dangers of speculation and the +rashness of exceeding his assured income, which proved fatal to the less +severely-trained novelist. + +In May, 1602, he purchased from the Combes for £320 about 107 acres of +land near Stratford-on-Avon, of which, as he was not in the town, seisin +was granted to his brother Gilbert. On September 28, 1602, Walter Getley +transferred to him a cottage and garden situated in Chapel Lane, +opposite the lower gardens of New Place, quite possibly intended for the +use of his brothers. It appears from the roll that he did not appear at +the Manorial Court in person,[156] then held at Rowington, there being a +stipulation that the estate should remain in the hands of the lady of +the manor, the Countess of Warwick, until he appeared to complete the +transaction with the usual formalities. On completing these, he +surrendered the property to his own use for life, with remainder to his +two daughters, a settlement rearranged afterwards in his will. It is +mentioned as in his possession in a subsequent subsidy roll of the +town.[157] + +The only time in which he touched politics and State affairs he was +unfortunate. There is no doubt he must have trembled at the time of the +Essex Conspiracy, not only for his friend Southampton's life, but even +for his own; for Philips, the manager of his company, was called before +the Privy Council to account for the performances of the obnoxious play +of "Richard II." + +The danger passed. Probably the Privy Council thought it futile to +attack the "Puppets." Nevertheless, after fulfilling their engagements +they hastened from the Metropolis.[158] Some of his company went to play +in Scotland, as far north as Aberdeen.[159] I am inclined to think +Shakespeare went with them. The scenery in "Macbeth"[160] suggests vivid +visual impressions, and the favour of James VI. must have been secured +_before_ his accession to the throne of England, for almost the first +act the King did on his arrival at the Metropolis, May 7, 1603, was to +execute a series of Acts that practically gave his company a monopoly. + + "Pat. I., Jac. I., p. 2, m. 4. Pro Laurentio Fletcher et + Willielmo Shakespeare et aliis.[161] + + "James by the grace of God, etc., to all Justices, Maiors, + Sheriffs, Constables, Hedboroughs, and other our Officers + and lovinge Subjects, Greetinge. Knowe ye that wee, of our + Speciall Grace, _certeine knowledge_ and mere motion, have + licensed and authorized, and by these presentes doe license + and authorize theise our Servaunts, Laurence Fletcher, + William Shakespeare, Richard Burbage, Augustyne Philippes, + John Hemings, Henrie Condell, William Sly, Robert Armyn, + Richard Cowly, and the rest of their Associates Freely to + use and exercise the Arte and Facultie of playing Comedies, + Tragedies, Histories, Enterludes, Morals, Pastoralls, + Stage-plaies, and such others like as theie have alreadie + studied or hereafter shall use or studie, as well for the + Recreation of our loveinge Subjects as for our Solace and + Pleasure, when wee shall thincke good to see them, during + our pleasure; and the said Commedies, Tragedies, Histories, + Enterludes, Moralls, Pastoralls, Stage-playes, and + suchelike, to shewe and exercise publiquely to their best + Commoditie, when the Infection of the Plague shall decrease, + as well within theire nowe usuall House called the Globe + within our Countie of Surrey, as also within anie Toune + Halls or Moute Halls, or other convenient Places within the + Liberties and Freedom of anie other Cittie, Universitie, + Toune or Boroughe whatsoever, within our said Realmes and + Dominions. + + "Willing and commanding you and everie of you, as you tender + our Pleasure, not onelie to permit and suffer them herein, + without anie your Letts, Hindrances, or Molestations, during + our said Pleasure, but also to be aiding and assistinge to + them if anie Wrong be to them offered, and to allow them + such former Curtesies as hath been given to men of their + Place and Qualitie; and also what further Favour you shall + shewe to theise our Servaunts for our sake, Wee shall take + Kindlie at your Handes. In witnesse whereof, etc. + + "Witnesse our selfe at Westminster the nynetenth Daye of + Maye. + + "PER BREVE DE PRIVATO SIGILLO." + + [The privy seal for this issued on May 17.] + +As James made more stringent the laws concerning "vagabonds," as he took +from the nobles the power of patronage of players, reserving it only for +the Royal Family, this passport gave enormous power to the players, +favoured by the King in Scotland. + +Shakespeare's early patron, the Earl of Southampton, had been released +from the Tower on April 10, and had gone to meet his new Sovereign, +doubtless speaking a good word for the company of players. His later +patron, the Earl of Pembroke, was recalled to Court favour. The King +visited him in his royal progress August 30 and 31, 1603, and held his +Court at Wilton, Winchester,[162] and Basing during most of October, +November,[163] and December, during which time the players were summoned +on December 2. "To John Hemyngs on 3rd December, for a play before the +King, by the King's men at Wilton, and for coming from Mortlake in +Surrey, £30."[164] + +On March 15, 1603-1604, the King's players were summoned to the +Triumphant Royal Procession, received robes for the occasion, and took +rank at Court[165] with the Grooms of the Chamber. Henceforth +Shakespeare's genius revelled in the opportunities fortune had made for +him, and in the taste he had himself educated. The world appreciated his +work the better "that so did take Eliza and our James."[166] The snarls +of envy witnessed his success; the eulogiums of admirers perpetuated his +appreciation. On May 4, 1605, Augustine Phillips died, leaving by will +"to my fellow William Shakespeare a thirty-shilling piece in gold." In +July of that year (July 24, 1605) Shakespeare completed his largest +purchase, in buying for £440 the unexpired term of the moiety of the +tithe-lease of Stratford, Old Stratford, Bishopton, and Welcombe. + +In that year John Davenant took out the lease of the Crown Inn at +Oxford, where the following year his son William was born. Gossip, +supported, if not originated, by himself, suggests that William Davenant +was the son rather than the godson of Shakespeare, an unfounded slander +disposed of by Halliwell-Phillipps. + +On June 5, 1607, Susanna Shakespeare married Dr. Hall. Elizabeth, their +only child, and the only grandchild Shakespeare saw, was born in +February, 1607-1608, and in September of that year John Shakespeare's +widow--Shakespeare's mother--died. + +It is probable Shakespeare returned home to his mother's funeral, as he +was chief godfather on October 16 to the William Walker of Stratford to +whom he bequeathed 20s. in gold in 1616. In 1608 and 1609 Shakespeare +instituted a process for debt against John Addenbroke and his security +Hornebie. His attorney was his cousin, Thomas Greene, then residing, +under unknown conditions, at New Place. In the latter year he instituted +more important proceedings concerning the tithes. The papers of the +complaint by Lane, Green, and Shakespeare to Lord Ellesmere in 1612, +concerning other lessees, give details of the income he derived +therefrom.[167] + +In 1610 he purchased 20 acres of pasture-land from the Combes to add to +his freeholds. The concord of the fine is dated April 13, 1610, and, as +it was acknowledged before the Commissioners, he is believed to have +been in Stratford at the time. In a subscription list drawn up at +Stratford September 11, 1611, his name is the only one entered on the +margin, as if it were a later insertion, "towards the charge of +prosecuting the Bill in Parliament for the better repair of Highways." A +Parliament was then expected to meet, but it was not summoned till long +afterwards. In 1612 Lane, Green, and Shakespeare filed a new bill of +complaint concerning the tithes before Lord Ellesmere. + +In March, 1613, he made a curious purchase of a tenement and yard, one +or two hundred yards to the east of the Blackfriars Theatre. The lower +part had long been in use as a haberdasher's shop. The vendor was Henry +Walker, a musician, who had paid £100 for it in 1604, and who asked then +the price of £140. Shakespeare, however, at this raised price secured +it, leaving £60 of it on mortgage. The date of the conveyance deed is +March 10, 1613,[168] probably signed on the 11th, on which day it was +enrolled in the Court of Chancery. Besides the witnesses to this +document, there was present Henry Lawrence, the scrivener who had drawn +it up, who unfortunately lent his seal to the poet, which still exists, +bearing the initials "H. L." + +Shakespeare is believed to have written two plays a year while he was a +shareholder. On June 29, 1613, the Globe Theatre was destroyed by fire +while the history of Henry VIII. was being enacted. Burbage, Hemings, +Condell, and the Fool were so long in leaving the theatre that the +spectators feared for their safety. It is not known whether this fire +would prove a loss to him. In June of that year a malicious piece of +gossip was circulating in Stratford against the good name of +Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna Hall. The rumour was traced to a man +called Lane, who was summoned to appear before the Ecclesiastical Court +at Worcester on July 15, 1613. He did not venture to appear, and he was +duly excommunicated for perjury. + +It was the custom for the Corporation then to make complimentary +offerings of wine to those whom they wished to honour, and thus they +honoured an itinerant preacher, quartered at New Place, in the spring of +1614, with a quart of sack and another of claret, and this has been +supposed to prove that the poet had turned Puritan. John Combe, one of +the chief men of the neighbourhood, died in July, 1614, leaving +Shakespeare £5. Shakespeare would probably never receive it. The will, +dated January 28, 1612-13, was not proved till November, 1616. It is +clear, however, that these men were friendly at that time, and that the +mock elegy, attributed to Shakespeare, could not then have been written, +or, if written, was only laughed at. The Globe Theatre was rebuilt at +great cost that year. Chamberlain, writing to a lady in Venice, said: "I +hear much speech of this new playhouse, which is sayde to be the fayrest +that ever was in England" (June 30, 1614). + +In the same year, William Combe, the new Squire of Welcombe, attempted +enclosure of some of the common fields, a design resisted by the +Corporation. This scheme materially affected Shakespeare through his +tithes, and much discussion has been waged over the true meaning of +the entries of his cousin, Thomas Green, the Town Clerk of +Stratford-on-Avon, and his attorney. Unfortunately, these are badly +written, and the composition is dubious; but to my mind it seems clear +that Green meant to say that Mr. Shakespeare could not bear the +enclosing of Welcombe.[169] + +In the opening of 1615-16 Shakespeare found himself "in perfect healthe +and memorie--God be praised"; and yet, for some reason, he wished to +make a new will, "revoking all other wills," and his solicitor, Francis +Collins of Warwick, drew up a draft. Halliwell-Phillipps thinks this was +done in January, and that it was intended to have been signed on the +25th of that month. I own that the date, erased to be replaced by +"March," looks to me more like "February." An important difference it +would be, because in January he might not have known that his daughter, +Judith Shakespeare, aged 32, had made up her mind to marry Thomas +Quiney, aged 28. By February 25 she had already done it. On February 10, +1616, Thomas Quiney was married, at Stratford-on-Avon, to Judith +Shakespeare without a license, an irregularity for which both the +parties were summoned to appear[170] before the Ecclesiastical Courts +some weeks afterwards, and threatened with excommunication, but probably +the fact of Shakespeare's illness and death would act as an excuse in +high quarters. + +Though it seems to me that the will must have been drawn up before +Judith's marriage, the possibility of such a change of state is clearly +considered. There is no sign of indignation at the later date of the +signing of the will, and £300 was a large portion; and there are no +alterations in his bequests to her, except a curious one. The first +bequest was originally intended to have been in favour of "_my sonne +and_ daughter Judith," but the "sonne" was erased. Of course, this +possibly arose from the scrivener intending to start with the Halls. But +the less important bequests came first. One hundred and fifty pounds was +to be paid to Judith within a year, in two instalments, the £100 in +discharge of her marriage portion, and the £50 on her surrendering her +share in the copyhold tenement in Stratford-on-Avon (once Getley's) to +her sister, Susanna Hall. Another £150[171] was to be paid Judith, or +any of her heirs alive at the date of three years after the testator's +death. If she had died without issue at that date, £100 thereof was to +go to Elizabeth Hall, and £50 to his sister Joan and her children. If +Judith were alive, the stock was to be invested by the executors, and +only the interest paid her as long as she was married, unless her +husband had "assured her in lands answerable to her portion." + +Sister Joan was to have £20, the testator's wearing apparel, and a +life-rent in the Henley Street house, under the yearly payment of one +shilling. Five pounds a piece were left to her sons. Elizabeth Hall was +to have all the plate, except his broad silver-gilt bowl, which he left +to Judith. Ten pounds he left to the poor, his sword to Mr. Thomas +Combe, £5 to Thomas Russell, £13 6s. 8d. to Francis Collins. Rings of +the value of 26s. 8d. each were left to Hamnet Sadler, William Reynolds, +gent., Antony Marsh, gent., Mr. John Marsh; and in interpolation "to my +fellows, John Heming, Richard Burbage, and Henry Condell," and to +William Walker, his godson, 20s. in gold. + +To enable his daughter Susanna to perform all this, she received "the +Capital Messuage called New Place, wherein I now dwell, two messuages in +Henley Street, and all my Barns, Stables, Orchards, Gardens, Lands, +Tenements and hereditaments whatsoever lying in Stratford-upon-Avon, Old +Stratford, Bishopton, and Welcombe, in the County of Warwick"; and "that +Messuage in Blackfriars in London near the Wardrobe wherein one John +Robinson now dwelleth." + +The descent was to be to her sons if she had any, failing whom to the +sons of his grand-daughter Elizabeth, failing whom to the sons of his +daughter Judith, failing whom "to the right heires of me William +Shakespeare for ever." + +Item interpolated: "I give unto my wife my second-best bed, with the +furniture." + +Everything else to his "sonne-in-law John Hall, gent., and to his +daughter Susanna, his wife," whom he made executors. + +Thomas Russell, Esq., and Francis Collins, gent., were to be overseers. +There were several witnesses. It was proved June 22, 1616, by John Hall, +at Westminster, but the inventory is unfortunately lost. + +Much discussion has taken place over Shakespeare's legacy to his wife. +It may very simply and naturally have arisen from some conversation in +which a reference had been made to giving her "the best bed." But that +was the visitor's couch. "The second-best" would have been her own, that +which she had used through the years, and he wished her to feel that +that was not included in the "residue." That was to be her very own. As +to any provision for her, it must have taken the form of a settlement, a +jointure, or a dower. There is no trace of the first or second. But the +English law then assured a widow in a third of her husband's property +for life and the use of the capital messuage, if another was not +provided her. The absence of all special provision for Mrs. Shakespeare +seems to have arisen from her husband's knowledge of this and his trust +in the honour of Mr. John Hall, and the love of his daughters for their +mother. It also supports my opinion of her extreme delicacy of +constitution. She was not to be overweighted by mournful +responsibilities. + +The indefiniteness of the residuary inheritance leaves room for surmise. +A curious reference, not, it seems to me, hitherto sufficiently noted, +occurs in the Burbage Case of 1635. Cuthbert, Winifred, the widow of +Richard, and William his son, recite facts concerning their father +James, who was the first builder of playhouses. "And to ourselves we +joined those deserving men, _Shakspere_, Hemings, Condell, Phillips, and +others, _partners[172] in the profittes of that they call the House_; +but _makeing the leases for twenty-one yeares hath been the destruction +of ourselves and others_, for _they dying at the expiration of three or +four yeares of their lease, the subsequent yeeres became dissolved to +strangers, as by marrying with their widdowes and the like by their +children_." + +If Shakespeare's "lease" had not then expired, which seems to me +implied, it would have been "dissolved to a stranger" in the person of +Dr. Hall. + +Some ready money would be required for the carrying out of the will. +Three hundred pounds left to Judith, and £73 13s. 4d. in smaller +bequests, would certainly run up to £400 by the payment of debts and +funeral expenses. The eagerness to leave all land to his own children is +another proof of Shakespeare's earnest desire to found a family. + +Shakespeare did not immediately die after the signing of his will. +Probably the devoted care of his wife and daughters and the skill of his +son-in-law soothed his dying moments. But one cannot but have a lurking +suspicion of maltreatment through the crude medical notions of the time: +of bleeding when there should have been feeding; of vile medicines when +Nature should have been supported and not undermined by art. At all +events, Dr. John Hall had not the happiness and honour to record the +name of his illustrious father-in-law in his book of "Cures."[173] This +was the one great failure of his life. + +[Illustration: THE CHANCEL, TRINITY CHURCH. + +_To face p. 83._] + +The April 23 on which Shakespeare closed his eyes completed his cycle of +fifty-two years, according to ordinary reckoning. But strangely enough +there is entered on his tombstone "Ætatis 53," and this suggests that he +had been born on April 22. No records of his funeral have come down to +us, but it must have made a stir in his native place. He was a native of +the town, known to all in his youth, and loved by many. Yet, on the +other hand, he had offended all the traditions of the borough. He had +descended from the safe levels of trade to the vagabond life of a +"common player," especially detested in Stratford-on-Avon (see notes); +he had made money somehow in the city, and had returned to spend it in +his native town, but he had never taken office, and had never been "one +of them." And at the end he was to be buried in the Chancel, the select +spot for nobles and prelates and "great men." Verily the tongues of the +gossips of Stratford would wag on April 25, 1616. The authorship of the +doggerel lines on his tomb has been attributed to various people. +Probably they were a part of the stock-in-trade of the stone-cutter, +that satisfied Shakespeare's widow as expressing a known wish of her +"dear departed." Rude as they are, they have fulfilled their end: + + "Good Frend, for Jesus' sake forbeare + To digg the dust encloased here; + Bleste be the man that spares thes stones, + And curst be he that moves my bones." + +Meanwhile Shakespeare's friends had been planning a monument to be +placed on the northern wall of the Chancel. The bust is said to have +been prepared from a death-mask, and to have been sculptured by one +Gerard Johnson, son and successor of the Amsterdam tomb-maker, whose +place of business lay between St. Saviour's Church and the Globe +Theatre. He may be presumed to have frequently seen Shakespeare in his +lifetime. The exact date of its erection is not known, but it would seem +to have been some time before 1623, as Leonard Digges refers to it in +his poem prefixed to the First Folio, "To the Memorie of the deceased +Authour, Maister W. Shakespeare": + + "Shakespeare, at length thy pious fellowes give + The World thy Workes--thy Workes, by which outlive + Thy touche thy name must; when that stone is rent, + And Time dissolves thy Stratford monument, + Here we alive shall view thee still." + +Crude and inartistic as it is, the bust must have had some likeness in +its earlier days to have satisfied critical eyes; but it has passed +through so many vicissitudes, and suffered so much restoration, that the +likeness may have entirely vanished by this time. Nevertheless, it +remains a witness to the affection of the surviving, and a witness, +Puritans though they were, that it was on account of the power of _his +pen_ that he deserved special remembrance. + +Upon a mural tablet are other verses, which would seem not to have been +composed by his own friends, as they speak of Shakespeare's lying +"within this monument." Whoever wrote them, the family accepted them, +and the world has endorsed them: + +[Illustration] + +William Camden had finished his "Britannia" by 1617 (commenced in 1597), +printed in 1625. He says of Stratford Church: "In the chancel lies +William Shakespeare, a native of this place, who has given ample proof +of his genius and great abilities in the forty-eight plays he has left +behind him." + +It is evident that the First Folio, 1623, was _intended_ by his +"fellows" at the Globe to stand as their monument to his memory, built +of the plays that had become their private property by purchase. The +verses that preface it, written by W. Basse, suggest that Shakespeare +should have been buried by Chaucer, Spenser, Beaumont, in the Poets' +Corner of Westminster Abbey. But the author withdraws his wish. + + "Sleep, Brave Tragedian, Shakspere, sleep alone + Thy unmolested rest, unshared cave + Possess as Lord, not tenant to thy grave," etc. + +Archy's "Banquet of Jests," printed in 1630, tells of one travelling +through Stratford, "a town most remarkable for the birth of famous +William Shakespeare." In the same year is said to have been written +Milton's memorable epitaph (printed 1632), a noble testimony from the +Puritan genius to the power of his play-acting brother: + + "What needs my Shakspere for his honoured bones, + The labour of an age in pilèd stones? + Or that his hallowed reliques should be hid + Under a star y-pointing pyramid? + Dear son of memory, great heir of fame, + What needst thou such weak witness of thy fame? + Thou, in our wonder and astonishment, + Hast built thyself a live-long monument," etc. + +By 1651 had already been suggested an annual commemoration of his life +in Samuel Sheppard's "Epigram on Shakspere," verse 6: + + "Where thy honoured bones do lie, + As Statius once to Maro's urn, + Thither every year will I + Slowly tread and sadly turn." + +The State Papers even show the appreciation of his age.[174] But I was +pleased to find that the first recorded _student_ of Shakespeare was a +woman. On January 21, 1638,[175] Madam Anne Merrick, in the country, +wrote to a friend in London that she could not come to town, but "must +content herself with the study of Shakespeare and the 'History of +Women,'" which seem to have constituted all her country library. The +Judges of King Charles I. reproached him with the _study_ of +Shakespeare's Plays.[176] + +These records also contain a bookseller's (Mr. Moseley's) account[177] +for books, probably provided to Lord Conway, among which are "Ben +Jonson's poems, 6d., Beaumont's poems, 6d., Shakespeare's poems, 1/-," +etc. + +Other references to Shakespeare's works occur in the same records. But +as this is not intended as a literary biography, I forbear to reproduce +them now. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[136] Bearley Registers. + +[137] Worcester Marriage Licenses. + +[138] Francis Throgmorton, son and heir of Sir John Throgmorton, of +Feckenham, to Anne Sutton, alias Dudley, daughter of Sir Edward Sutton, +June 3, 1571. See my "Shakespeare's Warwickshire Contemporaries," p. +111. + +[139] See July 13, 1895, p. 67. + +[140] "Shakespeare's Warwickshire Contemporaries," ii., p. 12. Sir +Thomas had no park, and Justice Shallow bore no resemblance to him, etc. + +[141] _Ibid._, vi., p. 48; also _Athenæum_, February 8, 1896, p. 190. + +[142] "Shakespeare's Warwickshire Contemporaries," i. Richard Field, +Stratford-on-Avon Press. + +[143] Greene's "Groatsworth of Wit." + +[144] See my articles "The Date of the Sonnets," _Athenæum_, March 19 +and 26, 1898, pp. 374, 403, and "Mr. W. H.," August 4, 1900, p. 154. + +[145] Sonnets CX. and CXI. + +[146] See my English article (reprinted) "The Earliest Official Record +of Shakespeare's Name," "Shakespeare Jahrbuch," vol. xxxii., Berlin, +1896. + +[147] Declared Accounts, Treasury Chamber, Pipe Office, 542. + +[148] August 11, 1596 (Stratford Burial Register). + +[149] William Underhill, the Lord of Idlicote (by Barton-on-the-Heath), +conveyed New Place to Shakespeare at Easter, 1597, and died in July of +that year. His son Fulke died without issue, and his brother Hercules, +who succeeded, being under age, did not complete the transfer till 1602. + +[150] Meres' "Wit's Treasury," second part of "Wit's Commonwealth." + +[151] From the original at the birthplace, Stratford-on-Avon. + +[152] Greenway was the Stratford carrier. + +[153] State Papers, Dom. Ser., Eliz., cclx. 116. + +[154] The Burbage and Benfield Case, the Lord Chamberlain's Papers, +1635, P.R.O. See also Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," i. 312, and +Fleay, "Hist. of Stage," p. 325. + +[155] See Accounts of Treasurer of the Chamber, etc. + +[156] Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," i. 205; ii. 19. Court Rolls of +Rowington. + +[157] State Papers, Dom. Ser., Eliz., Subsidy List., 1605. + +[158] The title-page of "Hamlet" (Stat. Reg., July 26, 1602) implies +that the company had been travelling to Oxford and Cambridge. + +[159] See Dibden's "History of the Edinburgh Stage." + +[160] See my own paper on "The Scottish and English +Macbeth."--"Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature," 1897. + +[161] Rymer's "Foedera," V. xvi. 505. + +[162] Nichols's "Progresses of James I.," vol. i. + +[163] See Letters and Proclamations in State Papers, Domestic Series, of +the time. + +[164] Dec. Acc. Treasurer of the Chamber (November, 1603-4). + +[165] Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," i. 212. + +[166] Ben Jonson's verses, 1623, folio. + +[167] Fleay's "Life of Shakespeare," p. 7. + +[168] This deed is preserved in the Guildhall Library, and an account of +it appears in the _Antiquary_, New Series, iv. 204. + +[169] See Dr. Ingleby, "Shakespeare and the Welcombe Enclosures." + +[170] Worcester Bishops' Books. + +[171] Justice Shallow tells Anne Page that his cousin Slender will +maintain her as a gentlewoman: "He will make you a hundred and fifty +pounds jointure."--_The Merry Wives of Windsor_, III., 4. + +[172] See Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," i. 312. + +[173] See next chapter, p. 98. + +[174] See Dr. Ingleby's "Century of Praise," and my own +"Bacon-Shakespeare Question Answered." + +[175] State Papers, Domestic Series, Charles I., 409 (167). + +[176] J. Cooke's appeal to all rational men, 1649. + +[177] _Ibid._, 478 (16). + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +SHAKESPEARE'S DESCENDANTS + + +William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, of a respectable family, +supposed to be of Shottery. He had three children: Susanna, and Hamnet +and Judith, twins. The boy died young, in 1596, _before_ the grant of +arms was completed. Anne Hathaway is described as of Stratford in the +marriage bond, but so were Fulk Sandells and John Richardson, the +bondsmen, known to be of Shottery. Indeed, the village lay within the +parish of Stratford. + +Gwillim mentions arms,[178] "Sable, a bugle, or hunter's horn, garnished +and furnished argent. This coat-armour is of very ancient erection in +the church of Rewardine, in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, and +pertained to the family of Hatheway of the same place." Again he says, +"Paleways of six, Argent and sable, on a bend Or, three pheons[179] of +the second, by the name of Hatheway."[180] + +The Hathaways from whom Anne Shakespeare descended have not been proved +to be of the Gloucestershire stock, nor is it absolutely certain to +which of the three Shottery families she belonged. In the Warwickshire +Survey (Philip and Mary) it is stated that John Hathaway held part of a +property at Shottery, called Hewlands, by copy of Court Roll dated April +20, 1542. He was possibly the same as the archer of that name, mentioned +in the Muster Roll 28 Henry VIII., and was probably father of the +Richard befriended by John Shakespeare in 1566. The Stratford registers +record the birth of Thomas, son of Richard Hathaway, April 12, 1569; +John, February 3, 1574, and William, November 30, 1578. Anne Hathaway, +we know, from the words on her tombstone, must have been born before the +register commenced (1558). There is not another Agnes, or Anne, recorded +that could represent the legatee of Richard Hathaway's will of +September, 1581. To his eldest son, Bartholomew, he left the farm,[181] +to be carried on with his mother; to his second and third sons, Thomas +and John, he left £6 13s. 4d. each; to his fourth son, William, £10; to +his daughters, Agnes (or Anne) and Catherine, £6 13s. 4d., to be paid on +the day of their marriage; and to his youngest daughter, Margaret, £6 +13s. 4d. when she was seventeen. Witnessed by Sir William Gilbert, clerk +and curate of Stratford. + +The farm was not a freehold; Bartholomew did not become its owner until +1610, when he purchased it from William Whitmore and John Randall. +Richard Hathaway mentions in his will his "shepherd, Thomas Whittington +of Shottery." This man died in 1601, and by his will bequeathed to the +poor "Forty shillings that is in the hand of Anne Shaxspere, wife unto +Mr. Wyllyam Shaxspere, and is debt due to me." It was a common custom of +the days before savings-banks, for poor earners to deposit their savings +in the charge of rich and trustworthy friends, and this little link +seems to associate Anne Shakespeare doubly with that particular family +of Hathaways. + +[Illustration: ANNE HATHAWAY'S COTTAGE. + +_To face p. 88._] + +Shakespeare does not mention any of his wife's relatives in his will, +but that does not necessarily imply coldness of feeling. Dr. John Hall, +his son-in-law, was made overseer of Bartholomew Hathaway's will in +1621, and in 1625 he was one of the trustees at the marriage of Isabel, +his granddaughter, the daughter of Richard Hathaway of Bridge Street. A +Richard is mentioned in the registers as being baptized in 1559 (but it +is not clear that he was the son of this Richard or of Bartholomew), who +became a baker in Bridge Street, an important member of the Town +Council, and Constable in 1605. He was elected High Bailiff of Stratford +in 1526, and was styled "gent." Many of the name are buried in Trinity +Church, Stratford. + +In the rather remarkable testament of Thomas Nash,[182] first husband of +Shakespeare's only granddaughter, Elizabeth, he left £50 to Elizabeth +Hathaway, £50 to Thomas Hathaway, and £10 to Judith Hathaway. His wife +also remembered them, as will be afterwards shown. William Hathaway, of +Weston-upon-Avon, in the county of Gloucester, yeoman, and Thomas +Hathaway, of Stratford-upon-Avon, joiner, were parties to the New Place +settlement of 1647. + +All this shows that the Shakespeares were not ashamed of their mother's +relatives. We do not know anything about Anne Shakespeare after her +husband's death until we reach the record of her own, "August 8th, 1623, +Mrs. Shakespeare."[183] + +Tradition says that she earnestly desired to be buried in her husband's +grave. The survivors were not able to secure this, but they buried her +as near him as they could. Her daughter Susanna's grief is recorded in +touching lines, probably Latinized by Dr. Hall, placed on her tombstone: + +[Illustration] + + "Thou, my mother, gave me life, thy breast and milk; alas! + for such great bounty to me I shall give thee a tomb. How + much rather I would entreat the good angel to move the + stone, so that thy figure might come forth, as did the body + of Christ; but my prayers avail nothing. Come quickly, O + Christ; so that my mother, closed in the tomb, may rise + again and seek the stars."[184] + +Of Anne Shakespeare's children we have already spoken. Susannah was born +May 26, 1583, Hamnet and Judith, February 2, 1584-85. Hamnet--surely the +model of Shakespeare's sweet boys--had died on August 11, 1596. So the +name Shakespeare had glorified was doomed to die with himself, and was +not to be borne by lesser men. His property the poet could and did +devise. + +Much discussion has taken place concerning the poet's views of his +younger daughter and her marriage. I do not think these views at all +supported by his will. Three hundred pounds was a very large portion +indeed at the time. It was demised to her doubtless before her marriage, +but it was not altered in relation to her after her marriage. It would +be hard indeed to believe that such a ceremony, even without a license, +could be performed in the gossipy town of Stratford without the news of +it somehow reaching the father's ears, if there had been any attempt +really to deceive. There is no reason to imagine Shakespeare disapproved +of the alliance. The young man came of an old Stratford family. It is +possible, however, that the poet foresaw a certain degree of instability +of character in the youth, and therefore wished to make his will act as +a marriage settlement that would secure his daughter from starvation. +The second half of his bequest might only be touched by her husband, if +he had settled on her land of equal value. This Thomas Quiney does not +seem to have done. + +Richard Quiney had died 1601-2, and his widow Elizabeth kept a tavern, +in which she was probably at one time assisted by her younger son +Thomas. In December, 1611, she conveyed a house to William Mountford for +£131, and Judith Shakespeare was a subscribing witness. But neither she +nor her future mother-in-law signed their names, nor even the customary +cross, but a strangely-penned device of their own. Thomas Quiney lived +in a small house in the High Street until after his marriage. It was +probably his wife's money that enabled him to lease the larger house on +the other side, called "The Cage," and to start therein business as a +vintner. + +At first he was successful. He was made a burgess in 1617, and was +Chamberlain from 1621 to 1623. His accounts for the latter year are +headed by a French proverb, as to the happiness of those who become wise +through the experience of others, that might have had an opposite +meaning to his contemporaries. It shows us that he could not only read +and write English, but at least a little French. By 1630 he was involved +in lawsuits, left the town council, and tried to dispose of the lease of +his house. In 1633 Dr. Hall and Thomas Nash acted as trustees for his +estate. His fortunes seemed to have become worse and worse. In 1652 he +went to the Metropolis, where his elder brother Richard was a thriving +grocer in Bucklersbury, in company with Roger Sadler. Richard, in +August, 1655,[185] made a will, in which he left, besides handsome +provision for his children--Richard, Adrian, Thomas, William and +Sarah--his brother Thomas £12 a year for life, and £5 for the expenses +of his funeral, out of his messuages at Shottery. The Quiney coat of +arms is entered among those of the London burgesses at Guildhall,[186] +"Mr. Quiney of ye Red Lyon in Bucklersbury." + +The family of Thomas Quiney and his wife Judith was not a large one. In +the year that the poet died they christened their eldest son, "Shaksper, +filius Thomas Quyny gent.," November 23, 1616. But the child died in a +few months. On May 8, 1617, was buried "Shakespere, filius Thomas Quyny, +gent." + +On February 9, 1617-18, "Richard filius Thomas Quinee" was baptized, and +on January 23, 1619-20, "Thomas, filius Thomas Queeny." These lads may +have followed to the grave their grandmother, Mrs. Shakespeare, and +their uncle, Dr. Hall; and they may have been present at the marriage of +their cousin, Mrs. Elizabeth Hall, to Mr. Thomas Nash. But they died +within a month of each other, probably of some infectious fever, the +younger first--"Thomas filius Thomæ Quiney, Jan. 28th, 1638-9"; +"Richardus filius Tho. Quiney, Feb. 26th, 1638-9." There were no other +children, and no prospect of more, and these early deaths affected the +devolution of the poet's property, as may hereafter be seen. + +Unfortunately, we know nothing concerning Dr. John Hall before his +marriage to the poet's elder daughter Susanna on June 5, 1607, he being +then thirty-two and she twenty-five. He cannot have been the son of Dr. +John Hall, of Maidstone, Kent, whose translation of Lanfranc's +"Chirurgerie," with portrait of the translator, appeared in 1565. He +would have been an eminently suitable father, distinguished alike in his +art and his character, author of "The Court of Virtue," and many +metrical Bible translations; but he died in 1566, and the Stratford Dr. +John Hall was born in 1575. Halliwell-Phillipps[187] suggests that he +may have been connected with the Halls of Acton, Middlesex, because he +left his only daughter his "house and meadow at Acton." A John Hall was +married in that parish, it is true, on September 19, 1574,[188] to +Margaret Archer. But he had a daughter Elizabeth christened on June 5, +1575, about the very date at which the Stratford "John" must have been +born. Any connection, therefore, must have been further off than filial, +and the name is too common to be easily followed. + +There were Halls in Worcester,[189] in Rowington, and in Coventry, and +it may be remembered that a John Hall supplanted Richard Shakespeare as +Bailiff of the Priory of Wroxall during the last year of its existence. +There was a Richard Hall of Stratford in the list of the gentry 12 Henry +VI., 1433. There was also a Richard Hall, gentleman,[190] of Idlicote, +in the sixteenth century, who seems to have moved about a good deal, as +there is a record of "Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Hall, Generosus, +bapt. February 14th, 1560," at Idlicote, and of "Maria filia Richardi +Hall, Generosus, March 17th, 1561," in Stratford. I have not traced any +of the name of John christened in Idlicote or elsewhere at the date. + +The Idlicote Halls were suspected recusants, as may be proved by the +search made in their house when Edward Arden was dragged away from Park +Hall in 1583.[191] There was a "Mr. Hall" Alderman of Stratford 1558, +and in 1575 Edmund Hall and Emma his wife sold two messuages to John +Shakespeare. Were they contemplating going abroad at the time? They are +not further referred to in Stratford records. In a manuscript of the +British Museum a table is sketched of the Halls of Henwick in Hallow. +John Hall of Henwick had a son Thomas, who married, first, Anne, +daughter of William Staple, and, second, a daughter of Hardwick. He had +at least two sons, John, who married Margaret, daughter of William +Grovelight, of London, and Edmund, who married Emma, daughter of +----(?). John had Edward, Anne, Elizabeth, and Emma, and the descendants +of Edmund are not entered.[192] Catholicism might have been a reason for +realizing their property and going abroad. + +Now, John Hall expressly calls himself a Master of Arts, though his name +is not recorded in the Books of the English Universities. He would not +have done so had he not taken his degree. It possibly might have been in +Paris, and he might have followed it up with foreign study. This would +quite accord with his appearance in Stratford after the death of +Elizabeth. A Warwickshire gentle origin[193] may somewhat account for +the degree of intimacy he seems to have had with the county families, +both Puritan and Catholic. His fame as a physician rapidly spread. He +resided in a house in Old Town, on the way from the church to the +chapel. His only daughter, Elizabeth, was baptized at Stratford on +February 21, 1607-8,[194] during her grandfather's (William +Shakespeare's) life. His name occurs in the town records in 1611,[195] +among the supporters to a Highway Bill, and he leased from the +Corporation a small stretch of wooded land on the outskirts of the town +in 1612. He must have remained on friendly terms with his father-in-law, +as he and his wife Susanna were left residuary legatees and executors of +Shakespeare's will, which he proved in June of that year, in the +Archbishop of Canterbury's Registry at London. + +He shortly afterwards moved to New Place, beside his mother-in-law, +where the vestry notes of February 3, 1617-1618, record him as resident. +He was elected a Burgess of Stratford in 1617, and again in 1623, but +was excused from taking office on account of his professional +engagements. On April 22, 1626, Mr. Thomas Nash married his daughter, +Mrs. Elizabeth Hall. Hall gave the church a costly new pulpit, and in +1628 was appointed a borough churchwarden, in 1629 a sidesman, and in +1632 was compelled to become a burgess, and was soon after fined for +non-attendance at the council meetings. + +In 1633 he was made the Vicar's churchwarden, and in that year the +Vicar, Thomas Wilson, induced him to join in a Chancery action against +the town. He was already in trouble with his fellow councillors, who in +October of that year expelled him for his "breach of orders, sundry +other misdemeanours, and for his continual disturbance at our Halles." +Evidently Dr. John had opinions of his own, and had the courage to +express them. He was a deeply religious man, and, though he has been +supposed to have shown Puritan tendencies in later life, it was a +Puritanism that did not eschew Catholicism. His was a religion of +constant reference to the Unseen. He was always a helper of those in +trouble for conscience' sake; and probably this was the reason he +supported the unpopular Vicar. + +Shortly after, in 1635, there was a petition sent up from the +Corporation of Stratford for their wives to have the pew in Stratford +Church occupied by Dr. Hall, his wife, and his son-in-law and his wife. +Each family had a pew at each side of the church, while there was not +room for the burgesses' wives to sit or kneel in. It was true that the +said Mr. Hall had been a great benefactor to the church, and the Bishop +of the diocese had appointed him his pew; but his family were asked to +choose which of their large pews they preferred to keep, along with Mrs. +Woodward and Mrs. Lane, so that they might allow the aldermen's wives to +have the other. + +John Hall died on November 25, 1635, and was buried next day in the +chancel of the parish church, though he had already disposed of the +lease of the tithes purchased by his father-in-law. + +The burial register of the next day describes him as "Medicus +Peritissimus." By a nuncupative will, he left a house in London to his +wife, a house in Acton and a meadow to his daughter Elizabeth, and his +study of books to his son-in-law Thomas Nash. The manuscripts he would +have given to Mr. Boles had he been present, but Nash was to keep them +and use them as he pleased. It is probable that Mr. Boles was Richard +Boles, Rector of Whitnash, not far from Stratford--an eccentric person, +a writer of epitaphs, who had set up his own in his church while he yet +lived.[196] + +On the monumental slab of Dr. Hall is a shield of arms: "Sable, three +talbots' heads erased or" for Hall, impaling Shakespeare or on a bend +"sable, a spear of the first, the point steeled." "Here lyeth ye Body of +John Hall, gent: Hee marr: Susanna ye daughter and coheire of Will: +Shakespeare, gent., Hee deceased Nov^r 25, Anno 1635, aged 60. + + "Hallius sic situs est, medica celeberrimus arte + Expectans regni Gaudia læta Dei; + Dignus erat meritis qui nestora vinceret annis, + In terris omnes, sed capit æqua dies; + Ne tumulo quid desit adest fidessima conjux + Est vitæ comitem nunc quoq. mortis habet."[197] + +It has been thought that this proves the epitaph was not written until +after Mrs. Hall's death. She may have wished the words set up, to +determine her resting-place; or Mr. Boles may have helped Thomas Nash +with the Latin. + +After his death his son-in-law, Thomas Nash, came to reside at New +Place, and took the position of head of the family. Indeed, in one of +his letters he speaks of "Mrs. Hall, my mother-in-law, who lives with +me." But the house and everything in it, saving the study of books, +belonged to Mrs. Hall, of course. + +We know nothing of the nature or the fate of the bulk of these +manuscripts, though many have longed to trace them. Possibly among them, +though it is not likely (being in bound volumes) were two notebooks of +Dr. John Hall's observations, from which James Cooke, a physician +introduced later to Mrs. Hall, translated the materials for a little +book entitled, "Select Observations on English Bodies; or, Cures both +Empericall and Historicall Performed on very Eminent Persons in +Desperate Diseases, first written in Latine by Mr. John Hall, Physician +living at Stratford-on-Avon in Warwickshire where he was very famous, as +also in the counties adjacent, as appears by these observations, drawn +out of severall hundreds of his as choycest, now put into English for +common benefit by James Cooke, practitioner in Physick and Surgery, +1657." Cooke, in the introduction, relates the strange manner in which +he became possessed of them, Mrs. Hall not knowing they were in her +husband's handwriting, and, believing they were part of a poor scholar's +mortgage, transferred them to him with other books. Cooke used the books +as guides in his own practice, and then expanded the contractions, +translated and published them, "being acquainted with his apothecary." +It is no slight compliment to a physician to have his cures published +twenty-two years after his death, and to have them run through more than +one edition. Cooke mentions: "Mr. John Hall had the happiness to lead +the way to that practice almost generally used now by the most knowing +of mixing scorbutics to most remedies." It is to Cooke we owe +information concerning Hall's education abroad; concerning the +physician, his relative, on terms of intimacy with Mrs. Hall, who +introduced him to New Place; and concerning the "other book" of Dr. John +Hall, also prepared for the press. We wonder what it contained. + +The book published by Cooke records only _cures_. We are inclined to +echo, "Where are they that were drowned?" Doubtless Hall had attended +his father-in-law in his last illness, but his skill and affection were +not sufficient to save him. And because of this failure, we do not know +the symptoms shown by the poet after the traditional "merrymaking with +Ben Jonson and Drayton," when later gossips say he "drank too much." The +earliest _dated_ cure is 1617. But is it too much to imagine that the +undated illness of Drayton, recorded in "Obs. XXII.," occurred at the +same time as the death of the poet? Was he at any later time ill in +Warwickshire, and likely to be attended by Dr. John Hall? "Mr. Drayton, +an excellent poet, labouring of a Tertian, was cured by the following +treatment." Let us suppose it was April, 1616, and it may account for +the poet's illness, otherwise than by over-drinking. + +In "Obs. XIX." Hall mentions without date an illness of his wife, Mrs. +Hall. "Obs. XXXVI." concerns his only daughter, and supports my opinion +of a constitutional delicacy of Anne Hathaway and her family. It is not +insignificant that her grandchild should suffer from "tortura oris," or +convulsions of the mouth, and ophthalmia. She was cured of one attack on +January 5, 1624. In the beginning of April she went to London, and on +returning on the 22nd of the same month, she took cold, and fell into +the same distemper, which affected the other side of her face. This +second time, "By the blessing of God, she was cured in sixteen days." +But on May 24 of the same year she was struck down with an erratic +fever. Sometimes she was hot, by-and-by sweating, again cold, all in the +space of half an hour. Her father's treatment again healed her; "the +symptoms remitted daily till she was well, thus was she delivered from +death and deadly diseases, and was well for many years." Many other +familiar names occur in this volume--"Mrs. Queeny," Mrs. Smith, Mr. +Wilson, Mrs. Throgmorton, Mrs. Sheldon, Mrs. Greene, John Nason, the +Underhills, Mrs. Baker, Dr. Thornbery, Bishop of Worcester (aged +eighty-six on February 1, 1633), Mrs. Combe, Katherine Sturley, "Mrs. +Grace Court, wife to my apothecary." In "Obs. LXIV." he speaks of +treating "the only son of Mr. Holyoake, which framed the dictionary." +"Obs. LXXXII.," Book II., records the restoration from the gates of +death of Mr. John Trapp, minister; and Obs. "LX.," Book II., gives an +account of Hall's own dangerous illness in 1632, when his anxious wife +sent for two physicians, who pulled him through; and he records his +prayer to God on the occasion. We must not forget that this was the date +of his quarrel with the Corporation. + +The death of the young Quineys in 1638-39 affected the details of the +poet's will; for it may be remembered the property was settled on +Susanna Hall and her heirs male, failing whom, on the heirs male of +Elizabeth Hall, failing whom, on the heirs male of Judith, in default of +such heirs male, on the right heirs of William Shakespeare for ever. The +failure in the heirs male of Judith therefore entitled Elizabeth Nash to +the full inheritance as heir-general, and within a few weeks after the +unexpected death of her cousins, Susanna Hall, widow, joined with Mr. +and Mrs. Nash, May 27, 1639, in making a new settlement of Shakespeare's +entails on Mrs. Hall for life, after whom on Mr. and Mrs. Nash, and _the +longer liver of them_, after them, to the heirs of their body, and in +default of such, to the heirs of the said Elizabeth. Should she die +first without heirs, the property was secured to the _heirs and assignes +of the said Thomas Nash_, a reversion certainly not fair to Joan Hart, +the poet's sister, and her children. Still, it all seemed too far off to +consider. To this document Mrs. Hall appended her signature and her +seal, with the arms of Shakespeare impaled with those of Hall. + +Thomas Nash seemed to have believed this fully settled everything on +himself, and that he was likely to outlive his mother-in-law and his +wife, for on August 20, 1642, he executed, without his wife's sanction +or knowledge, a mysterious will, that afterwards led to trouble. + +The importance of New Place, the largest house in the town, and the +liberality and loyalty of its owners, were curiously signalized in the +following year. Queen Henrietta Maria, in July, 1643, marched from +Newark to Kineton by way of Stratford, where she was reinforced by +Prince Rupert and 2,000 men. She held her court for three days[198] in +Shakespeare's house, probably accompanied by only her immediate personal +attendants. On July 13, the Queen and Prince Rupert moved off to meet +the King in the vale of Kineton near Edgehill.[199] + +Thomas Nash died on April 4, 1647, and was buried in the chancel beside +Shakespeare. "Heere resteth ye body of Thomas Nashe Esq. He mar. +Elizabeth, the daug. and Heire of John Halle, gent. He died Aprill 4, A. +1647. Aged 53. + + "Fata manent omnes, hunc non virtute carentem + ut neque divitiis, abstulit atra dies + Abstulit at referet lux ultima; siste, viator, + si peritura paras per male parta peris." + +The coat of arms was double quarterly of four, First, 1 and 4 argent on +a chevron between three ravens' heads erased azure, a pellet between 4 +cross-crosslets sable, for Nash; 2 and 3 sable a buck's head caboshed +argent attired or, between his horns a cross patée, and across his mouth +an arrow, Bulstrode. Second, 1 and 4, for Hall, 2 and 3 Shakespeare. + +When the notable will was opened, and proved in the following June, the +widow declined to follow out its provisions as concerned her own +property, which Thomas Nash had treated as if entirely his own. "Item, I +give, dispose and bequeath, unto my Kinsman Edward Nash, and to his +heires and assignes for ever, one messuage or tenement with the +appurtenances comonly called or knowne by the name of The New Place ... +together with all and singular howses, outhowses, barnes, stables, +orchards, gardens, etc, esteemed or enjoyed as thereto belonging ... +also fower yards of arable land meadowe and pasture ... in old +Stratford, and also one other tenement with the appurtenances in the +parish of ---- London; called or known by the name of the Wardropp, and +now in the tenure of one ---- Dickes." + +Mrs. Nash had soldiers quartered on her at New Place during the very +month of her husband's death, one of whom was implicated in the robbery +of deer from the park of Sir Greville Verney on April 30, 1647. But she +did not fail in legal knowledge of what she ought to do under the +unexpected provisions of her husband's will, of which she was left sole +executrix and residuary legatee. She and her mother combined in levying +a fine on the property,[200] and reconveying it to the sole use of her +mother and herself, and their heirs for ever. She was not yet +thirty-nine years of age, and did not feel inclined even then to take it +for granted she would not marry again, even if Edward Nash agreed, as he +could be made to agree, that his inheritance could only come to him on +her decease without issue. + +But Edward Nash did not like her proceedings, and filed a Bill in +Chancery on February, 1647-48, against Elizabeth Nash, and other +legatees, to compel them to produce his uncle's will in court, and +execute its provisions. Mrs. Nash admitted its contents, but averred the +testator had no power to demise property which had belonged to her +grandfather, and had been left to herself. She explained that her mother +was still living, and that in conjunction they had levied the fine. She +only disputed that part of her husband's will concerning her own +property, and mentioned her deeds and evidences. Her answer was taken by +commission, at Stratford, in April, 1648, and in June it was ordered +that the defendants should bring into court the will and other +evidences, and the writ was personally served on Mrs. Nash. + +The will of Thomas Nash was produced before the Examiners in Chancery in +November, but Mrs. Nash defied all orders concerning the other +"evidences," as may be seen from the affidavit filed at the Six Clerks' +Office in December, 1649. She was brave in her determination that her +own rights and her mother's should not be assailed, and she was perhaps +prudent in her opinion that the fewer papers that were produced the +shorter time would the suit last. No replication or decree is recorded. +The litigation apparently terminated in a compromise, doubtless hastened +by Mrs. Nash's second marriage. Perhaps Edward Nash by this time +realized the injustice or the impracticability of his claim. The only +further allusion to it occurs in Lady Barnard's will.[201] She directs +her trustees to dispose of New Place with the proviso "that my loving +cousin, Edward Nash, Esq., shall have the first offer or refusal +thereof, according to _my promise formerly made to him_." + +Elizabeth Nash married Mr. John Barnard, of Abington, Northamptonshire, +at Billesley, a village four miles from Stratford, June 5, 1649, where +the Trussels resided. Why did she go there to be married? A puzzling +question indeed, which cannot be answered by the register, as it is +lost. Whether her marriage weakened her mother's health, or whether the +state of her mother's health had hastened her marriage, we know not; but +a month later, on July 11, 1649, Mrs. Hall died, and, being buried +beside her husband on the 16th, _made his tomb complete_. The Latin +scholars of the family were all gone, and it is not too much to suppose +that Elizabeth herself, Shakespeare's grandchild, composed her mother's +epitaph: + +"Here lyeth the body of Susanna, wife of John Hall, gent., the daughter +of William Shakespeare, gent. She deceased the 11 day of July, Anno +1649, aged 66. + + "Witty above her sex, but that's not all, + Wise to Salvation was good Mistress Hall, + Something of Shakespeare was in that, but this + Wholly of him with whom she's now in blisse. + Then, passenger, hast nere a tear + To weep with her that wept with all + That wept, yet set herself to chere + Them up with comforts cordiall? + Her love shall live, her mercy spread + When thou hast nere a tear to shed." + +A lozenge bore the arms of Hall and Shakespeare impaled. In the early +part of last century these verses were erased to make space for the +record of the death of one Richard Watts, who owned some of the tithes +and had the right to be buried in the chancel. But they, fortunately, +had been preserved by Dugdale;[202] and in 1844 the Watts record was +erased and Mrs. Hall's verses restored. + +Her death limited Shakespeare's descendants to two--Judith Quiney, +daughter, and Elizabeth Barnard, granddaughter. A fine was levied on New +Place in 1650, in which John Barnard and Henry Smith were made trustees +to the settlement of 1647, instead of Richard Lane and William Smith. In +1652 a new settlement was made, devising it to the use of John Barnard +and his wife, and the longer liver of them, to the heirs of the body of +Elizabeth, failing whom to any persons she might name. In default of +such nomination, the property was to go to the right heirs of the +survivor. A fine was again levied on this settlement. Mr. John Barnard +was knighted by Charles II. in 1661. The Stratford Register of 1661-62 +records the death of Elizabeth's aunt, Judith, "uxor Thomas Quiney, +gent., Feb. 9th, 1661-2." The use of the word "uxor" is no certain proof +that he was alive at the time. + +Judith's death, at the age of seventy-seven, left Lady Elizabeth Barnard +the poet's sole survivor. She had no children by her second marriage, +about which we have no other detail. It has been surmised that it was +not a happy one. Sir John Barnard was a widower, and had already a +family. There is no mention of this family in Lady Barnard's will, and a +limitation to the barest law and justice towards her husband, whom she +did not leave her executor. The will was drawn up on January 29, +1669-70, and she died at Abington in February. "Madam Elizabeth Bernard, +wife of Sir John Bernard, Knight, was buried 17th Feb., 1669-70."[203] +No sepulchral monument was raised in memory of the granddaughter and +heir of Shakespeare, but she probably lay in the same tomb as her +husband, who died in 1674. A memorial slab still remains to his memory +in Abington Church, but the place of his burial is unknown, and the +vault below this stone is used by another family. + +By his death his wife's will[204] came into force, written while she was +still "in perfect memory--blessed be God!--and mindful of mortality." +She recounted the settlement of April 18, 1653, to which the trustees +were Henry Smith, of Stratford, gent., and Job Dighton, of the Middle +Temple, London, Esquire. Henry Smith, her surviving trustee, or his +heirs, six months after the death of her husband, Sir John Barnard, was +to sell New Place, giving the first offer to her loving cousin, Edward +Nash, and the money was to be used in legacies. Her cousin, Thomas +Welles, of Carleton, in county Bedford, was to have £50 if he be alive, +and if he be dead, her kinsman, Edward Bagley, citizen of London, was to +receive the amount. How she was connected with these men I have been +unable to find out. "Judith Hathaway, one of the daughters of my +kinsman, Thomas Hathaway, late of Stratford," £5 a year or £40 in hand. +Unto Joane, the wife of Edward Kent, another daughter of the said Thomas +Hathaway, £50, failing whom to her heir, _Edward Kent the younger_, at +his coming of age. To this same Edward Kent she left £30 for his +apprenticeship. To Rose, Elizabeth, and Susanna, three other "daughters +of my kinsman, Thomas Hathaway, £40 a piece." Henry Smith was to have £5 +for his pains, and Edward Bagley to be residuary legatee. "To my +kinsman, Thomas Hart, the son of Thomas Hart, late of Stratford, all +that my other messuage or Inne commonly called the Maydenhead, with the +next house thereto adjoining, with the barne belonging to the same, now +in the occupation of Michael Johnson; to Thomas Hart and his heirs, +failing whom to his brother George Hart and his heirs," failing whom to +her own right heirs for ever. She made her "loving kinsman Edward +Bagley" executor, "in witness of which I set my hand and seal." It may +be seen that she retained absolute power of the poet's purchases, but +justly left his inheritance from his father John to his sister's +descendants. But she did no more than justice. + +It is not clear how the connection is traced between her and her other +legatees, but it is very noticeable her preference for the Hathaway +connections to those of the Shakespeare side. + +Ere she died the poet's Blackfriars tenement had been reduced to ashes +in the Great Fire of 1666. What right in it or its site remained, +accrued to Edward Bagley, "citizen of London," her executor and +residuary legatee, who proved her will, March 4, 1669, though it is +stated to have been sold in Shakespeare's Biography in the Dictionary. + +Edward Nash did not buy New Place, after all. It was bought by Sir +Edward Walker, at one time Secretary of War to Charles I., and then +Garter King-at-Arms. Halliwell-Phillipps states[205] it was sold by the +"surviving trustee," but Sir Edward Walker's own will[206] puts it a +little differently. He left to his dear daughter Barbara, wife of Sir +John Clopton, various bequests, among which appear "A yarde land in +Stratford field I bought of _Mr. Hall_, of the value of £12 10s. by year +... fyftly Land I bought of Sir John Clopton in the mannor of Clopton, +of the yearely value of £10. Sixtly 4 yard land lying in Stratford and +Bishopton fields which I bought of _Mr. Bagley_, and a house called the +New Place, situated in the Towne of Stratford upon Avon, of the yearely +value about fyfty fyve pounds ... my deare daughter and her husband Sir +John Clopton, sole executors, 30th June, 1676." He died early the +following year, and his will was proved March 10, 1676-77. + +Thus, the property Shakespeare had put together became dispersed shortly +after his family became extinct, and New Place came back to the heirs of +the Cloptons, from whom it was purchased. I had hoped we might find +something from the will of Edward Bagley, but he died intestate,[207] +and the administration mentions nothing of interest to Shakespeare. + +It is therefore quite clear that the whole period covered by +Shakespeare's life and that of his descendants was 105 years, _i.e._, +from 1564 to 1669, and that _no lineal descendants can survive_. Yet, as +if in illustration of the methods of fabrication of tradition, when it +is desired, I have heard of many of the name who boast a _lineal descent +from the poet_; and of one even who boasts of having inherited not only +_the Shakespeare's_ dinner-service, but his _teapot_! Yet that the +presence of the name is a certain bar to the descent, as above shown, no +such claimants seem to have taken the trouble to find out, as they +easily might do. I am told that in Verona, by the tomb of Romeo and +Juliet, a modern visitor has described himself as "Shakespeare, +_descendant_ of the poet who wrote the play." William Shakespeare's +poems alone are his posterity. + +Even under another name they are not to be accepted.[208] In the +_Cambridge Chronicle_ obituary, January 1, 1842, appears: "Died on the +28th ult. at Exning, Suffolk, aged 87, Mrs. Hammond, mother of Mr. Wm. +Hammond, of No. 8, Scots Yard, Cannon Street, London, Indigo Merchant. +The deceased was one of the few remaining descendants of Shakespeare." +So lately as June, 1857, there was recorded the death of William +Hammond, Esq., of London, "one of the last lineal descendants of +Shakespeare." + +Dr. Bigsby says that Colonel Gardner, descendant of the Barnards, had +some Shakespeare letters, and claimed descent from Lady Elizabeth +Barnard.[209] + +A correspondent remembered to have seen when a boy the Shakespear Inn, +Lower Northgate Street, Gloucester, kept by an old gentleman named +Smith. Outside the passage to the inn was a signboard, "The Shakespear +Inn, by William Smith, descendant from and next of kin to that immortal +bard."[210] + + * * * * * + + JOHN SHAKESPEARE'S FAMILY. + + Richard Shakespeare, = wife uncertain, + farmer, of Snitterfield, held land from | + Robert Arden, Mary Arden's father. | + | + ------------------------------------------------- + | | | + Thomas. John, = Mary Arden. Henry. + | eldest son | + John | + b. March 10, 1581-2 | + | + ------------------------------------------------------------------ + | | | | | | | + Two | Gilbert Joan, = William Anne, Richard, Edmund, + daus., | b. 1566; b. 1569; Hart. b. 1571; b. 1573; b. 1580; + d. | d. 1611. d. 1646. d. 1579. d. 1612. d. 1607. + infants. | + | + William, = Anne + the poet.| Hathaway. + | + -------------------------------------------- + | | | + Susanna, = John Hamnet, Judith, = Thomas + b.1583; | Hall. b.1585; b.1585; twin | Quiney. + d.1649. | d.1596. with Hamnet, | + | d.1662 | + | | + Elizabeth, m. 1st, Thomas Nash; --------------------------- + 2nd, Sir John Barnard, b.1607-8; | | | + d. _s.p._ 1669. | | | + Shakespeare, Richard, Thomas, + b.1616; b.1617; b.1619-20; + d.1617. d.1638-9. d.1638-9. + _s.p._ _s.p._ + +FOOTNOTES: + +[178] Gwillim's "Display of Heraldry," p. 315. + +[179] _Ibid._, pp. 378, 420. + +[180] Hathaway is also a name in the Beverston Registers (_Notes and +Queries_, Fifth Series, xii., 101). + +[181] French, "Shakespeareana Genealogicæ," p. 376. + +[182] Will dated August 26, 1642, proved April 4, 1647. He also left +rings to his uncle Nash and his aunt, his cousin Sadler and his wife, +_his cousin_ Richard Quiney and his wife _his cousin_ Thomas Quiney and +his wife. + +[183] Stratford Burial Registers. + +[184] The inscription would imply that she was born in 1556; but, as in +her husband's case, it may be she was reckoned as sixty-seven very +shortly after completing her sixty-sixth year, or even before she +completed it, as was done in the case of Lady Joyce Lucy. We may note, +at least, that Shakespeare, fifty-three in 1616, is only seven years +younger than one reckoned sixty-seven in 1623. + +[185] Henry Waters, "Genealogical Gleanings." + +[186] See coats of arms of the burgesses, Guildhall MS. 491. + +[187] "Outlines," i. 219. + +[188] Acton Registers. + +[189] See Worcester Wills and Marriage Licenses. + +[190] See List of Noblemen and Gentlemen of Warwick, 1577, by Henry +Ferrers; Nichols's "Coll. Top. et Gen.," vii., p. 298, and State Papers, +Dom. Ser., Eliz., 137 (38). + +[191] State Papers, Dom. Ser., Eliz., lxiii. 55. + +[192] The arms of these Halls were three talbots' heads erased sable, +between nine cross-crosslets azure. Shakespeare's son-in-law bore the +talbots' heads only, which may merely have been a mark of cadency. A +suit in Chancery in the time of Elizabeth was brought by Giles Fletcher, +LL.D., Joan his wife, and Phineas his eldest son, against John Hall (not +the physician) concerning the site of the manor of Henwick and the land +of Hallow. In the chapel is a mural monument to Edward Hall, Esq., who +married Anna, eldest daughter of Sir Paul Tracey, having by her four +sons and seven daughters. He died September, 1616, aged fifty-four. +Addit. MSS., Brit. Mus., 19,816. + +[193] It has been suggested by Mr. A. Hall that he might have been son +of the John Hall who married Elizabeth Carew, niece to Sir Nicholas +Throckmorton. He had a son of the name. + +[194] Stratford Registers. + +[195] Miscellaneous Documents and Corporation Records, +Stratford-on-Avon. + +[196] _Notes and Queries_, Fifth Series, vii. 287. + +[197] Dugdale's "Warwickshire Antiquities," ed. 1656, p. 518. This may +be translated thus: "Here is the dust of Hall, most famous in medical +art, awaiting the glorious joys of the Kingdom of God. Worthy was he to +have surpassed Nestor in well-earned years, in every land, but impartial +Time has snatched him away. Lest anything be wanting to the tomb, his +most faithful spouse is there, and he has the companion of life now also +in death." + +[198] Sir Hugh Clopton to Theobald. + +[199] Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," ii. 108. + +[200] Easter Term, 23 Car. I. + +[201] Somerset House, 96, Alchin, also in Juxon. + +[202] "Warwickshire Antiquities," ed. 1656, p. 518. + +[203] Abington Parish Registers. + +[204] Somerset House, 96, Alchin, also in Juxon. + +[205] Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," ii. 119. + +[206] Somerset House, 36 Hale. + +[207] Admin., October, 1686; Somerset House. + +[208] _Morning Herald_--Obituary. + +[209] _Notes and Queries_, Fifth Series, VII. 287. But she had no +children, as proved both by the registers and the wills. She was Sir +John Barnard's second wife. + +[210] _Ibid._, 519. Smith really descended from the Harts. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +COLLATERALS + + +John Shakespeare had other sons than William. There were three--Gilbert, +Richard and Edmund. These all died comparatively young, and none of them +was married. + +Edmund, the youngest child of John and Mary Shakespeare, seems to have +been the only one who followed his eldest brother to London. He also +chose the stage as a profession, but we never hear of any success. From +London registers we know that on August 12, 1607, in the parish of St. +Giles', Cripplegate, was buried "Edward, the base-born son of Edward +Shakespeare, Player," and that on December 31 of the same year was +buried within the Church of St. Saviour's, Southwark,[211] "Edmund +Shakespeare, Player," "with a forenoon knell of the Great Bell."[212] +The poet paid every honour he could to his brother. + +Gilbert, born two and a half years after William, seemed often to have +been his practical helper and representative in Stratford-on-Avon. Some +writers have imagined that because the clerk added the word "adolescens" +to the burial entry in 1611 of "Gilbert Shakespeare,"[213] that it could +not have been this Gilbert, but some other, probably a young son of his. +But there is no record of a marriage, of the birth of any child, of the +death of his wife, or of his own death, if this entry be given another +translation than the natural one. We may well imagine the clerk did not +fully understand the meaning of the word. Shakespeare often satirizes +the ignorant use of learned terms at his time. There is no saying what +hazy notions might have floated through the writer's brain of the age or +position of the defunct. He would be no worse than a Mrs. Malaprop if he +intended "adolescens" to represent "deeply regretted." + +Of the last surviving brother, Richard, born 1573, we know nothing, +except that he died February 12, in the year 1612-13.[214] + +The negative evidence of the registers is supported by the negative +evidence of the Shakespeare wills; there is no mention of a Shakespeare +in the wills of William Shakespeare (so anxious to perpetuate his family +and his name) or in those of his descendants. + +We may therefore hold it as proved that there are no collateral lines of +Shakespeares descending from the poet's brothers, and therefore none +entitled to bear John Shakespeare's famous coat of arms without a new +grant. Yet we find some bearing the arms, and many claimants of such +descent. Sir Thomas Winnington asks if the Shaksperes of Fillongly are a +branch of the poet's family, as the well-known armorial bearings appear +on the tomb of George Shakespeare, who died there in 1690.[215] + +The Rev. Mr. Dyer wrote to Mr. Duncombe from Coningsby, November 24, +1756: "My wife's name was Ensor, whose grandmother was a Shakespeare, +descended from the brother of everybody's Shakespeare."[216] Such claims +may be explained by a natural error. Another John Shakespeare has often +been mistaken for ours, and real pedigrees have been traced back to him. + +But there _were_ collateral descents from Shakespeare's sister. The only +person who might have impaled the new Shakespeare arms, had he himself +borne arms to make this possible, was William Hart, the hatter, who +married Shakespeare's sister Joan, and who lived in Shakespeare's old +house in Henley Street, and died a few days before the poet.[217] The +pedigree of the Harts is printed in French's "Shakespeareana +Genealogica,"[218] and need not be repeated here. The Rev. Cornelius +Hallen[219] also gives a genealogical table of the various connections, +and thus provides us with the collateral descent nearly up to date. + +Though the early members of this family seem to have been content with a +very modest position and very unromantic occupations, the later members +have become more ambitious. + +The Harts thought of contesting the will of Lady Barnard, who, with her +mother, Mrs. Hall, had cut off the entail, or rather altered, as they +thought, the proviso of Shakespeare's will regarding his heirs. But, as +she left them the Henley Street house, and a contest for more would have +been attended with certain expense and uncertain results, they on full +consideration let the matter drop. + +Even from this family sprang claimants for lineal descent. On a +tombstone in Tewkesbury appears: "In Memory of John Hart, the sixth +descendant from the poet Shakespeare, who died January 22, 1800, aged +45," etc. + +[Illustration: SNITTERFIELD CHURCH. + +_To face p. 113_] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[211] Registers of St. Saviour's, Southwark. + +[212] Churchwardens' Accounts, St. Saviour's, Southwark. + +[213] Stratford-on-Avon Registers. + +[214] Stratford-on-Avon Registers. + +[215] _Notes and Queries_ December, 1865, Third Series, viii. 501. + +[216] _Ibid._, Sixth Series, xii. 424. + +[217] April 17, 1616. + +[218] P. 296. + +[219] See "Descent of Hallen and Shakespeare." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +COUSINS AND CONNECTIONS + + +It is certain that Shakespeare had many cousins on the Arden side. A +notice of the Stringers, the Lamberts, the Edkins, and the Webbes has +been already given. The Hart family, as has also been noticed, provided +a large number of relatives not of the name. + +On the Shakespeare side the poet _may_ have had cousins, though we are +not able to prove their descent from records at present in hand. More +than one family claim to have descended from cousins, and presumably +from Shakespeare's grandfather Richard. But we must not forget there +were other Richards at his time. The Richard of Wroxall, Mr. Yeatman +insists, must be the same as the Richard of Snitterfield, though it +seems hardly possible, seeing we find the one officially associated with +the Priory of Wroxall 26 Henry VIII., 1535,[220] and the other presented +for non-suit of court at Snitterfield 20 and 22 Henry VIII.; for +infringing the rights of pasture there, October 1, 1535; and receiving a +legacy from a friend that suggested continued residence: "Unto Richard +Shakespere of Snytfield my foure oxen which are now in his keeping" +(will of Thomas Atwode, _alias_ Tailor, of Stratford-on-Avon, 1543). +Three successive Richards lived in Rowington. One, "Richard Shakysspere, +of Rowington, Weyver," died in 1560, and mentioned his sons William and +Richard in his will drawn up the year before, on June 15, and proved on +June 30 (goods prised by John Shakspere and Richard Sanders). Another +Richard of the same place made a will in 1591 and died in 1592, whose +children were John, Roger, Thomas, William, and Dorothy Jenkes; his +wife's name was Joan. There was also a grandson, Thomas, son of +John.[221] Another Richard died in 1614,[222] whose eldest son was +William. But each of these Richards, from his family and connections, +can be proved to be a different man from the Richard of Snitterfield. We +are reasonably sure that our John was the son of the latter, if he +administered his goods after his death in 1560-61[223]; and if so, we +are sure that Henry also was his son, as Henry was the brother of John. +This is mentioned in the Declaration of 1587,[224] when Nicholas Lane +proceeded against John as surety for his impecunious brother Henry. +Henry was also summoned with John to appear as witness in the Mayowe and +Webbe case, 23 Elizabeth. He had a wife called Margaret, whose death +immediately follows his own in the Register of Snitterfield;[225] but we +are not sure that he had any children. "Henry Sakspere was buryed the +29th day of Dec., 1596." "Margaret Sakspere, widow, being tymes the wyff +of Henry Sakspere, was bured ix Feb., 1596." It is quite probable that +when Robert Webbe married and settled in Snitterfield, or Edward +Cornwall came into power there, that Henry moved thence.[226] Just about +the time we find in the Registers of Hampton-on-Avon or Bishop Hampton, +"Lettyce, daughter of Henry Shakespeare of Ingon,[227] bapt. June 4th, +1583." "Jeames, son of Henry Shakespeare, bapt. Oct. 15th, 1585." Yet he +appears as one of "the pledges" at the baptism of Henry Townsend, of +Snitterfield, September 4, 1586. "Jeames Shakespeare, of Ingon, buried +Oct. 25th, 1589,"[228] is also mentioned by Malone. This is the correct +reading of the "Joannes" mentioned by Halliwell-Phillipps as being +buried in the same place so near the same date as September 25, 1589. + +A William Shakespeare appears once in Snitterfield as prising the goods +of John Pardu in 1569; but we do not know his age and residence, and +there is no clue to any relationship with him. + +A William prised the goods of Robert Shakespeare of Wroxall, 1565, and +the goods of John Shaxper of Rowington, 1574. + +An Anthony occurs among the billmen of Snitterfield in the muster book +of 1569. John Shakespeare of Rowington, who held land at Wroxall 22 +Henry VIII., had a son Antonio, rather an unusual name. Tradition says +the poet had an uncle or grand-uncle, Antonio. But we must beware of +using tradition as a staff to lean upon. No Anthony appears in any +family papers. An Antony Shaxspeare married Joane Whitrefe at Budbrook +(in which parish is Hampton Corley), November 14, 1573; and in the +Register we find: "Henrie Shackspere sonne of Shackspere and Joane his +wife, baptized 24th March, 1575." "Elizabeth, daughter to Antony +Shaksper of Hamton, baptized Feb. 10th, 1583," in the Stratford +Registers; and "Henry, son of Antonio Shakespeare, buried June 18th, +1583," in Clifford Chambers. This wandering makes his life rather +confusing to us. + +Thomas Shakespeare _might_ have been an uncle. Thomas was presented as a +regrator or forestaller of barley and wheat at Snitterfield Court, held +April, 1575. A Thomas, probably the same, appears in Stratford Records +between 23 and 28 Elizabeth. He was sued for the price of malted barley +in 23 Elizabeth. He had a son named John, baptized at Snitterfield March +10, 1581-2. Of this child we know nothing further, but I make a +suggestion in a later chapter that may interest readers. + +There was a Johanna Shakespeare,[229] whose burial record in +Snitterfield, in 1595, makes no allusion to any male relative. She might +have been an aunt, a great-aunt, or even a grandmother of the poet, and +the widow of Richard. Similar entries of wives and widows have been +found in the neighbourhood. Joan was an important name in John +Shakespeare's eyes, and he gave the name to two of his daughters. + +Richard had probably a daughter who became Mrs. Green. A "Thomas Green, +_alias_ Shakespeare," was buried in Stratford-on-Avon, March 6, 1590. He +was probably the father of Thomas Green, solicitor, in whose "Diary and +Correspondence" we find allusions to his cousin Shakespeare: "My cosen +Shakspeare has commyng yesterday to towne; I went to see him how he +did."[230] Jovis, Nov. 17. + +It was he who conducted the Addenbrooke prosecution (1608), at which +time, we know not for what reason, he appears to have been living in +Shakespeare's home, New Place, in Stratford-on-Avon. + +There might have been an indefinite number of cousins by marriage among +the Hathaways. I only mention this now in relation to one strange +example of the desire of association somehow with Shakespeare. In the +catalogue of the Shakespeare Library of Warwick Castle is the title of a +book written by a Hathaway clergyman of Tewkesbury, said to be "a +descendant of Anne Hathaway," ignoring the fact that _Anne Hathaway_ was +_Mrs. Shakespeare_. Yet he might after all have been a cousin twice +removed. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[220] See "Valor Ecclesiasticus," Warwickshire, at Dissolution, Henry +VIII. + +[221] Worcester wills. + +[222] _Ibid._ + +[223] Admin. Bond at Worcester. + +[224] "Henricus Shaksper, frater dicti Johannis," February 1, 29 +Elizabeth, 1587. + +[225] Snitterfield Registers. + +[226] Henry had a fight with Edward Cornwall, and drew blood, October +12, 1574. See Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," vol. ii., p. 209. + +[227] Ingon is in the parish of Hampton-on-Avon. + +[228] Malone's "Life," vol. ii., p. 23, ed. 1821. + +[229] "Johana Shaxspere mortua est et sepulta January quinto, anno +1595." No record has been found of the death of Richard's wife, if this +be not she. + +[230] Green's "Diary," Nov. 17, 1614, Stratford-on-Avon Records. See +also Ingleby's "Shakespeare and the Enclosure of Welcombe." Thomas Green +was a Councillor of Middle Temple and a solicitor. (See Quyney's Town +Accounts, January and February, 1600-1.) He was appointed Steward of the +Court of Record, Stratford-on-Avon, on September 7, 1603. There was no +Town Clerk then, and the Steward did the duties until the Charter +granted to the town by James I., July 8, 1610, created the office of +Town Clerk. He held part of the remainder of the tithes, the half of +which were held by Shakespeare. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +CONTEMPORARY WARWICKSHIRE SHAKESPEARES + + +Outside the immediate family of the poet there were many contemporaries +in Warwickshire, who may have been connected in some far-off degree. + +There was the John Shakespeare, shoemaker, who came to Stratford about +1580, probably as apprentice or journeyman of Roberts, the shoemaker, in +whose house he dwelt till 1594, and whose daughter Margery he +married.[231] He became Member of the Company of Shoemakers and +Saddlers, paying £3, in 1580, and Master of the Shoemakers' Company, and +was elected Ale-taster for the town in 1585. He paid 30s. for his +freedom January 19, 1585-86, and became Constable in the autumn of 1586. +His wife was buried on October 29, 1587, but he must shortly afterwards +have married again, as he had three children christened[232] in the +parish church. On February 17, 1587, he was in receipt of Thomas Oken's +money, and in 1588 became guardian to Thomas Roberts's sons. The poet's +father, after 1570, was always mentioned as Mr. John Shakespeare; this +other appears simply as John, or John the Shoemaker, or Corvizer, or +some other epithet (see Records of Stratford-on-Avon). Hunter thinks +that he was the third son of Thomas Shakespeare, a shoemaker, of +Warwick, who held land under the manor of Balsall, and mentioned in his +will, 1557, four children--William, Thomas, John and Joan, ux. Francis +Ley, mentioned in Warwick registers. + +This John of Stratford seems to have left the town before 1595, as his +house was inhabited by others then, and no further mention appears of +him in record or register. + +Beside John Shakespeare's _double_ of Stratford-on-Avon, there was a +John Shakespeare of Clifford Chambers, a village a mile or two out of +Stratford, who has also been confused with him. He married there, on +October 15, 1560, Julian Hobbyns, widow. He sued William Smith, of +Stratford, for debt, in 1572; and in the will of John Ashwell, of +Stratford, 1583, it is stated that "John Shakespeare, of Clifford +Chambers, was in his debt." It is quite probable he was the John often +in debt, who had "no goods to seize," in Stratford-on-Avon, generally +supposed to be the poet's father. + +Other notices of the name, besides the Henry and Antonio +above-mentioned, appear in the Clifford Registers. Charles Malary and +Alice Shakespeare were married in 1579. Katharine Morris, servant to +John Shakespeare, was buried in 1587; Julian Shakespere buried July 22, +1608; John Shakespere buried October 20, 1610. His will was proved at +Gloucester in 1611. These latter dates set the question of identity at +rest. + +An agricultural John was in occupation of Ingon in 1570.[233] I believe +him to be our John, the brother and surety of Henry. We must not forget +that as Ingon was so near Snitterfield, John of Ingon _may_ be the John +Shakespeare, _Agricola_, of Snitterfield, who administered Richard's +goods, and was fined, October 1, 1561, at the Snitterfield Court. And +there are many Johns of Rowington, fully entered in Mr. Rylands' +"Records of Rowington." + +Just as his father had _doubles_, so had William. There was a William +Shakespeare drowned in the Avon, and buried at St. Nicholas, Warwick, +July 6, 1579.[234] The world would not have known what it had lost had +this fate overtaken "our Will," but it makes us shiver now as we think +of it, even as a past possibility. It has been thought that this youth +was the son of Thomas Shakespeare, shoemaker, of Warwick, and brother of +John the shoemaker of Stratford. But he seems rather young for that +relationship. + +Another contemporary William seems to have been in a small way of +business as a farmers' agent, sometimes as a lender, and sometimes as a +borrower. Among the Shakespeare manuscripts at Warwick Castle are +preserved bonds for 2s. 6d. for a quarter of a year's use of £5 by +William Shakespeare in 1620, 1624, and 1626. Another of "three quarters +of oats to Will Shakespeare for a quarter's use of £5 due upon the 10th +of May last, 1621," and some for the sale of malt.[235] + +It has seemed to me much more than probable that this was the William +who sued Philip Rogers in the Court of Record at Stratford-on-Avon,[236] +in 1604 for the price of a strike of malt sold and other money due. "The +declaration filed by William Shexspere" in the Court has been accepted +by Halliwell-Phillipps and all the Baconians as concerning the poet. +But, in the first place, any such declaration at that date would then +have designated our Shakespeare "gent."; in the second, he would have +employed his cousin, Thomas Greene, as his attorney, and not William +Tetherton, and Thomas Greene would have spelt his name otherwise than it +is written. In the third place, there is no corroborative testimony that +the poet ever sold malt, and there is concerning this contemporary +William. + +The early registers of Rowington are lost, but we have shown from the +wills that there were Shakespeares there bearing this Christian name. +The Richard of Rowington who died in 1561 mentions a son William in his +will. The second Richard of that place had a son William mentioned in +the will of 1591. The third Richard and his wife Elizabeth had four +sons--William, Richard, Thomas, John, and a daughter Joan. William had +worked as a labourer without wages on his father's property, with +expectation of succeeding to it. But some years before his father's +death he went, with his father's permission, out to service, and married +a certain Mrs. Margery. His father was incensed against him, and left +the little property to his youngest son, John, November 13, 1613, proved +in 1614.[237] Legal proceedings were commenced in 1614 at Worcester by +William about the property of his mother, Elizabeth. A Chancery suit +between the brothers was instituted in the Star Chamber,[238] and the +case was heard at Warwick, in 1616, before four Commissioners, one of +whom was Francis Collins, gent., the overseer of the will of the poet. +William the plaintiff was then about forty years old. This is probably +the same man who felt injured by his family while supported by his +wife's money in his lawsuits. The mark of a William Shakespeare is found +on a roll of the Customs of the Manor of Rowington, confirmed by the +jury in 1614. Was he the same? And if not, which of these was the +William Shakespeare whose name appears in the list of the trained +soldiers of Rowington,[239] taken before Sir Fulke Greville at Alcester, +September 23, 1605, erroneously by some believed to be the poet?[240] + +There is preserved a petition of William Shaxsper, Richard Shuter, and +others of Rowington, co. Warwick, to the Committee for the Safety of +Coventry and Warwick. About St. Andrew's Day they had some sea-coal +which lay at Barford, near Warwick, which they had sold to Lady Lucy, +but the soldiers of the city finding fuel scarce, had burnt £5 10s. +worth of it. They pray satisfaction for their coals. Underwritten by Mr. +Basnet is an order to pay this sum, April, 1646.[241] + +A William Shakespeare, of Hatton, married Barbara Stiffe in 1589; styled +"gent." at baptism of his daughter _Susannah_, 1596. John Weale granted +to Job Throgmorton the cottage in which William Shakespeare dwelt at +Haseley, March 4, 1597.[242] + +In the Star Chamber proceedings is the notice of a fine levied "inter +Willielmum Shackespeare et Georgium Shackespeare, quer. et Thomam +Spencer, arm. Christopherum Flecknoe et Thomam Thompson deforc. de octo +acris pasturæ cum pertinentiis in Claverdon, alias Claredon, 12 Jac. I. +(1615)."[243] + +I have collected these illustrations in order to show that the name +William was not by any means rare in the Shakespeare family, and to +account for some of the errors made concerning descents. + +In 1589, also in the Star Chamber proceedings, we find there is a case +brought by "Mary Ruswell against John Vale and Katharine his wife, and +Aylese Shackspire." This Alice Shakespeare was John Vale's mother-in-law +and a widow. Is it not possible she might be the sister "Alice +Shakespeare" referred to in the Griffin will? + +In most of the Warwickshire districts where the name is found in the +earlier half of the sixteenth century it is found in the latter half, +and also in the seventeenth century, though sometimes branches migrated +to new neighbouring localities. It would be impossible to work out every +family in detail in a work such as this. + +And yet some notices are necessary to complete the rapid survey. The +Shakespeares appear in two groups, one north and east of +Stratford-on-Avon, as at Ingon and Snitterfield. One family had settled +at Tachbrook, nine miles north-east by east from Stratford. There was +baptized "Roger, son of Robert Shakespeare, 21 April, 1557." Robert was +a weaver, and was probably son of Richard Shakespeare, of Haseley, +weaver, in the reign of Henry VIII. He had also a son John, born 1574; a +daughter, Alice, buried 1559; another, Isabel, baptized 1560. + +Roger married Isabel Parkins in 1592, and Alice Higgins in 1595, and +seems to have had a son, John, not in the register. But on April 22, +1628, Elizabeth Shakespeare, the daughter of John and Christian his +wife, was baptized, and on April 4, 1630, Judith Shakespeare, the +daughter of John and Christian Shakespeare. Later generations of the +families of Roger, John, and Walter are recorded there.[244] + +A few Shakespeares have been found in Alcester. But the older centre lay +further north. By far the greatest number of names are found in the +villages to the west of a line drawn between Coventry and Warwick, +including Meriden, Hampton-in-Arden, Berkswell, Knowle, Balsall, +Kenilworth, Packwood, Lapworth, Baddesley Clinton, Wroxall, Haseley, +Hatton, Rowington, and Budbrooke. + +The early parish registers of Wroxall are lost, and only begin with +1586. + + On Dec. 9, 1588, Fraunces Shaxper ... was buried. + May 29, 1592, Nicholas Shaxper and Alice Edmunds m. + March 25, 1593, Peter, fil. Nicolas and Alice Shaxper, bap. + Nov. 17, 1594, Susannah, daugh. of Nicolas and Alice Shaxper, bap. + Sep. 17, 1595, Elizabeth, ux. William Shaxper, buried. + Sep. 10, 1596, Cornelius, fil. Nic. and Alice Shaxper, bap. + Feb. 3, 1599, Annah, dau. of Nic. and Alice Shaxper, bapt. + April 9th, 1600, Annah, dau. of Nic. and Alice Shaxper, buried. + June 15th, 1603, Hester, dau. of Nic. and Alice Shaxper, bapt. + (No Registers from 1604 to 1641.) + 1641, Peter Shakspeare buried. + May 17th, 1642, William Smith and Catherine Shakspere, m. + Sept. 25, 1645, Nicolas Shakspere buried. + May 16th, 1665, Ralf Stokes and Margaret Shakspeare m. + Jan. 26, 1670, Robert Shakespeare and Ann Averne m. + Oct. 4, 1678, Jane, dau. of Robert Shakespeare the elder, buried. + March 29, 1681, Robert, fil. Richard Shakespeare and his wife, bapt. + May 30, 1714, Ann, ux. Robert Shakespeare, buried. + May 13, 1719, Robert Shakespeare buried. + +From the Hatton and Haseley Registers, which recorded the death of Roger +Shakespeere, 1558, and of Domina Jane, 1571, we also find: + + Isabel, uxor Thomas Shakspere, formerly wife of John Tybotes, + buried April 4, 1570. + Nov. 5, 1570, Katharine Shakespere, filia Nicolas Shakespere, bapt. + Jan. 6th, 1579, Elizabeth, dau. of Nicolas Shakespere, bapt. + Jan. 6th, 1589, William Shakespere and Barbara Stiffe, married. + March 25, 1593, Peter, son of Nicolas and Alice Shakespeare, bapt. + Sept. 8, 1593, Thomas, son of Nicholas and Elizabeth Shakspere, bapt. + March 14, 1596, Susannah, dau. of Wm. Shakspere, gentleman, and + Barbara, bapt. (March 6th, 1597. This child was buried.) + July 23rd, 1598, Katherine, dau. of Wm. and Barbara Shakspere, + baptised. + Sep. 21, 1606, Thomas Shaxper buried. + Dec. 26, 1607, Nicholas Shaksper of Busall buried. + Jan. 26, 1607, Elizabeth Shaksper of Busall buried. + Aug. 28, 1608, Marie, daughter of Thomas Shaxsper, bapt. + Feb.--, 1610, Barbara, wife of Mr. William Shakspere, buried. + Jan. 20, 1612, John Hastings and Susanna Shaxper, married. + +The parish registers of Haseley and of Hatton are mixed. + +There are many Shakespeare wills preserved in Lichfield. Christopher +Shakespere of Packwood, August 31, 1551, proved August 15, 1558, +mentions a wife Isabel, and sons, Richard, William, Roger, Christopher, +and John, and daughters Alice and Agnes; Elizabeth Shakspere of St. +Werbergs, Derby, 1558; Roger Shakspere of Tachbrook, August 2, 1605; +wife Alice and son John; William Shakespeare of Coventry, shoemaker, +March 18, 1605-6; Administration of John Shakespeare's goods, 1606; +Thomas Shakespeare of Packington Parva, April 28, 1610, had a wife, +Phillip, and sons, George (who was to have Coleshill lands), Thomas, +Andrew, and a daughter, Alice Croft; Anne Shakespeare of Knowle's will, +1743. + +There has been a group entered in the Calendar in relation to the +Shakespeare and Ensor connection (Nichols's "Herald and Genealogist," +vol. ii., p. 297): + + Thomas Shakespeare of Coventry, admin. 1693. + George Shakespeare of Fillongley, will 1700. + Sara Shakespeare of Pen, admin. 1712. + Thomas Shakespeare of Arley, " 1720. + William Shakespear of Coventry, " 1724. + William Shakespear of Arley, " 1729. + George Shakespear of Coleshill, " 1734. + Anne Shakespeare of Coventry, " 1751. + George Shakespeare of Fillongley, " 1754. + Mary Shakespeare of Aston, " 1768. + + +There was an administration granted to Elizabeth Shakespeare, widow, of +the estate of Roger Shakespeare, of Chesset Wood, in the parish of +Hampton-in-Arden, April 15, 1597. + +John Shakespeare, of Knowle, Warwickshire, left to his eldest son, +Henry, £5, and to each of his children £5--John, Elizabeth, Henry, +Thomas; to his granddaughter, daughter of John, £5; his property he left +to his youngest son, John, 33 Charles II., September 30, 1681.[245] A +William Shakespeare,[246] of Knowle, is mentioned in 12 George II., as +"tenant to the precipe." + +The will of Robert Shakespeare, of Wroxall, March 19, 1565, shows that +he had a son Nicolas, that another Nicolas owed him money, and that his +goods were prised by a William Shakespeare. John Shaksper, of Wroxall, +labourer, leaves his goods between his son Edward and his wife; mentions +his sister Alice, his brother Woodam's children, his cousin, Laurence +Shaxper, of Balsal, or Beausal, his brothers, William and Nicolas, and +his daughter, Alice Windmiles, December 15, 1574. + +William Shakespeare, of Wroxall, husbandman, in his will, dated November +17, 1609, left legacies to brothers and sisters not named. + +John Shakespere of Budbrooke, left his best suit to Nicolas Shakespeare; +to his father-in-law, Thomas Burbidge, his best boots; to Mary +Shakespeare, two shillings; to Isabel Poole, late servant to Nicolas +Shakespeare, ten shillings. Anne Burbage, now the wife of William +Shotteswell, sole executrix, December 28, 1642.[247] He was buried +December 30, 1642.[248] + +Nicolas Shakespeare,[249] of Budbrooke,[250] being aged and weak, leaves +£4 to the poor; £10 to his mother-in-law, Penelope Parkes; £40 to his +brother-in-law, Richard Parkes; £10 to his cousin, Richard Naso; £10 to +William Sattlewell, of Packwood. Residue to his dear wife Marie, sole +executrix, October 23, 1655. + +John Shakespeare,[251] yeoman, of Lapworth, made his will October 30, +1637; proved by his wife Dorothy 1638. He had no children, and his +nephew, John Twycross, came in for most of his possessions. He left his +brother Christopher sixpence a week. Christopher's son John, and his two +grandsons, John and Thomas, had each twenty shillings. There was another +brother not named, whose three sons, Edward, William and Thomas, and +three daughters were to have £3 6s. 8d. each. Edward's two sons had also +legacies. The testator also mentions his sister, Catharine Shotteswell, +Catharine, Elizabeth, Winifred, Humphrey, Thomas, and John Shakespeare. +Overseers, John Fetherston, of Packwood, Esq., and John Shaxpere, of +Ringwood. Dorothy Shakespeare left no will. Letters of administration +were granted to her nephew, Antony Robbins, July 13, 1655.[252] In the +table of benefactions in Lapworth Church (near Knowle) it is recorded +that John Shakespeare and John Twycross gave each two shillings a year +to the poor of Lapworth and Packwood. "Humphrey Shakespeare gave twenty +shillings to the poor of this parish, and the like to the poor of +Rowington, 1794." + +Thomas Shakespeare, of Lapworth, fuller, February 21, 1655, desires to +be buried in Rowington. He leaves to his kinsman, Richard Shakespeare, +of Kenilworth, his implements and £5; to his kinsman, Thomas +Shakespeare, of Lapworth, £5; to his kinsman and godson, Thomas +Shakespeare, of Rowington, £5; to his kinsman, Richard Shakespeare, £6 +13s. 4d.; to his kinswoman, Mary Shakespeare, £5; to his kinsman, John +Shakespeare, £5; to his brother William's son's daughter Elizabeth, +sixpence, if demanded; to the poor of Rowington, forty shillings. The +executrix was his kinswoman, Elizabeth Shakespeare, and the overseers, +Thomas Sly, of Lapworth, and his kinsman, Thomas Shakespeare, of +Whittlygate in Rowington; proved May 18, 1658.[253] + +It may be seen that Rowington was the central source of most of these +Shakespeares. Besides those already mentioned, we may note that there +was a case of John Shakesper _versus_ William Skinner, farmer, of the +Church of Rowington; an answer of William Skinner to the Bill of +Complaint; a document relating to Thomas Shakespeare, of Rowington, +1571, marked "Skinner"; and another concerning John Shakespeare. John +Shaxper of Rowington's will was drawn up in 1574.[254] He left his +property called Madywattons, at Shrawley, to his son George, with +remainder to his daughter Annis, and £20 to his son Thomas. He left +legacies to his brothers Nicolas and Thomas and his Aunt Ley, the +midwife. His wife's name was Eleanor. His goods were prised at £8 6s. +8d. by Thomas and William Shaxper, among others. The will of Richard +Shakespere, of Rowington, November 13, 1613, which caused so much +heartburning, showed that his son William had a son John, and that his +son Richard had four sons (Thomas, William, Richard and John). Thomas +and John's children are not mentioned. Another will[255] in the same +year of Thomas Shakespeare, of Mowsly and Rowington, October 13, 1613, +mentions sons--John, Thomas and Richard; and daughters--Eleanor, Joan +and Annis. John had two sons--William and John. John Shakespeare de le +Hill, Rowington, made his will January 20, 1652; his wife was Mary; his +children, William, John, and Margaret Vernon. + +The Shakespeares from the Register of Rowington, printed by Mr. Rylands, +are given in the notes. + +In 1593 Thomas Shakespeare and Florence, his wife, with her sister, +Alice Grace, sued Thomas Grace[256] and John Harding for certain lands +not specified, settled by their father on them. Thomas Shackspeare, of +Rowington, was assessed for the subsidy of 1597.[257] Thomas Shaxper, +senior, of the same place, in 7 Jac. I., 1610. A survey of Crown lands +in Warwickshire, 4 Jac. I., 1607, in the Land Revenue Office shows +Thomas, George, Richard and John as holding property there. A Thomas +Shakespeare was presented in 1632.[258] + +Thomas Shakespeare, of Rowington, _temp._ John Pickering, Lord Keeper, +and Maria, his wife, daughter and heir of William Mathews, deceased, +filed a bill in Chancery concerning various tenements in Hatton, +Shrawley, Rowington, Pinley and Clendon.[259] Hil., 16 Elizabeth, Hugo +Walford, Quer., and Thomas Shakspere and Marie, his wife, defendants, +concerning cottage and 5 acres of land in Norton Curlew. Easter, 20 +James I., Thomas Shakespere, Quer., and John Hall and Joyce, his wife, +defendants, of 12 acres of land in Rowington, which were sold to the +said Thomas Shakespeare, 41 Elizabeth.[260] There was a license granted +to a Thomas Shakespeare, aged twenty-three, to pass beyond the sea, June +13, 1632, to the Low Countries, to serve as a soldier.[261] At a court +of the Queen's Majesty, Henrietta Maria, Thomas Shakespere paid a fine +of 6s. 8d. for admission to lands surrendered by himself, to himself and +others, 1647. + +Among the manuscripts of the Free Library at Birmingham there remains a +fine, 7 Charles I., between Adrian Shakspere, Quer., and Thomas Green +and Anna, his wife, about land in old Fillongley; a bond for £40 of +Adrian Shakespere, of Meriden, yeoman; and another fine, Easter, 26 +Charles II., between Thomas Brearley, gent., and Thomas Shakspeare, +gent. + +There were Shakespeares also still at Baddesley Clinton. In the Diary of +Henry Ferrers of that place, we find him speak of "napkins received from +Henry Shakespeare, Nov. 4th, 1620"; of "Peeter Shakespeare, Nov. 5." "I +ow Shakespeare none, Nov. 6th." "Henry Shakespeare sent his boy for a +mark for his napkin. Nov. 12th, 1628-9." "Shakespeare of Kingswood, Feb. +4th." "Shakespeare of Rowth(?), Feb. 18." "John Shakespeare came hither +about his court."[262] This is the Henry Ferrers who wrote the Catalogue +of all the Noblemen and Gentlemen resident in Warwick in 1577-78.[263] + +There is a tombstone on the walls of Rowington Church: + + "In memory of John Shakespeare, of Baddesley Clinton, and + Mary his wife, who died, he, August 26, 1722, 61; she, + September 3, 1722, 56. + + "They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their + deaths they were not divided." + +There seems to have been a large number of Shakespeares in the town of +Warwick. + +A John Shakespeare was assessed 1d. a week for relief of the poor, 1582, +in Market Place Ward, and a Thomas Shakespeare at the same time in West +Street Ward.[264] + +In the inquisitions post-mortem of Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, 32 +Elizabeth, a Thomas Shackspere was one of the witnesses. + +A Thomas Shakespeare had a grant from Mr. Henry Ferrers of two +messuages, one orchard, four gardens, and four acres of pasture in +Warwick for £80, Michaelmas, 39 Elizabeth, 1597. + +There was a Thomas Shakespeare--probably the same--who married on June +21, 1598, Elizabeth Letherbarrow, daughter of the Mayor of Coventry. He +became Bailiff of Warwick November 1, 10 Jac. I., 1613. The only notice +of the name in the "Visitation of Warwickshire" in 1619 is that of +"Thomas Shakespeere, gent., one of the principal Aldermen of Warwick." + +It is not clear whether or not he was the son of Thomas Shakespeare, the +shoemaker, who held land of the manor of Wroxall, and died in 1557, +leaving William, Thomas, John, and Joan, ux. Francis Ley.[265] + +In Birmingham Registers there was a William, 1637, and an Anne +Shakespeare of Knowle, 1743. + +More might be said of the Shakespeares of Coventry and Fillongley. There +is a tablet recording Shakespeare benefactions in Fillongley Church, and +many still bear the name among the neighbouring peasantry. But to +complete the pedigrees of the Warwickshire families, we must follow them +to other abodes. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[231] November 25, 1584, Stratford-on-Avon Register. Mr. R. B. Wheeler, +writing in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, September, 1816, takes for +granted the poet's father had three wives; a belief which Rowe also +held. See Reed's ed., vol. i., p. 136. + +[232] "Ursula, daughter of John Shakespeare, bapt. March 11, 1588-89; +Humphrey, son of John Shakespeare, bapt. May 24, 1590; Philip, son of +John Shakespeare, bapt. September 21, 1591."--Stratford-on-Avon +Register. + +"This Humphrey was ancestor to the George Shakespeare living in +Henley-in-Arden in 1864, and since in Wolverhampton." See French's +"Shakespeareana Genealogica." + +[233] See "Rot. Claus.," 23 Elizabeth. + +[234] See St. Nicholas' Churchwardens' Accounts, transcribed and printed +by Mr. Richard Savage, of Stratford-on-Avon. The register states: "1579. +July Sexto die huius mensis, sepultus fuit Gulielmus Shaxper, qui +demersus fuit in Rivulo aquæ, qui vel vocatur Avona." + +[235] A collection of thirty-five MSS. containing the name of +Shakespeare. Besides these of William, there are papers of Thomas +Shakespeare of Tamworth, 1679; Edward Shakespeare in the Manor of +Solihull, October 2, 1688, and in 1690; John Shakespeare, 1707, 1709, +1710, 1711, 1712; Widow Shakespeare, 1712-1714; Benjamin Shakespeare, +1713; Benjamin Shakespeare's Barne, 1714. + +[236] Stratford-on-Avon Records. + +[237] _Notes and Queries_, Third Series, xii., pp. 81 and 161, August 3, +1867, contains all the papers. A draft bill of their Chancery suit is +preserved among the miscellaneous documents of Stratford-on-Avon. + +[238] See "MS. Episc., Worcester," and Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," +ii. 256. + +[239] Dom. Ser., State Papers, James I., xv. 65, September 23, 1605. + +[240] "Mr. Collier says we have intelligence regarding no other William +Shakespeare than the poet at that date" (French, "Shakespeareana +Genealogica," p. 526). + +[241] Dom. Ser., State Papers, Car. I., Dxiv. II. + +[242] "Hist. MS. Com. Rep.," Appendix II., Davenport MSS. + +[243] French, "Shakespeareana Genealogica," p. 540. + +[244] Communicated in full by the Rev. E. T. Codd to _Notes and +Queries_, Third Series, vol. viii., December, 1865, p. 185. + +[245] Somerset House, 88 Drax, proved July, 1683. + +[246] _Notes and Queries_, First Series, vol. xii., p. 123, August 18, +1855. + +[247] Somerset House, 131 Fines. + +[248] Budbrooke Registers. + +[249] 7 St. John, and 168 Aylett, Somerset House. + +[250] The name of Nicolas Shakespeare of Budbrooke appears in a Recusant +Roll of 16 Charles I. + +[251] Somerset House, 51 Lee. + +[252] Admin. 1654, f. 127, July 13. + +[253] Lib. 7, 318, Wotten, Somerset House. + +[254] Worcester Wills. + +[255] Worcester Wills. + +[256] Chancery Cases, S.s. 25. + +[257] Subsidy Rolls, Warwick, 35 Elizabeth, 193/235, and 39 Elizabeth, +193/247, P.R.O. + +[258] See Rowington Court Rolls, 65. + +[259] Mr. Yeatman's "Gentle Shakespere," p. 146. + +[260] Chancery Cases, S.s. II. + +[261] Exchequer Q.R. licenses to Pass Beyond Seas, No. 17, June 13, +1632. + +[262] Dr. Macray's Transcript, _Notes and Queries_, Seventh Series, v., +190. + +[263] Published in Nichols's "Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica," +vol. viii., p. 298. + +[264] See "Book of John Fisher," p. 81. + +[265] A Jone Ley was buried in St. Nicholas, Warwick, the same year. The +administration of the goods of Mary Shakespeare, Warwick, was granted +1723. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +SHAKESPEARES IN OTHER COUNTIES + + +The Warwickshire Shakespeares overflowed into the surrounding counties. +There were Shakespeares in Stafford,[266] Worcester,[267] +Gloucester,[268] Northampton,[269] Leicester,[270] Berkshire[271] and +Oxford. + +The three latter are worth noting. In 1597 there resided at Lutterworth, +only a few miles from Stratford, a Thomas Shakespeare, who was employed +by William Glover, of Hillenden, in Northamptonshire, gent., as his +agent to receive and give an acquittance for a considerable sum of +money.[272] It is not clear whether it was this same person or a son who +was the Thomas Shakespeare, gent., of Staple Inn, Middlesex, who +presented a certificate to some unnamed court, October 12, 1604, +accounting for his non-appearance in a case.[273] John Perkyns was the +plaintiff; Thomas Shakespere, William Perkyns, William Teery and others, +defendants. He had been summoned at the suit of Perkyns to appear, in +the Octaves of Trinity, but he had been required to be seventy miles out +of London on the Saturday of the Octaves of Trinity in a Chancery Case. +He only rested on the Sabbath at home, started on the Monday, and +appeared in court on Wednesday. The other defendants were allowed the +explanation; that it was denied to him seemed to be of malice. I cannot +find the decision. I searched the Lay Subsidies of Leicester,[3] in +Lutterworth and elsewhere, for this Shakespeare in vain; but I find that +in 1594 a William Perkins paid in bond for Richard Perkins in Wigston +Parva.[274] A bond of Thomas Shakespeare, of Lutterworth, November 27, +1606, to James Whitelocke for 26s. 8d., is mentioned in the Historical +MSS. Com.[275] A letter addressed to the Mayor of Leicester by certain +leading inhabitants of Lutterworth about the plague is signed first by +Thomas Shakespeare,[276] and Mr. French found in the Admission Books of +Staple Inn,[277] "Thomas Shakespeare, of Lutterworth, in Com. Leic., +gent., etc., 15th Feb., 5 Jac. I., 1607." Does the following entry refer +to him or to Thomas Shakespere of Warwick? "John, son of Thomas +Shakespeare, gent., baptized July 18th, 1619."[278] + +John Shakespear (1774-1858),[279] Orientalist, was born at Lount, near +Ashby, in Leicestershire, son of a small farmer there. He became +Professor of Hindustani, and gave £2,500 towards preserving the +birthplace at Stratford-on-Avon. He did not marry, and his property came +to his nephew, Charles Bowles, who took the surname of "Shakespeare." + +A William Shakespeare was convicted at Leicester Assizes of +night-poaching.[280] + +The Oxford Shakespeares deserve fuller attention than they have yet +received. The Saunders _alias_ Shakespeare, already mentioned,[281] was +possibly a native of another county. But we find some in the shire, +contemporary with the poet. Among the "Original Wills at Somerset House +there is one of Thomas Shackspeare, Innkeeper," in the suburbs of +Oxford. He wished to be buried in the Church of St. Giles, Oxford, +bequeathed property to his four children--Robert, Ellen, Mary, and +Elizabeth, £10 each when they came of age--and left his wife Elizabeth +residuary legatee and sole executrix; overseers, Mr. Ralf Shillingworth +and Henry Hedges. A remembrance was left to the preacher of his funeral +sermon, and to his loving friend Mr. Harris, of Yarnton, and he "set his +hand and seale thereto," May 27, 1642;[282] witnesses, Thomas Champe and +Nathaniel Harris. It is curious that the seal used should represent a +winged heart bleeding, surmounted by a ducal coronet. + +Curiously enough, a notice of this one family is preserved in _Notes and +Queries_,[283] though it is not mentioned in the index. It was +transcribed from St. Mary Magdalene's, Oxford, by Dr. Macray while he +was yet curate. "Thomas Shakspere, the sonne of Thomas Shaxspere, was +baptised the 19th day of August, 1628;" Marie, April 15, 1630; +Elizabeth, June 29, 1632; "Robert, the sone of Thomas Shaxspere, +Inkeeper, was baptized September the 24th, 1634." Among the burials +appear, "Thomas, the son of Thomas Shaxespere, was buried Nov. 4th, +1642; Thomas Shaxsper, Inkeper, buried Nov. 11th, 1642; Ellinor Shaxsper +was buried May second, 1643." The earlier records of the Church are +lost. It is a pity the other Oxford registers have not been thoroughly +searched for the name, or printed. + +A John Shakespeare,[284] of St. Mary's Hall, took the degree of B.A. in +1666. The _Oxford Chronicle_[285] of April 20, 1765, mentions a Richard +Shakespeare as being committed to Coventry Gaol as a forger. + +Some of these Shakespeares gravitated towards London. In the will of +Leonard Wilmot, of Clanfield, co. Oxon., gent., 1608, there is a bequest +to "Leonard Shackspire, my godson, servant to John Prince, of Abington, +Vintner, 5^li, and to John Shackspire, of Newnam, 5^li."[286] This John +may be father of Leonard, and may be the John referred to in the note. +"John Shakespeare, of Nuneham Courtney, co. Oxford, an old feeble man, +had been drinking in his house, 25th Nov., 1633."[287] A Leonard is +mentioned in the register of Sunningwell, Berks, as being married to +Alyce Parkes of Abingdon, September 12, 1614. This is probably the +Leonard of Isleworth, Middlesex, vintner, who at an advanced age made +his will,[288] March 26, 1664. He left his wife Elizabeth two tenements +in Isleworth for life, then to his son John and his heirs; to his son +William, 12d.; to his son Ralph, 12d.; to his daughter, Elizabeth King, +£20 after his wife's death; to his son William's son William, 2s. 6d.; +to his daughter Elizabeth, a feather bed; to his daughter Sara, 12d.; to +his daughter Robina, 12d.; if John died without heirs, the tenements to +go to his sons Ralph and William. His wife Elizabeth executrix; his +friend, Mr. William Dance, and his son-in-law, Robert Parsons, +overseers. Was it a stepmother's influence that made him cut off his two +sons with a shilling?[289] + +Working for another purpose at a later date, I found Shakespeares in the +little village of South Stoke in Oxfordshire. Among the baptisms are: +"John, April 8th, 1751; Mary, Oct. 22nd, 1752; Hannah, Sept. 29, 1754; +Elizabeth, Aug. 24th, 1756; Ann, July 6th, 1760, all children of Robert +and Mary Shakespeare." "Susanna, base-born daughter of Catharine +Shakespeare, Dec. 24th, 1784." "Elizabeth, daughter of John Shakespeare, +and Eleanor his wife, Nov. 12, 1786." Among the marriages are "John Birt +and Mary Shakespeare, 7th December, 1773." Among the burials are +"William, March 13th, 1768," and "Robert, July 20th, 1786." In the same +volume are Richard and Thomas, sons of Richard Burbage, 1577 and 1579, +who both died in infancy, and there are many other Shakespearean names. + +In counties still further from Warwickshire the name is also found, as +we may note in Hertfordshire, Derbyshire,[290] Hampshire, Surrey, +Bedfordshire. There was administration granted to Lucy Shakespear, +widow, of the goods of her deceased husband Thomas, of the town of +Hertford, October 10, 1626; and Luke Shakespear, of Layston, co. Herts, +fishmonger, made his will[291] May 7, 1707. His wife was Joyce, and he +had a sister and two brothers not named. + +In Layston[292] Churchyard there are the tombs of "Mr. John Shakespeare, +late citizen and founder of London," 1732, and of "Henry Mond +Shakespear, Citizen and Loriner of London," 1784. + +In Portsmouth, 1662, William Shakespeare was contractor for the old Gun +Wharf. A public-house, called Shakespeare's Head, is supposed to have +been the place where he paid his men.[293] On April 25, 1747, in St. +Gregory's by St. Paul's, were married "John Shakespeare of Portsea, and +Mary Higginson of St. James', Westminster." Joseph Champ and Martha Ham, +married at Portsmouth April 22, 1736, had John Shakespeare, of +Portsmouth, as one of their bondsmen; and George Poate and Anne Loch, +October 6, 1802, had Samuel Shakespeare one of their bondsmen.[294] The +London Shakespeares seem to have had a residence in Hampshire also, for +"Mrs. Shakespeare, widow of Alderman Shakespeare, of London, died at +Bramdean, co. Hants, aged 80, in March, 1807."[295] + +Aubrey speaks of the wife of John Shakespeare, of Worplesdowne, in +Surrey, who made as good butter there as she ever did at Wroxall or +Bitteston. She was a North Wiltshire woman.[296] At Walton-upon-Thames, +Surrey, tombstones remind us of Matthew Shakespeare and George +Shakespeare, who died August 8, 1775; also of John Shakespeare, of +Weybridge, January 13, 1775; of William Shakespeare of this parish, +1783; and of George Shakespeare, architect, Oxford Street, London, +1797.[297] + +On March 13, 1663, "William Shakespeare of Faucat was buried, and on +July 23, 1668, Ann Shackspere, daughter to Will Shackspear, was buried +in Toddington, co. Beds."[298] + +There were Shakespeares also in Essex. Mr. Veley collects a few +particulars regarding them from the unregistered wills of the +Archdeaconry of Essex.[299] The oldest is that of Thomas Shakespeare, +priest, August 26, 1557. He leaves legacies to "8 priests of Jesus +Commons, wherein I now dwell," to sing masses, and something to the +maintenance of Jesus Commons, and to poor people, to the sisters of +Sion, the fathers of Sheen, the observant friars of Greenwich, the +Black-Friars of St. Bartholomew, Smithfield, the nuns of King's Langley, +and "to the parryshe church of Seynt Mildryd in Bred Streete in London, +towards the byeing of a pyxt or monstrat to carry the blyssyd Sacrament, +v^li. To my brother, Robert Shakespeare; my brother, Harry Wyllson; my +brother, John Cooke; my sister, Grace Starke; my sister, Jone +Shackspere: my sister, Cicely Richardson; to John Cooke, of Jesus +Commons; to Mother Agnes, of the Commons, and Goodwyfe Blower." The +strange thing about this will is that it seems to have been made by the +same Sir Thomas Shakespeare, clerk, whom I enter among the +pre-Shakespearean London Shakespeares in August 22, 1559.[300] His will +is preserved at Somerset House.[301] + +The two years that intervened between the drafting of the two wills were +years of great import. Mary had died, Philip had vanished, and Elizabeth +was seated on the throne. Therefore it is not surprising that there are +fewer priestly legacies in the later will, that it mentions also fewer +relatives, and no brother Robert. But there are still sisters, Thomasine +Cook, Grace Storeton, Jone Shackspere, and a relative, Anne Wilson; and +the legacy to the Church of St. Mildred's, Bread Street, London.[302] +Mr. Veley does not know of this later will, which is the one that was +proved. He takes it for granted Thomas was an Essex man, though he lived +in London. He probably was so. + +Mr. Veley also mentions a Joseph Shakespeare of Havering, who made his +will 1640. He had a brother Samuel, of Hornchurch, whose widow Susan +made her will in 1678; a Samuel, of Romford, her son, who married +Judith, had a daughter Ann, and died in 1707; a Thomas, of Hornchurch, +also son of Susan, who made his will in 1702; and a William, probably a +third brother, who married Susannah, was father to John of Rawreth, and +made his will March 2, 1723. John of Rawreth's goods were administered +by his daughter Judith, wife of Asser Vassall, 1731. Mr. Veley also +finds a John and Elizabeth mentioned, but unfortunately does not print +the contents of these other wills. + +It may be noted that there is a considerable gap between the date of the +priest and his brother Robert and these later Shakespeares. I was glad +to find among the administrations at Somerset House[303] the name of +"Alice Shakespeare, Widow, of Ginge Margretting, Essex, 1581." She might +have been the widow of this Robert, and might also have been, at an +advanced age, the sister Alice Shakespeare mentioned in the will of +Francis Griffin, of Braybrook, 37 Henry VIII., who, Mr. Yeatman insists, +must have been the poet's grandmother. Francis Griffin remembers another +sister, _Agnes Crosmore_. The goods of this Alice Shakespeare were +administered by her sister, _Agnes Williams_, of Barking. I have made a +prolonged search among the Subsidy Rolls of Essex to locate this family. +Nowhere have I found the spelling of the name so varied, from +Shakesphere to Shakespurr, Saxper, and even Shaksby and Shucksby. +Cross-references prove these to be intended for the same name.[304] In 3 +Jac. I., in Foulness, Essex, a Nicholas Saxper; in Rochford,[305] 21 +Jac. I., John Shuxbye, and in Stambridge Magna, 4 Car. I., both Shakesby +and Shukesby. The Hearth Tax,[306] Essex, Car. II., mentions Samuel +Shexpere, and the Subsidy Rolls of 14 Car. II., Samuel Shaksper, of +Harold's Wood Ward. In 1666[307] there appear in the Hundred of Witham +Thomas Shakesby and Edward Shakesby, a Samuel Shakespeare of the North +End of Hornchurch, and a Samuel Shakespeare of Harold's Wood Ward. + +In the Hundred of Chafford, William Shakespeare, gent., of Langdon +Hills, appears among the collectors of the subsidies. It is possible +there may have been many more of the name assessed; but some of the +Rolls are lost and many are decayed in various ways. I have searched +several of the outlying registers without success, but others have found +the name in Romford, Barking, Hornchurch, Rawreth, and Rochester. + +In the county where we find an early notice of the family the name +occasionally appears. Mr. J. M. Cowper, Canterbury, tells us that +"Judith filia Leonardi Shakespeare was baptized Feb. 27, 1596-7, at +Warehorne, Kent."[308] The name does not occur again. In Rucking, Kent, +February 24, 1599, John, son of Reginald Shakespear, was baptized, and +on May 30, 1600, Reginald Shakespeare was buried.[309] + +Mr. W. J. Lightfoot, the transcriber, says that he is acquainted with +several other neighbouring parishes, and that the name does _not_ occur +in their registers--a statement which, curiously enough, Mr. French +reproduces without the "not." + +George Austin and Margaret Shakespeare, of Biddenden, Kent, widow, were +married July 26, 1639.[310] + +In the North, where the early Shakespeares were attached to land, they +seem to have survived and spread, as may be seen from the directories of +Northern towns to-day.[311] Ireland, too, owns Shakespeares, possibly +descended from the Thomas of Youghal. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[266] _Notes and Queries_, Second Series, vi. 285; Third Series, viii. +33. "George, descendant of Humphrey," etc. Mr. Dickenson tells me there +are many of the name in the parish of Bredon. + +[267] By fine levied Hil. 1655, Shakespere conveyed tenements in +Inckbarrow, Worcestershire, _Notes and Queries_, Second Series, vii. +336. + +[268] There is the will of John Shakespeare, of Newington Bagpath, Cook, +among the Gloucester Wills, Index Library, and in "The Shakespeares of +Dursley," by John Henry Blount, we find James Shakespeare buried at +Bisley, March 13, 1570; Edward, son of John and Margery Shakespeare, +bapt. at Beverston, September 19, 1619. Thomas Shakespeare, weaver, was +married to Joan Turner at Dursley Church, March 3, 1677-78, and of their +children, Edward was bapt. July 1, 1681; Mary, 1682; Thomas, 1685; and +Mary, 1691. John Shakespeare was a mason in Dursley from 1704 to 1739; +and Thomas Shakespeare had a seat-place allotted him in 1739. Betty +Shakespeare received poor money from 1747 till 1754. Some still exist in +the adjoining parish of Newington Bagpath, and claim kindred with the +poet. + +[269] Edward Shakespeare of Syresham, 1626-30; Thomas Shakespeare of +Litchborough, 1610-41 (Northamptonshire and Rutland Wills, Index +Library). + +[270] _Notes and Queries_, First Series, vii. 405 and 546. + +[271] A John Shakespeare of Finchhampstead, Berkshire, made his will in +1644. See Berkshire Wills. + +[272] _Notes and Queries_, First Series, vii. 405 and 546. + +[273] State Papers, Domestic Series, Jac. I., ix. 72. + +[274] Lay Subsidies, Leicester, Goodlaxton, 39 Elizabeth, Wigston Parva, +134/235 and 134/254. + +[275] Hist. Man. Com., vol. iii., Report 1872, p. 190. + +[276] Ancient Records of Leicester, Trans. Lit. and Phil. Society, 1855, +and _Notes and Queries_, Third Series, v. 383. + +[277] Admission Books, Staple Inn, vol. i., f. 58, and French, +"Shakespeareana Genealogica," 542. + +[278] From the Register of St. Gregory by St. Paul's, London. + +[279] "Dict. Nat. Biography." + +[280] _Notes and Queries_, Fifth Series, viii. 386. + +[281] See p. 15. + +[282] Proved November 4, 1643, by his relict Elizabeth. + +[283] _Notes and Queries_, Third Series, viii. 124. + +[284] "Catalogue of Oxford Graduates," Clarendon Press. + +[285] _Notes and Queries_, Second Series, xii. 469. + +[286] French, "Shakspeareana Genealogica." + +[287] _Notes and Queries_, Seventh Series, vi. 344. See "Liber Actorum," +Bodleian Library. + +[288] Somerset House, 88 Bruce, proved July 1, 1664. + +[289] The Hearth Tax for Isleworth, 1666, 252/32, notes "Ralph +Shakespeare 2 hearths, Widow Shakespeare 1 hearth." + +[290] Elizabeth Shakspere, of St. Werbergs, Derby, made her will 1558. +Pegge's "Collection for the History of Derbyshire" contains a sheet of +printed verses "on the death of the Rev. Mr. Shakespear" (Nichols's +"Col. Top. and Gen.," iii. 244). + +[291] Wills of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. + +[292] See _Genealogical Magazine_, January, 1898. + +[293] _Notes and Queries_, Fourth Series, iv. 275. + +[294] Hampshire Marriage Licences. + +[295] _Gentleman's Magazine_, vol. lxxvii., p. 280. + +[296] Aubrey's "Natural History of Wiltshire," 1680. + +[297] Manning and Bray's "Surrey," vol. ii. + +[298] "Misc. Gen. et Herald.," Second Series, vol. ii. Register of +Toddington, co. Beds. + +[299] See "The Shakespeares of Essex." by Augustus Charles Veley, +Registrar of the Archdeaconry of Essex, _Essex Archæological Society's +Magazine_, vol. iii., p. 70, 1865. + +[300] See my article in the _Athenæum_, April 23, 1892, entitled +"Pre-Shakespearean London Shakespeares." + +[301] 40 Chayney. + +[302] Auditors' Patent Books, vol. vi., 1538-1553. Thomas Shakespeare, +formerly minister of Colebray, in the parish of St. Mildred's, in the +ward of Bread Street, London, on September 1, 2 Ed. VI., received a +patent for 100 shillings per annum. There is no absolute proof, but +every probability, that this is the same Sir Thomas Schaftespeyr +mentioned in the will of Joan Jons of Bristol, and other Bristol Wills. +See the abstract contained in the "Great Orphan Book," and Book of Wills +in Council House at Bristol, 1886, by the Rev. J. P. Wadley, Rector of +Naunton Beauchamp. + +[303] Admin. Vicar-General's Books, No. 268, 1574-1583. + +[304] Lay Subsidies, Essex, 111/575. + +[305] Lay Subsidies, Essex, Rochford, 112/602, 112/634, 112/642. + +[306] Subsidy Rolls, Chelmsford, Essex, 112/707, do. 112/708. + +[307] Subsidy Rolls of several Hundreds in Essex, a paper book, 246/19. + +[308] _Notes and Queries_, Third Series, vi. 324, and French, +"Shakespeareana Genealogica," p. 541. + +[309] _Notes and Queries_, Third Series, vi. 324, and French, +"Shakespeareana Genealogica," p. 541. Mr. C. G. Dickenson tells me his +will is at Canterbury, v. 52, f. 36. + +[310] Registers of Sutton Valence, Kent, kindly sent by a correspondent. + +[311] "Misc. Gen. et Herald," New Series, i. 143. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +LONDON SHAKESPEARES + + +By far the most interesting search can be made in London, that great +centre where congregate representatives of all the families and counties +of the kingdom. + +It is strange that a William was one of the earliest recorded burials in +the registers of St. Margaret's, Westminster. "William Shakespeare was +buried April 30, 1539." A comparatively modern hand has written against +this the foolish scribble, "Query if this be the poet or not?" He may +have been in the service of the Court, but there are no signs that he +was a man of wealth. In the churchwardens' account[312] he was only +charged 2d. for the candles at his funeral, a common charge, but not for +great people. He may have been the son of the fifteenth-century William, +or of Peter of Southwark, and father or brother of Roger the royal +yeoman. + +The discovery that _Shakespeare_ lived in St. Helen's Parish, +Bishopsgate, has been claimed for an American, though Hunter mentioned +in his "Life of Shakespeare," 1845, that in the Subsidy Rolls of London +a William Shakespeare was assessed in 1597 in that district.[313] + +[Illustration: NORDEN'S MAP OF LONDON, 1593. + +_Between pp. 142, 143._] + +The entry is: "Affid. William Shakespeare on v^li goods,[314] assessed +xiii iiii^d." The "affid." affixed to it shows that the Shakespeare +named tried to avoid payment on some grounds. It has surprised many, and +satisfied others as suitable, that the poet should have lived in this +neighbourhood, near so many of his theatrical friends. But I do not +think it is certainly proved that it was our Shakespeare at all. Two +references of Collier seem to locate him in Southwark in 1596, and in +1609, near the site of the Globe Theatre. Several of the name lived near +Bishopsgate before and after his death. + +John Scatcliffe, of St. Botolph's, Aldersgate, cook, bachelor, +twenty-four, and Mary Shakespeare, of the same, spinster, twenty-four, +at St. Botolph's, December 20, 1637;[315] in later years, Nathaniel[316] +Shaxspere and Elizabeth ----, widow, married August 18, 1663, in St. +Botolph's, Bishopsgate; Henry Shakespeare, of St. Botolph's, +Bishopsgate, bachelor (twenty-five), and Elizabeth Hartwell, of same, +spinster (twenty), her parents dead, with consent of her grandmother, +Elizabeth Gaye, of same, at St. Botolph's, March 26, 1663; William[317] +Winch and Abigail Shaxpere, married September 30, 1680; Francis Hill and +Saray Saxspere, September 28, 1682; John Shakespeare and Edith Murry, +married at St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, January 2, 1699; William +Shakespear and Anna Maria Carter, both of this parish, July 9, 1733. + +There was a Matthew Shakespere who, on February 5, 1566-67, married +Isabel Peele in Christ Church,[318] Newgate Street. She was probably +daughter of James Peele, Clerk of Christ's Hospital from 1562 to 1585, +and sister of George Peele,[319] the dramatist, educated in the Grammar +School there. They seem to have had a large family.[320] On January 18, +1569, Johanne, daughter of Matthew Shakespere, was baptized, and buried +on February 11. On March --, 1574, Francis, son of Matthew Shakespere, +baptized; on August 27, 1578, Jane; on April 7, 1583, Thomas. There was +also a Humphrey entered as son of _Hugh_ Shakespeare, August 5, 1571. +But as among the burials there appears "Humphrey, son of Matthew +Shackspere, Aug. 30, 1571," it would seem to be an error. Johanne, +daughter of Matthew Shackespere, was buried December 26, 1572, the +second of the name; Jayne, on September 5, 1577, the first of the name. +Robert, son of Matthew Shackspeare, was buried May 5, 1580. Besides +these were buried Francis Shakespeare, October 7, 1571, and Robert +Shakespeare, May 24, 1577. These might be grandfather and uncle of the +family, which might have reckoned a William among its members. + +There was a Thomas Shakespeare, royal messenger, in 1572, payments to +whom I have found in the State Papers.[321] And in "Archæologia" there +is printed his request for payment, in 1577, for carrying letters from +the Privy Council to the Bishop of London at Fulham, the Bishop of York +at Tower Hill, the Bishop of Chichester at Westminster, the Bishop of +Durham in Aldersgate Street, and to the Bishop of Worcester in St. +Paul's Churchyard.[322] + +Mr. Hunter and many others supposed that at the time of the poet there +was only _one_ other of the name in London--John of St. +Martin's-in-the-Fields. + +In the churchwardens' accounts there were found notices of a John +Shakespeare about 1605. Mr. French thinks that he might be the John, son +of Thomas, of Snitterfield.[323] I have worked through these books and +the registers, and have gleaned a good many scraps about him. He appears +there too early. John of Snitterfield was born in 1581-82. John of St. +Martin's, on January 22, 1589, was married[324] to Dorothea Dodde, +daughter of the Vestry Clerk (her sister Jane had, the year before, +married a Christopher Wren) of that parish; and on December 23, 1593, it +is to be supposed he had a daughter, "Maria Shakespeare," christened, +mentioned there, as is customary in that register, without the name of +her father. + +In 1594 Mrs. Shakespeare's sister was staying with her, as among the +burials is entered, "Elizabeth Dod, from Shakespeares." + +John[325] Shakespeare, "on the land side of the parish," in 1603, +contributed to the new casting of the bells five shillings, and in 1605 +was one of the sidesmen. "Paid to John Shakespeare, one of the sidesmen, +that he laid out at the registers office for putting in the Recusants +Bills 3s. 4d." In 1609 "Dorithie Shakespeare" was buried, and her +expenses brought in to the churchwardens 32s. 2d., relatively a large +sum, as Sir Thomas Windebanck's funeral cost only 16s. In that same year +John contributed also ten shillings to the repair of the church. On June +20, 1613, the churchwardens "received from John Shakespeare, by the +hands of Edward Thickness, the sum of £10, given as a legacy by Mrs. +Dimbleby, deceased" (which suggests that he was her executor), and in +1617 they "gave to John Shakespeare's daughter 7s. 6d."--a curious +entry, which I cannot explain. She may have done some work for the +churchwardens, as they often employed women; it may have been a debt due +her father, a present on her marriage, or an aid in sudden poverty. The +death of a "John Shakespeare, a man," is noted in 1646, in apparent +poverty, as the funeral cost only 1s.--a different cost from that of +Mrs. Dorothy Shakespeare in 1608. I had thought it possible that this +sum represented only a fee for a burial in another parish, but I find +that theory is untenable. Whether the John of 1646 was the same as the +sidesman of 1605 or not, he was certainly buried in the parish. From the +vestry books I found many notices of John Shakespeare as contributing to +the expenses of the poor, first on the "waterside" of the parish, and +then on the "landside"; and I believed, reasoning from a State Paper +Bill, that he was referred to in the entry, "received for a pewe, from +the Princes' Bitmaker 30s., 1639-40." His name disappeared from the +books long before 1646; and I fancied he had gone farther east to the +parish of St. Clement's Danes, which joined that of St. Martin's at +several points. "Paid to William Wright for a stone engraved with +letters on it, which is sett in the wall of the Earl of Salisbury at his +house at Ivie Bridge to devide the two parishes of St. Martin's in the +Fields and St. Clement's Danes in that place." I gave up theorizing +until I could see the registers of St. Clement's Danes, and from various +causes three years passed before I had an opportunity of clearing up the +puzzle. These registers prove that in London, as in Stratford-on-Avon, I +had been confused by double entries, and that there was _another John +Shakespeare_. The St. Martin's John lost his wife Dorothy in 1608; the +St. Clement's John married his wife Mary in 1605. "3rd Feb. 1604-5, +Johne Shakspear and Mary Godtheridg." _He_ was the wealthy bitmaker to +the King, of whom I had discovered notices in the State Papers and wills +that turned my attention to St. Clement's Danes, a hitherto unsuspected +locality for Shakespeare finds. I thought at first that he might have +been John the shoemaker who vanished from Stratford. But it was hardly +likely that he should have changed his trade from shoemaking to +bitmaking, or that he would have been successful in it. The St. +Clement's John might have been a son of the St. Martin's John, but there +is no christening of a John in that parish, or in any other London +parish that I know. So here I thought I might justly theorize, and state +my opinion that he really was the John, son of Thomas, of Snitterfield, +born 1581-82, of whom is no record of further life or burial in his own +neighbourhood. He would be of a suitable age, and there was in his case +a _reason_ for Court success. + +William Shakespeare the poet had by this time made his mark, not only in +literature and the drama, but in Court influence and financial +possibilities. His patron, the Earl of Southampton, was in favour with +the King. Supposing this John was Shakespeare's first cousin, as I +believe he was, what more likely than that the poet, who had lost his +only son, would help, as far as he could, his nearest male relative? I +trust to find further proof of this some day, but I may state what I do +know about this St. Clement's John. He had a large family. The registers +record in the baptizings: "John Shaxbee sonne of John 28th Aug. 1605." +"Susan Shasper daughter of John 19th Feb. 1607." "Jane Shakespeer the +daughter of John 16th July 1608." "Anthony Shaksbye son of John 23rd +June 1610." "Thomas Shackspeer son of John 30th June 1611." "Ellyn +Shakspear the daughter of John 5th May 1614." "Katharine Shakspeare +daughter of John 25th Aug. 1616." Now, to set against these we have the +burials of: "Anthony Shakesby the son of John 26th June 1610." "Thomas +Shakspeer the son of John 1st July 1612." "Susan Shakspere daughter of +John 3rd Aug. 1612." "Katharine Shakespeare d. of John 26th Aug. 1616." +Of two of the remaining children, John and Ellen, we have further +information; concerning the other, I believe we have an interesting +error, bearing on the credibility of parish clerks. + +Among the burials appears that of "_Jane Shackspeer, daughter of Willm, +8. Aug. 1609_." Now, this might have been a daughter of the Bishopsgate +William, or of some country William up in London for a holiday. It might +even have been a hitherto unknown daughter of the poet himself. But I +believe that the clerk's mind was wandering when he wrote, and that he +was thinking of "William" when he should have written "John," because +John's family seem to have been delicate and have chiefly died young, +and his daughter "Jane" would have been just about a year old at the +time. No other notice of "William" or of "Jane" appears in the register. + +The phonetic varieties of the spelling of the name may have been +noticed, but it is as well I copied all such. Among the Bishop of +London's marriage[326] licenses I find on "May 28, 1631, John +Shackspeare of St. Clement's Danes, Bittmaker, Bachelor, 26, had a +license to marry Margaret Edwards of St. Bride's Spinster, 28, at same +Parish Church."[327] The age of John Shackspear coincides with the age +of John Shaxbee, which is the only resembling entry near the date, and +the trade and the parish are the same. He was duly married in St. +Bride's,[328] and soon afterwards christenings began in St. Clement's +Danes. "12th April 1632, John Shackspeare son of John Shackspeare +Junior, and Margaret, ux." "4th May 1633, Mary Shackespeare, daughter of +John Shackespeare, and Margaret, ux." "17th Aug. 1634, Mary Shackspeare, +daughter of John Shackespeare and Margaret, ux." "3rd March 1635-6 John +Shakespear son of John and Margaret his wife." The reason for the +repeated names lies in the burials: "John Shackspeare son of John 17th +May, 1632." "Mary Shakespeare daughter of John 16th Julie 1633." "Mary +Shakespeare, infant, 1st May 1635." The more important entry of the +burial of their grandfather is fortunately clear--"John Shackespeare, +the King's Bitmaker, 27th Jan. 1633."[329] The name of trade or +profession was but rarely mentioned in this parish, and in this case it +fixes the State Paper entries. A large sum (£1,612 11s.) due to her +husband by the Crown was paid to a widow Mary after the death of her +husband, John Shackespeare,[330] His Majesty's bit-maker, 1638, for +wares delivered to the royal stables, and she had already been paid £80. +"Warrant to pay to the Earl of Denbigh Master of the Wardrobe £1612, 11 +0, to be paid to Mary Shackspeare widow & executrix of John +Shackespeare, his Majesty's Bitmaker deceased, in regard of her present +necessities, in full of a debt of £1692, 11 for sundry parcels of wares +by him delivered for his majesty's service in the Stables, as by a +certificate appeareth, whereof there has been already paid unto her £80. +Subscribed by order of the Lord Treasurer procured Dec. 18th, 1637, and +paid Jan. 21, 1637-8." + +For some reason her daughter Ellen was made her heiress. Among the State +Papers at Dublin Castle relating to settlements and explanations after +the Restoration there is a reference to this lady, and there was some +dispute about what she was entitled to receive. "It appears by an order +of the Revenue side of the Exchequer[331] that Ellen, daughter and +heiress of Mary Shakespeare, of ye Strand, widow, was married to John +Milburne." In Mary Shakespeare's will, December 24, 1553, she left to +her daughter, Ellen Milburne, £60; money to her grandchildren Milburne; +£50 to her grandson, John Shakespeare, son of her son John; 10s. to her +sister, Anne Brewer; 5s. to her daughter-in-law, Margaret Shakespeare; +2s. 6d. to Sarah Richardson, her brother's daughter; and the same to +Mary Shakespeare, wife of Thomas Allon (proved March 2, 1654).[332] + +The Mary Shakespeare of St. Martin's parish does not seem to have died +there. She may have been the Mary Shakespeare, wife of Thomas Allon, of +the above will, or the Mary Shakespeare who was buried in the Church of +St. Thomas Apostle,[333] November 14, 1644. There was a John +Shakespeare, who might have been one of those three now mentioned, or +who might have been a fourth of the name, not very far off, mentioned as +one of the defaulters by the Collectors of the Loan in the Hundred of +Edmonton, and part of the Hundred of Ossulton, County Middlesex, in +1627.[334] + +There were Shakespeares further west and further east than the Strand. +Adrian Shakespeare, of St. James's, within the liberty of Westminster, +left £550 on trust with his brothers-in-law, William Gregory and William +Farron, for his daughter Elizabeth and an unborn child; his father, +Thomas Shakespeare, and all his brothers and sisters to have a guinea +apiece, residue to his wife Christian, November 26, 1714.[335] Perhaps +he descended from the William of 1539. + +At St. George's, Hanover Square, William Fellows, widower, and Margaret +Shakespear, spinster, were married May 28, 1730;[336] at St. George's, +Hanover Square, William Guy and Rebekah Shakespeare, of St. +Mary-le-Bone, March 29, 1758;[337] at St. George's Chapel, Hyde Park +Corner, William Shakespeare and Mary Waight, of St. Giles, Cripplegate, +July 29, 1751;[338] James Barnet, of St. James's, Westminster, and +Elizabeth Shakespear, February 9, 1760.[339] A George Shakespeare, of +Westminster, Arm., matriculated at Wadham College, June 10, 1785, aged +twenty-seven.[340] + +Manasses Shakespeare, of St. Andrew's, Holborn, widower, and Mary +Goodwin, spinster, of same, married at St. James's, Duke's Place, April +27, 1710.[341] + +Benjamin Shakespear, of the parish of St. Christopher, painter, made his +will 1707, and bequeathed to his father, Benjamin Shakespear, of +Tamworth, in Warwickshire, his wearing apparel, and left a legacy to his +mother Joyce, his wife Judith being sole executrix[342] (proved December +4, 1714). + +In the records of the Leather Sellers' Company is preserved the +apprenticeship of George, son of Thomas Shakespeare, of Arley, county +Warwick,[343] October 12, 1693. George, son of William Shakespeare, also +of Arley, was apprenticed 1732. Thomas Shakespeare, son of George, +citizen and leather-seller of London, was apprenticed to William +Jephson, vintner.[344] + +An important branch of the family settled in the east. John Shackspeer, +of Rope Walk, Upper Shadwell, appears in 1654. His father has still to +be found, but his posterity believe he descended from the poet's +grandfather. I had hoped to satisfy them through the St. Clement's Danes +registers. But his age at his marriage precludes this, for it gives the +year of his birth as 1619. The only John that I know to be born in that +year was John, son of Thomas Shakespeare, gent., baptized July 18, 1619, +in St. Gregory by St. Paul's. I had taken him to be the son of Thomas, +the Staple Inn student and lawyer of Leicester, but I cannot prove it. +On June 14, 1654, John married Martha Seeley,[345] and had four sons and +four daughters, of whom survived Martha, Samuel, Benjamin, Mary, John +and Jonathan. A trade token of his still exists.[346] Ropemaker +Shakespeare was summoned, with others, to appear before the Admiralty +regarding a breach of contract for ropes, January 26, 1656-57.[347] John +Shakespear, son of John of Shadwell, ropemaker, was apprenticed to John +Grange, of Upper Shadwell, chafer, 1663-64.[348] Jonathan, the youngest +son, born February 6, 1670, succeeded his father, who died 1689. He +married,[349] April 26, 1698, Elizabeth Shallet, of Clapham, aged +nineteen, and had thirteen children. Samuel Wilton was apprenticed to +Jonathan Shakespeare, citizen and _broiderer_ of London, April 7, 1725. +He died 1735. The business of ropemaking was carried on by the eldest +son, Arthur, born 1699, who died 1749, leaving the property and business +to his youngest brother John, on condition he brought up his heir to +ropemaking. This John, twelfth child of Jonathan, born 1718, married, +1745, Elizabeth, daughter of Colin Currie, and Anne, daughter of the +Honourable John Campbell; and had eleven children. He became Ropemaker +to the Board of Ordnance in succession to his brother Arthur, May 12, +1749; Trustee of Middlesex Turnpike Roads 1751; Ranger of Waltham Forest +1761; Deputy-Lieutenant for Middlesex 1763; alderman of the ward of +Aldgate 1767; sheriff 1768. He was originally of the Broiderers' +Company, as was his father, but was translated from that guild to the +Ironmongers', of which he became master 1769.[350] He died 1775. "_The +alderman used the same coat of arms as the poet, there being but the one +known._" It is engraved in Noorthouck's "History of London," ed. 1773. + +The Shakespear tomb in Stepney Churchyard records his death, and that of +Bennet Shakespear, son of Jonathan, 1756, and Jonathan, son of Jonathan, +1768, brothers of the alderman; also Mrs. Elizabeth Shakespeare, his +widow, February 15, 1807, aged eighty, at Bramdean, co. Hants; Arthur +Shakespear, eldest son of the alderman, M.P. for Richmond, in Yorkshire, +1818, aged seventy; his wife Jane, 1805, aged fifty-five; Matthew John +Shakespeare, son of Arthur, April 2, 1844; and several children who died +young. The sons of the Alderman John Shakespeare and Elizabeth his wife +were I. Arthur; II. John; III. David; IV. Samuel; V. Colin. + +I. Arthur, the M.P. for Richmond, married Jane, daughter of Sir Matthew +Ridley, and had two sons, Matthew John, and Arthur William. His wife +died in Pall Mall in February, 1805,[351] and he died June 12, 1818, in +Albemarle Street,[352] aged seventy. His son, Matthew John Shakespeare, +willed away the Shadwell property to his cousins, the children of Mary +Oliver, 1844. The rope-factory was destroyed by fire in the autumn of +1860, but a street in the neighbourhood is still called Shakespeare's +Walk. + +II. John. The second son of Alderman John was born May 6, 1749. He +married, in 1782, Mary, daughter and heir of the Rev. William Davenport, +of Bredon, co. Worcester, and of Lacock Abbey, co. Wilts, by his wife, +Martha Talbot, of the old family famed by Shakespeare the poet. + +The sons of John Shakespear and Mary Davenport, his first wife, were: +(1) John Talbot; (2) William Oliver; (3) Henry Davenport; (4) Arthur. + +1. John Talbot Shakespear entered the East India Company's service, and +had four sons by Emily, eldest daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray: +(1_a_) John Dowdeswell Shakespear, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Bengal +Artillery, who married Margaret, only daughter of Joseph Hodgson, F.R.S. +He died without issue, April 6, 1867, aged sixty.[353] (2_a_) William +Makepeace Shakespear, (3_a_) George Trant Shakespear, who both died +unmarried. (4_a_) Sir Richmond Campbell Shakespear, 1812-61, "youngest +son of John Talbot Shakespear, of the Bengal Civil Service. He came to +England with his cousin, William Makepeace Thackeray, for his education. +He served with distinction in India, was knighted in 1841, the only +occasion on which he returned to England. His cousin, Thackeray, in the +'Roundabout Papers' (Letts's Diary), paid a tribute to his chivalry and +liberality. He married Marian Sophia Thompson in 1844, and died at +Indore, October 28, 1861, leaving a family of three sons and six +daughters."[354] A memorial-stone is raised in memory of him in the +cloister walls of Charterhouse Chapel.[355] Thackeray drew the portrait +of Colonel Newcome from his elder brother, Colonel John Dowdeswell +Shakespeare. His eldest son, Richmond Shakespear, Captain H.M. 36th +Regiment N.I., died in India, August 12, 1865. His daughter, Selina, +married, in 1868, Lieutenant Ninian Lowis, Bengal Staff Corps. + +Mr. John Talbot Shakespear had also four daughters--Emily, Augusta, +Charlotte, Marianne. + +2. The second son of John Shakespear and Mary Davenport, William Oliver +Shakespear, was Judge of the Provincial Court of Appeal in the Madras +Presidency. He married Charlotte Maxton, and had five sons and two +daughters, (1_b_) William, who died young; (2_b_) Henry, a Lieutenant in +the Royal Navy, who was shipwrecked in a frigate in the Indian Seas, +1833; (3_b_) Charles Maxton Shakespear, Lieutenant-Colonel in the Madras +Army; (4_b_) Arthur Robert, who died in 1844; (5_b_) George Frederick +Shakespear, Lieutenant-Colonel Madras Staff Corps, who was married, and +had a son born in 1865.[356] + +3. The third son, Henry Davenport Shakespear, was member of the Supreme +Court of India. He married Louisa Muerson, and had three sons and seven +daughters. (1_c_) Henry John Childe Shakespear, Commandant of the +Nagpore Irregular Horse; (2_c_) Alexander Shakespear, a Judge in India; +(3_c_) William Ross Shakespear, Madras Cavalry, who married Fanny +Isabella, daughter of Sir Robert North Collie Hamilton, of Alveston, co. +Warwick, 1854, and had two sons, William and Robert; he died in 1862. +The daughters of Henry Davenport Shakespear were Louisa, Harriet, +Augusta, Jane, Agnes, Mary, Henrietta. He died in 1838. + +4. The fourth son of John Shakespear and Mary Davenport, Arthur +Shakespear, was Captain in the 10th Hussars, served as aide-de-camp to +Lord Combermore during the Peninsular War, and was Brigade-Major of the +Hussars at Waterloo. He married, April 19, 1818, Harriet Sophia, +daughter of Thomas Skip Dyott Bucknall, of Hampton Court. He died in +1845, leaving six sons and two daughters, (1_d_) George Bucknall +Shakespear, Colonel Royal Artillery, who married Henrietta Panet. His +eldest son was Arthur Bucknall Shakespear. (2_d_) William Powlett +Shakespear[357] was a Lieutenant in the 2nd Bombay Fusiliers, and lost +his life at Samanghur in trying to save a wounded sepoy. (3_d_) Colonel +John Talbot Shakespear, who married Emma Waterfield, and had a son, +Leslie, born 1865. (4_d_) Lieutenant-Colonel John Davenport Shakespear, +served in the Crimean War. He married, in 1855, Louisa Caroline, +daughter of Robert Sayer, of Sibton Park, co. Suffolk, and had a son, +Arthur Franklin Charles Shakespear, 1864, and a daughter, Ida Nea. He +claimed descent from the poet's family in 1864.[358] (5_d_) Rev. Wyndham +Arthur Shakespear, fifth son of Arthur Shakespear, of Boxwell, co. +Gloucester, Arm. Exeter College, matriculated May 29, 1855, aged +nineteen, B.A. from Litton Hall, 1860, and M.A. He has held various +curacies.[359] (6_d_) Robert Henry Shakespear, who married, in 1858, +Octavia, daughter of Charles Fenwick, Consul-General for Denmark. He has +a son, Lionel Fairfax Shakespear. His elder daughter, Harriet Blanche, +married, 1868, Lieutenant-Colonel James Edward Mayne, Deputy-Judge, +Madras; the younger, Rosaline, married William Sim Murray, M.D., +surgeon, 66th Foot, 1867. + +II. John Shakespeare's first wife, Mary Davenport, died in 1793; and he +married, secondly, Charlotte, the daughter of ---- Fletcher, Esq., by +whom he had a son-- + +5. Owen, who died unmarried, and two daughters, Georgiana and Henrietta +Matilda. His second wife, Charlotte, died in 1815, and he died January +16, 1825, and was buried at Lacock Abbey. + +III. The alderman's third son, David, settled in Jamaica, and left a +family, whose descendants still exist there. In 1867 the Hon. John +Shakespear, grandson of David, was a member of the Legislature and +proprietor of Hodges-Penn, St. Elizabeth's parish. + +IV. I have been unable to find particulars of Samuel, the fourth son. + +V. Colin, the fifth son of the alderman, was in the East India Company's +Civil Service, as collector at Saharapore. He married Harriet Dawson, +and his daughter Harriet married William Woodcock, Esq. + +The alderman's eldest daughter Sarah married Joseph Sage; his second +daughter, Anne, John Blagrove, of Cardiff Hall, Jamaica; his third, +Martha, the Rev. John William Lloyd, of Aston Hall, co. Salop; his +fourth, Mary, Laver Oliver, Esq., to whose children the rope-factory +descended. + +Whatever may have been the fortunes of the other branches, it is very +clear that the chief modern Shakespeares have descended from the +Shadwell stock. John Shakespear, the second son of the Alderman, left a +memorandum declaring his belief that the family was derived from the +poet's grandfather. There has as yet, however, been found no proof of +any such connection, though it is perfectly possible that it existed. If +Richard, of Snitterfield, was the father of John, Henry, and Thomas, +there were two possible lines of descent. Henry may have had children +christened at other places than Snitterfield, whose descent no one has +traced. Thomas had a son John, born in 1581-82, clearly too old to have +been the first John of Shadwell. He _may_ have had a son of the proper +age; but, as I have stated above, I have found no John of the right age, +except John, son of Thomas. + +A Hannah[360] Shakespeare, born 1777, is mentioned in the pedigree of +Esterby and Sootheran. + +Henry Shakespear, of London, was a broker Loriner, 1775, connected with +Hertford (see p. 137). + +On June 29, 1794, was baptized Joshua,[361] son of Thomas and Ann +Shakespeare. + +A warm eulogy of the charity and virtues of William Shakespeare, Esq., +of Hart Street, Bloomsbury, who died in January, 1799, aged +seventy-three, is given in the _Gentleman's Magazine_[362] of that date; +and in May of the same year the death is noticed, in Paddington, of +George Shakespeare, Esq., son of the late George Shakespeare, Esq., of +Walton-upon-Thames, and Pimlico, Middlesex.[363] + +M. L. Jeny, in _L'Intermédiaire_, March 25, 1889, states that "he had +read in _L'Abeille du Cher_ of Friday, November 18, 1836, that a poor +old man of seventy-seven, named George Shakspeare, was found dying with +cold and hunger in the middle of the frightful night of Wednesday +preceding, in Clarence Street, London, and was taken to the Hospital, +and died there. He was one of the poet's descendants."[364] + +So late as November, 1880, there was a Mrs. Anne Shakespeare who died at +Brighton, aged 102.[365] + +There are several American branches of Shakespeares, some of them +literary, and two of the name are settled in Vancouver's Island.[366] + +Among the list of authors[367] we find the names of Alexander +Shakespear, on the "North-West Provinces of India," 1848; Edward +Shakespear, "A Book of Divinity," 1740; and Sophia Shakespear, 1753, a +biography; Henry Shakespear, "Province of Bengal," 1824, and "Wild +Sports of India," 1860; H. W. Shakespear's "Refutation of Mr. Tryon," +1847; John Shakespear's Hindustani books; Emily Shakespeare's "Tennyson +Birthday Book," 1877; and Mrs. O. Shakespear, a novel, in 1895. Edward +O. Shakespeare, of Washington, U.S.A., has a medical work on +"Inflammation." + +Mr. Russell French, from whose pages I have gleaned the bulk of the +facts concerning these modern Shakespeares, expatiates on the glories of +the later Shakespeare marriages. By the Currie alliance he traces back +descent to the royal Scottish families of the Bruces and the Stewarts; +by the Talbot alliance he traces back their pedigree to Edward I.; by +the Davenport alliance he again connects them with the Ardens, through +Sir Thomas Leighton and the eighth Lord Zouch, who married Joan, +daughter of Sir John Denham, by his wife Joan, daughter and heir of Sir +Richard Archer, who married Joan, the second daughter and coheir of +Giles de Arden, grandson of Sir Robert de Arden, the descendant of +Turchil; but these rather tend to glorify the modern branches than the +poet's name. + +It were to be desired that there were more concerted study of registers +and other records concerning the name. Much more might thus be found, +and much of the energy now dissipated in futile searches might be +utilized in connecting the scattered links, because the study of +genealogy is the ancient form of the very modern inquiries into heredity +which interest so many followers of Mr. Francis Galton. It is after all +worth knowing who were the ancestors of William Shakespeare, what +heroic, chivalric, poetic, philosophic strains went to form the nature +of the perfect poet; and it is of mildly sentimental interest to us that +we should know whether any of his line is left on the earth. Of +sentimental interest, I say, for rarely, if ever, does genius repeat +itself, nor do different environing circumstances weld and mould genius +in the same way. Its nature is very easy to kill, or dwarf, or distort, +but it is our excuse for being concerned with those who bear the +honoured name. + +In the unsatisfactory inquiries relating to Shakespeare's ancestors I +have exhausted all that I can find concerning his father's family; but +so much remains to be said concerning his mother's family, that in +consideration of the old proverb, "like mother, like son," it has seemed +to me worth incorporating into this volume some account of the Ardens. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[312] Churchwardens' Accounts of Thurston Amere and William Combes, from +June 8, 1538, to May 8, 1540, 48th week, 1st year. + +[313] _Notes and Queries_, Seventh Series, vii. 483, June 22, 1889. +Compare Third Series, iii. 318; Third Series, viii. 418; Savage's +"Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers in New England," ii. 528; +John Timbs' "Curiosities of London," ed. 1855, p. 238, and ed. 1867, p. +297; "Annals of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate," 221, 322. + +[314] Subsidy Rolls, London, Ward of Billingsgate and others, 39 Eliz., +146/369, P.R.O. + +[315] Marriage Licenses, Faculty Office, Harl. Publ. + +[316] Bishop of London's Marriage Licenses, Harl. Publ. + +[317] Register, St. James's, Clerkenwell. + +[318] Registers of Christ Church, Newgate Street, Harl. Soc. Publ. + +[319] He died 1598, and was at one time connected with the Theatre as +shareholder. _Notes and Queries_, Seventh Series, vii. 188. + +[320] Registers of St. James's, Clerkenwell, Harl. Publ. + +[321] Account of the Treasurer of the Chamber, 1572, _et seq._ + +[322] "Archæologia," vol. xiii., appendix, p. 403. + +[323] _Notes and Queries_, Seventh Series, ii. 247. + +[324] Registers of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields. + +[325] Churchwarden's Accounts, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields. + +[326] Bishop of London's Licenses, Harl. Soc. Publ. + +[327] Registers of the Church of St. Bride's. + +[328] Registers of the Church of St. Bride's. + +[329] Among the expenses of the Royal Household are entered: 1621--"To +John Shakespeare for one gilt bit for the sadle aforesayd £3 13s. +6d. To John Shakespeare for fourteen bittes, guilt silvered and +chased, at £5 10s. a peice. For one payre of bosses, richly enamelled, +52s. 6d_, £73 12s. 6d. For 7 bittes for the sadles aforesayd at +52s. 6d. each, £18 7s. 6d."--"Early Illustrations of +Shakespeare," published by the Shakespeare Society. + +[330] State Papers, Dom. Ser., Car. I., ccclxxiv. 20, Docquet. + +[331] State Papers, Irish, Dublin Castle, Vol. M., p. 338. _Notes and +Queries_, First Series, vi. 289, 495. + +[332] Somerset House, 268, Aylett. + +[333] The Registers of St. Thomas Apostle, London. + +[334] State Papers, Dom. Ser., Car. I., lxxvi. 41. + +[335] Somerset House, 249, Aston. + +[336] Lic. Fac. Office, Harl. Publ. + +[337] Reg. of St. George's, Hanover Square. + +[338] Marriage Licenses, Bishop of London, Harl. Publ. + +[339] Bishop of London's Licenses, Harl. Publ. + +[340] Foster's "Alumni Oxonienses." + +[341] Bishop of London's Mar. Lic., Harl. Publ. + +[342] Somerset House, 248, Aston. + +[343] _Notes and Queries_, Third Series, vii. 175. + +[344] "Book of Apprentices," 1666-1736, f. 756 + +[345] His son stated that he was seventy-seven at the time of his death, +in 1689, but his marriage certificate makes him younger. "Publications +and Marriages, 1654: John Shakespear, of Ratcliffe Highway, ropemaker, +aged thirty-five, and Martha Seeley, of Wapping Wall, mayde, nineteen +years. Married before John Waterton, Esquire, on ye 14th June. Richard +Mathews, Robert Connolly, witnesses" (French, 547). He might have been a +son of John, son of Thomas of Snitterfield, b. 1582. + +[346] _Notes and Queries_ Second Series, x. 188, 402; Third Series, vii. +498. + +[347] State Papers, Dom. Ser., 1656-57, Commonwealth, cliii., Nos. 55, +56. + +[348] "Misc. Gen. et Herald.," Second Series, v., 371, and Merchant +Tailors' "Book of Apprentices." + +[349] Bishop of London's Marriage Licenses, Harl. Publ. + +[350] Herbert's "Twelve Livery Companies." + +[351] _Gentleman's Magazine_, 1805. + +[352] _Ibid._, 1818. + +[353] French, 551, and _Times_, April, 1867. + +[354] "Dict. Nat. Biog." + +[355] Register of Charterhouse Chapel. + +[356] French, p. 556. + +[357] A writer in _Notes and Queries_, Sixth Series, i. 494, speaks of a +"large silver salver bearing a lion passant and a leopard's head +crowned. In the centre are the arms and crest of Shakespeare, and on an +escutcheon of pretence three stags' heads caboshed. It bears the +inscription, 'William Powlett Powlett, Esq., D.D. William Powlett +Shakspear, 1821.' There is a legend this was made from plate owned by +the poet. What is the date of the salver?" + +[358] _Times_, June 13, 1864, and _Notes and Queries_, Third Series, +vii. 498. + +[359] Foster's "Alumni Oxonienses." + +[360] "Misc. Gen. et Herald.," New Series, i., p. 143. + +[361] Register of St. Bartholomew the Less. + +[362] _Gentleman's Magazine_, vol. lxix., p. 83. + +[363] Manning and Bray's "Surrey," vol. ii., under Walton-upon-Thames, +mentions the tomb of Matthew Shakespear and of George, aged fifteen, +August 8, 1775; John Shakespear, of Weybridge, January 3, 1775, aged +sixty-seven; William, January 23, 1783, aged seventy-seven; also of +George Shakespear of Oxford Street, London, late of this parish, +architect, who died March 29, 1797, in the seventy-fourth year of his +age. + +[364] _Notes and Queries_, Seventh Series, viii. 89. + +[365] _Ibid._, Sixth Series, ii. 53. + +[366] _Ibid._, Third Series, ix. 346, 398. + +[367] British Museum Catalogues. + + + + +_PART II_ + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE PARK HALL ARDENS + + "No Saint George was born in England: + He was but an Eastern saint; + And the Dragon never vexed him, + As the later legends paint. + + "But our Saint was born in Berkshire, + And to Warwick linked his name; + 'Twas _Saint Guy_ who killed the Dragon-- + Quenched the Giant Colbrand's fame."--C. C. S. + + +Few families in the country have a descent so nationally interesting as +that of the Ardens. Great Norman families who "came in with the +Conqueror" are numerous enough, but there are few that claim to be +"merely English," and have such a record to show. The fables that have +grown around the memory of the hero do not invalidate the pedigree. +Rohand was Earl of Warwick in the days of King Alfred and King Edward +the Elder, when the title was an official one, not necessarily +hereditary, save of the King's will. Rohand was a great warrior, and was +enriched with great possessions. He dwelt in the Royal Castle of +Warwick,[368] said by Rous to have been founded by the British King +Cymbeline, enlarged by his son Guiderius, and repaired by Ethelfleda, +daughter of King Alfred, the Lady of Mercia. Rohand had one fair +daughter and heir, Phillis, or Felicia, who demanded great proofs of +valour in her suitors. She at last consented to marry the famous hero +Guy, slayer of the Northern Dragon,[369] son of Siward, Baron of +Wallingford, whom the Welsh claim as British by descent. Dugdale[370] +says that in her right Guy became Earl of Warwick, though of course this +was only possible through the King's favour. Some difficulties are +brought forward by Mr. Pegge.[371] Some time after his marriage, says +the legend, Guy went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and on his +return, in the third year of King Athelstan, 926, he found the kingdom +in great peril from an invasion of the Danes. They were, however, secure +in their faith in their champion, Colbrand the Giant, willing to leave +the issue to the result of a single contest between him and any of the +King's knights. King Athelstan's chief warriors were either dead or +abroad, and he mourned in his spirit. A vision revealed to him that he +must welcome at the gate of Winchester an unknown pilgrim as the +defender of the country. The King obeyed the vision in faith, +unwittingly welcomed Guy, and laid on him the responsibility of becoming +the national champion. + +[Illustration: WARWICK CASTLE. + +_To face p. 162._] + +Footsore, half-starved, and far from young, the pilgrim required rest +before he dared prudently attack the Danish opponent. At the end of +three weeks, however, he triumphantly encountered the giant, and the +Danes kept their promise and retired. The pilgrim, who refused to reveal +his name or receive any reward, also departed. He found that his son and +heir, Raynborn, had been stolen away, and that his faithful servant +Heraud was abroad in search of him. Affected by the strange religious +notions of the day, he returned to Warwick, not to gladden the heart of +his sorrowing spouse, but to receive charity at her hands among other +poor men for three days, and then to retire to a hermitage at a cliff +near Warwick, since called Guy's Cliff. There he remained till his death +in 929, in the seventieth year of his age.[372] He sent a herdsman with +his wedding-ring to tell his wife of his death, bidding her come to him +and bury him properly, and she should shortly afterwards follow him. She +fulfilled his wishes, set her house in order, left her paternal +inheritance to her son Raynborn, and within a fortnight was laid beside +her ascetic hero. + +Heraud succeeded in finding young Raynborn in Russia, to whom, on his +return, the grateful King Athelstan gave his beautiful daughter Leonetta +in marriage. He, too, seems to have been of a wandering disposition. He +died abroad, and lies buried in an island near the city of Venice. He +left a brave son, Wegeat, or Wigatus, at home to succeed him, who was +noted for his liberality to the Church, in which virtue, however, his +son and successor, Huve,[373] or Uva,[374] seems to have exceeded him. + +Huve died about the beginning of the reign of King Edward the Martyr, +and Wolgeat, his son, succeeded him. In early life[375] he enjoyed the +special favour of King Ethelred, but was deprived, at least for a time, +of his honours and possessions about 1006. It was probably during the +disorganized state of the earldom, in consequence of his "evil courses," +that the Danes ravaged it so frequently. Wigod, or Wigotus, his son, a +potent man and a great warrior, succeeded to the earldom, and enjoyed it +during the latter part of the reign of King Ethelred, and through the +reigns of King Edmund and the Danish Kings. He married Ermenhild, the +sister of the famous Leofric, Earl of Coventry and Leicester in the time +of Edward the Confessor. His son, Ailwin, Earl of Warwick, was +contemporary with King Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror. +Turchil, son and heir[376] of Ailwin (Harleian MS., 853, says +"grandson"), was Earl at the Conquest. His first wife was the Countess +of Perche; his second, Leverunia, grand-daughter of Leofric. In the +Conqueror's Survey he is called _Vice-Comes_ rather than _Comes_, but +this seems to have arisen from the royal interest in the castle, and the +direct service he owed the King, though some authorities state that he +was under Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He fought with William against +Harold, and was ostensibly left in full possession of all his lands, +rights and privileges. He is called Turchil of Warwick by the Normans, +but Turchil of Eardene, or of the Woodland, by himself, being one of the +first to adopt the Norman habit of local names. In Domesday Book, begun +in the fourteenth year of the Conqueror, he is entered as in possession +of forty-nine manors in Warwickshire, among which were Curdworth, +Coughton, Rotley, Rodbourn, Compton (Winyate), Nuneaton. Warwick town +and castle were recorded as belonging to the King. He had but a +life-interest, however, his son, Siward, receiving none of them as his +heir, but by favour of the King. + +The title of Earl of Warwick was given by William the Conqueror to Henry +de Novoborgo, or Newburgh, younger son of Roger de Bellomont, Earl of +Mellent, and William Rufus added to the gift the whole of Turchil's +lands, including even those given away by himself and his ancestors to +the Church. It was a hard lesson to friendly Saxon noblemen. A gloss of +justice, or at least of consideration, was shown in the marriage of +Henry de Novoborgo to Margaret, one of the daughters of Turchil, and +sister of Siward de Arderne.[377] + +Turchil's sons were Siward de Ardena, Ralph of Hampton,[378] William, +and Peter the Monk of Thorney, by his first wife, and Osbert by his +second wife. Some of their lands were left to the Ardens by grace of the +Novoborgos, who became their overlords. These lands were gradually +diminished by devotion to the Church, by the increase of the family, and +division of the properties, though this was somewhat balanced by wealthy +marriages. + +Siward by his wife Cecilia had a large family: Hugh de Rotley[379] +(dapifer or sewer to his kinsman William de Newburgh), Henry de Arden, +Joseph, Richard, Osbert, Galfridus, a monk of Coventry, Cecilia, +Felicia. Osbert, his stepbrother, was the father of Osbert, Philip,[380] +Peter de Arden, and Amicia, who became the wife of Peter de Bracebridge, +and the ancestress of the Bracebridges of Kingsbury, seat of the Mercian +Kings. Her brother Osbert had daughters only, Amabilia and Adeliza, who +left no children. + +The main line was carried on by Henry de Arden, son of Siward, who +married Oliva, and whose eldest son and heir was Thomas de Arden, of +Curdworth (9 John). He had also William de Arden of Rodburn, Herbert, +and Letitia. Thomas de Arden married Eustachia, widow of Savaricius de +Malaleone, and had a son of his own name, Sir Thomas de Arden of Rotley +and Spratton, who took part with Simon de Montfort and the rebellious +Barons, 48 Henry III. This cost him dear. In 9 Edward I. he handed over, +either in sale, lease, or trust, his lands in Curdworth to Hugh de +Vienna; to the Knights Templars the interest he had in Riton; in 15 +Edward I., to Nicholas de Eton the manor of Rotley, and to Thomas Arden +de Hanwell and Rose his wife, Pedimore, Curdworth, Norhull, Winworth, +Echenours, and Overton, and made a covenant with William de Beauchamp +and Maud, his wife, of all his fees throughout England. + +It is not probable that Turchil, the last Saxon Earl of Warwick, bore +anything that might be strictly called armorial bearings. When the +heiress of the Novoborgos married into their family, the Beauchamps +added to their own the Newburgh arms. But they used them in a peculiar +way, as if they considered they were associated, not so much with the +family as with the earldom. Only the eldest sons bore the Chevron +chequy, the rest of the family bore the Beauchamp crosses crosslet. In +some such way the Ardens also seem to have made a similar distinction, +though in later times the meaning was occasionally forgotten, and the +usage became confused. + +Drummond suggests that the Ardens might also have borne these arms to +suggest that they, too, had a claim to the earldom of Warwick. The arms +Thomas bore were Chequy or and azure, a chevron gules, which his +ancestors assumed to show they held their lands from the Earls of +Warwick, whose Chevron was Ermine on the like field.[381] + +The descendants of William of Rodburne,[382] the second son of Henry de +Ardern, were more fortunate than their cousins. Thomas de Draiton was +the elder, and William de Rodburne the younger. Thomas married Lucia (6 +John), and had Thomas de Arden of Hanwell, Sir Robert de Arderne de +Draiton, and Ralph.[383] Thomas,[384] who bore as arms Ermine a fesse +chequy, or and azure, as now borne, married Rose, daughter of Ralph de +Vernon, with whom he obtained the lordship of Hanwell. He was living in +1287, and had a son, Thomas, who presented to the church of Holdenby, +1334. This Thomas married Johanna de ---- (?), and had an only daughter, +Joan, who married Sir John Swynford. Ralph married Alicia de Bellocampo. + +Sir Robert de Arderne de Draiton married Nichola,[385] widow of William +de Boutvilein. His son, Sir Giles, had a son, also Sir Giles. This +latter had an only daughter, Margaret, who married Ludovic Greville, and +carried Draiton into the possession of that Warwickshire family. + +Ralph, son of Ralph, the second son of Thomas of Hanwell, married +Isabella, daughter of Anselm de Bromwich, and lived at Pedmore, +Warwickshire, 16 Edward II. In 17 Edward II. he was certified to be one +of the principal esquires in the county. His son, Sir John, was knighted +33 Edward III., and bore for his arms the same as his ancestor, Thomas +of Hanwell: Ermine, a fesse chequy or and az. He had only one daughter +and heir, Rose, who married Thomas Pakeson, afterwards an outlaw. To +John succeeded in Curdworth his brother Henry, whose wife was Elena, the +first to establish himself in Park Hall, which was confirmed to him by +Sir John de Botecourt, 47 Edward III., releasing him of all service, +save only of an annual red rose. He was devoted to Thomas de Beauchamp, +then Earl of Warwick, who granted him several other manors, also on +payment of a red rose. In 4 Richard II. his niece, Rose, released to him +her interest in Pedmore, Curdworth, Winworth, Sutton, and Norhull, of +her father's inheritance. Sir Henry bore the fesse chequy or and az., +with three crescents for difference,[386] before his brother's death +(see Roll, Edward III., and arms in Lapworth Church). He left his son, +Sir Ralph, heir, who served under the Earl of Warwick at the siege of +Calais. + +Ralph settled on his mother, Elena, for life, the manors of Wapenham and +Sulgrave, in Northamptonshire, with remainder to his brothers Geoffrey +and William. He married Sibilla (2 Henry V.), and left by her two sons, +Robert and Peter.[387] Robert was from the age of eight years a ward of +Joan Beauchamp, Lady of Bergavenny. He married Elizabeth, daughter and +heir of Richard de Clodeshall; was in the King's service, was Sheriff of +the County, and Knight of the Shire. He sided with the Yorkists in the +Wars of the Roses, was taken, attainted of high treason by James, Earl +of Wiltshire, and other judges appointed to try such cases, and was +condemned. He was executed on Saturday after the Feast of St. Laurence +the Martyr, 30 Henry VI. The custody of his lands was granted to Thomas +Littleton, Serjeant-at-Law, Thomas Greswold and John Gamell, Esquires. + +Two years after his death his son Walter obtained the King's precept to +his escheator to hand over the lands of his mother's inheritance to him, +and shortly afterwards he secured his father's also. He married Eleanor, +daughter of John Hampden of Hampden, in Buckinghamshire, and appears in +the register of the Guild of Knowle, 1457, with his "wife Alianore." He +had a large family, each of them in some special point interesting to +the genealogist, and therefore worthy of some attention and of careful +detail. It must not be forgotten that his father's attainder and the +Wars of the Roses had temporarily crippled the resources of the family. + +Walter Arden's will, July 31, 1502, is preserved at Somerset House,[388] +an interesting will in many ways. His eldest son and heir was John, +Esquire of the Body to Henry VII., who was to pay 20 marks for his +funeral. "Item. I will that my sonne Thomas have during his lief x marc, +which I have given him; and that my sonne Martyn have the manor of +Nafford during his lief, accordyng as I thereof made him astate yf it +canne be recorded, and yf not, thenne I will that the same Martyn and +every of my other sonnes, Robert, Henry and William have eche of them 5 +marc by yere during eche of their lives, and that my feoffees of my +landes make eche of them a sufficient astate of londes & tenements to +the yerely value of 5 marc during every of their lives." He left his +wife, Eleanor, executrix, Edward Belknap and John Bracebridge, Squiers, +and John Boteler of Solihull, overseers, "Richard Slystre, Vicar of +Aston, John Charnell[389] & Thomas Ardern,[390] Squiers, witnesses." + +Dugdale seems to have read the will, and is interested in the mortuary +bequest, but, curiously enough, supposes Martin to be older than Thomas. +Perhaps this error arose from the testator's desire to settle Natford +upon Martin. This does not seem to have been so settled. Martin had his +five marks, married an heiress, Margery East, settled at Euston, in +Oxfordshire, and appears in the Visitations there, associated with the +Easts and the Gibbons. Robert was the Arden made Yeoman of the King's +Chamber, a presumption made definite by Leland's[391] remark that "Arden +of the Court was younger brother to Sir John Arden, of Park Hall." On +February 22,[392] 17 Henry VII., he received a Royal Patent as Keeper of +the Park at Altcar, Lancashire; another, as Bailiff of Codmore,[393] +Derby, and Keeper of the Royal Park there; a third gave him Yoxall for +life,[394] apparently, however, for a payment of £42. + +A Robert Arden, who had been Escheator to the Crown for Nottingham and +Derby under Henry VII., received a new patent 2 Henry VIII.[395] On June +28, 7 Henry VIII., order to cancel five recognizances amounting to £200; +one made by Robert Arderne, of Holme, co. Notts, may concern the same +gentleman.[396] + +Henry seems to have died young. William settled at Hawnes,[397] in +Bedfordshire, bore as arms three cross-crosslets fitchée or, on a chief +of the second, a martlet for difference. He seems to have died before +his eldest brother. He married Elizabeth, daughter of John Francklin of +Thurley in County Bedford, and widow of George Thrale. His son Thomas +married Anne, daughter of Richard Bowles of Wallington and widow of +Thomas Gonnel. His daughter Joan married John Moore; his daughter +Elizabeth married John Lee of Harlington. + +Thomas certainly survived Sir John, Henry, and possibly also William. +Sir John married Alice d. of Richard Bracebridge of Kingsbury, and died +in 1526. His will was drawn up on June 4 of that year.[398] After +various bequests to churches, he left some special heirlooms to his son +and heir, Thomas, to his son John an annuity from Natford of five marks +a year for life, with other land, and gifts to him, his wife, and _their +heirs_. "Item. I will that my brothers Thomas, Martin & Robert have +their fees during their lives." That is, it may be remembered, ten marks +for Thomas, and five marks each for the other two. "Item. I will that +Rauf Vale and Hugh Colyns[399] have their fees as they have had during +their lives." Bequests of furniture were left to "my daughter Geys +Braylys," "my daughter Katerine _Muklowe_,"[400] "my daughter Brown," +"my daughter Margaret Kambur," "my sister Margaret Abell," "my sister +Alice Buklond," "my son Thomas Bralis." To Joane Hewes, Agnes Abell, +John Charnell, various remembrances, his son Thomas to be sole executor, +Sir John Willoughby overseer; witnesses, Martin Ardern, Robert Ardern, +Symon Broke, clerk; John Charnell, John Croke, Rauf Vale. The will was +proved June 27, 1526. + +Where was Thomas, son of Walter, meanwhile? I have only been able to +find two of the name contemporary with the cadet of Park Hall. A Thomas +Arden of Saint Martin's Outwich, London, citizen and clothworker, on +November 29, 1549, drew up a short will,[401] leaving his wife, Agnes, +his sole heir and executrix, proved January, 1549. I endeavoured to +learn if by chance he had come from Warwickshire, but the +apprentice-books of the company do not begin early enough. There was a +commercial family of Ardens in London, of whom he more probably was a +member. The possibility of his being a Warwickshire man I thought worthy +of careful consideration, but have been able to bring no further facts +forward. + +There was also a Thomas Arden of Long Itchington mentioned in the +Subsidy Lists, whose will is preserved at Lichfield. + +The other Thomas Arden was settled at Wilmecote, in the parish of Aston +Cantlow, on lands formerly owned by the Beauchamps. There is no record +how he acquired them. Aston Cantlow[402] had been settled, with the +castle and Honour of Bergavenny, upon Sir William de Beauchamp, second +son to Thomas, Earl of Warwick. He died 12 Henry IV., and Richard +Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, his son and heir, inherited all his lands. +Richard's daughter and heir, Elizabeth, married Sir Edward Neville, a +younger son to Ralph, Earl of Westmorland, who was forthwith summoned to +Parliament as Lord Bergavenny. Dugdale gives us the arms depicted on the +roof of the chancel of Aston Cantlow Church, three varieties: "Gules, a +fesse betwixt six cross-crosslets or" (Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick); +"Argent 6 cross-crosslets fichée Sable, upon a chief Azure two mullets +or" (Clinton, Earl of Huntingdon); "Argent, 3 cross-crosslets fichée +Sable upon a chief Azure a mullet and a Rose Or." But Dugdale does not +know the family this represents. Could it be a variety of the Ardens? + +The Thomas Arden who resided here paid subsidy of 26s. 8d. on £10 land, +being one of the largest landholders in the parish. He bought certain +lands at Snitterfield on May 16, 16 Henry VII., associated with certain +gentlemen whose names are suggestive, as I have shown on page 28. John +Mayowe transferred his property to Robert Throgmorton, Armiger,[403] +afterwards knight, Thomas Trussell[404] of Billesley, Roger Reynolds of +Henley in Arden, William Wood of Woodhouse, Thomas Arden of Wilmecote, +and Robert Arden, the son of this Thomas Arden. We know that Robert +Throgmorton was an intimate friend of the Ardens of Park Hall, and his +association with Thomas of Wilmecote strengthens the supposition that +the latter was the son of Walter. We know that this Thomas was the +father of Robert Arden, who was the father of Mary, Shakespeare's +mother, and her six sisters. It does not seem unlikely he bore arms, and +was the Esquire witness of Walter Arden's will, _who has never been +located elsewhere_. If he bore arms, it is more than likely that, as a +younger son, they were derived from _the Beauchamps_, and might even +have been those found by Dugdale in the Aston Cantlow Church, where he +was buried. It is probable that Robert bore the cross-crosslets with a +difference, as did his contemporary, William Arden of Hawnes. We have at +least Glover's[405] testimony that among the arms of Warwickshire and +Bedfordshire are "Arden or Arderne gu, three cross-crosslets fitchée or; +on a chief of the second a martlet of the first. Crest, a plume of +feathers charged with a martlet or." When, therefore, John Shakespeare +made application to impale the arms of his wife in his new coat, it +might seem natural that the fesse chequy, arms of the head of the house, +should be struck out, and those substituted more customary for a younger +son, and probably borne by Thomas, his wife's grandfather, or by Robert +Arden, his wife's father. + +Thomas Arden, the son of Sir John, succeeded to Park Hall and the other +family estates in 1526. He married Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Andrew +of Charnelton, by whom he had a large family: William, the eldest; +Simon, the second; George, the third, slain at Boulogne; Thomas, a +student of law; and Edward. His daughter Jocosa, or Joyce, married +Richard Cade, of London (see visitation of Hertfordshire, 1634); +Elizabeth married--Beaupré, Cicely married Henry Shirley, Mary married +Francis Waferer. + +William, the eldest son, died before his father. Simon, the second son +of Thomas of Park Hall, was a wonderful man, of whom there will be more +to say elsewhere. He was elected Sheriff of the County in 1569, +and bore, while in Warwickshire at least, the arms three +cross-crosslets[406] and a chief or, without a difference. Shortly after +that time he purchased the property of Longcroft, in the Manor of +Yoxall, Staffordshire, and his descendants bear the fesse chequy, and +are noted in another county history. + +The will of William Arden does not seem to have been noted by the family +genealogists, probably because it was drawn up in London. The Calendar +at Somerset House enters it as "William Arden,[407] of St. Brigyde, +London, and Saltley,[408] Warwickshire," 7 July, 36 Henry VIII. Its +details shed much light on the fortunes of the family, especially in +relation to the other family wills. He had married Elizabeth, the +daughter of Edward Conway, of Arrow, and left two sons and eight +daughters. He desired to be buried in the "Parish Church of Saint +Brigyde in Fleet Street, within the suburbs of London," and left "to my +youngest sonne, Francis Arden, all my purchased land, which I purchased +of my grandfather's youngest son, John Arden, and another part lying +within the Lordship of Saltley.[409] Item, I bequeath to him the lease I +have taken of my Lord Ferris for 31 years, which also lyeth within the +Lordship of Budbrooke, so that he come to his full age, and during his +nonage, the profits thereof to be taken up by mine overseers to the use +of my daughters. If it happen the said Francis to dye without lawful +issue, then I will my eldest sonne and heire, Edward Arden, when he +cometh to his full age, to enjoy the said purchased land and lease to +his heires. Item, I bequeath to the said Francis £6 13s. 4d., to be payd +yearely during the term of his naturall life, by the hands of my eldest +sonne, Edward Arden, when he cometh to his lands. Item, I give unto my +eight daughters, Anne,[410] Ursuley, Brigid, Barbara, Joyce, Jane, +Urseley, and Fraunces Arden the whole rent that my ferme beareth me," +etc. "I bequeath to my brother, Edward Arden, my black Satin cote." "I +bequeathe my long gowne eggyd with velvet to my father, Thomas Arden, in +recompense of the money which he lent me, whom I make the Overseer of +this my will, with my father-in-law, Edward Conway." Edward Arden, his +son and heir, was to be sole executor. The witnesses were: Christopher +Drey, Francis Waferer (his brother-in-law), and John Tayloure, Vicar of +St. Brigyde, and it was proved April 14, 1546, by John, afterwards Sir +John Conway, uncle of the heir. + +William's father, Thomas, died in 5 Elizabeth, 1563. I have not traced +his will. Edward, son of William, succeeded him. This Edward had been +ward to Sir George Throckmorton, of Coughton (though his grandfather was +alive), and he married Mary, third daughter of Sir Robert Throckmorton. +Brodesley,[411] Dudston, and Hybarnes were delivered to him 7 Elizabeth, +and in 15 Elizabeth he was called upon to prove his title to Curdworth +and to Berewood[412] Hall, which had been given by Hugh Arden to the +Canons of Leicester (Henry II.), and after the Dissolution purchased by +his grandfather, Thomas, and uncle, Simon, for £272 10s., with a yearly +rent of 30s. 4d., and settled on William, 37 Henry VIII. Various +purchases of land are recorded in Coke's "Entries."[413] He impaled the +park of Minworth on the other side of the Tame, to add to that of his +own Park Hall.[414] + +Edward seems to have been highly respected in his time, and was Sheriff +of the County in 1575.[415] But he had offended Leicester[416] by +refusing to wear his livery (as many of the gentlemen of the county were +proud to do) and by disapproving openly of his relations with the +Countess of Essex before her husband's death. Leicester waited his time. +Edward Arden's sons were Robert (who married Elizabeth, daughter of +Reginald Corbet, Justice of the Royal Pleas, about 1577), Thomas, +Francis. Of his daughters, Catherine married Sir Edward Devereux, of +Castle Bromwich; Margaret, John Somerville, of Edreston; Muriel, William +Charnells, of Snareston, Leicestershire; and Elizabeth, Simon +Shugborough, of Napton, co. Warwick. + +Edward Arden bore the family arms: Ermine, a fesse chequy or and azure. +Crest: On a chapeau azure, turned up erm., a boar passant or. Motto: +_Quo me cunque vocat patriam._ + +He appointed Edmund Lingard to Curdworth Church, 1573. + +Edward Arden was a temperate follower of the old faith; but his +son-in-law, John Somerville, an excitable youth, seemed to chafe under +the increasing oppression of the Catholic Church and its adherents.[417] +The evil reports concerning the Queen and Leicester increased the +friction. Shut out from travel or active exercise, as all Catholics then +were by law, he studied and pondered, and his mind seemed to have given +way in his sleepless attempts to reconcile faith and practice. He +started off suddenly one morning before anyone was awake, attended only +by one boy, who soon left him, terrified; and when he reached a little +inn on the lonely road by Aynho on the Hill, he spoke frantically to all +who chose to hear that he was going to London to kill the Queen.[418] +Then followed arrest, examination before Justice D'Oyley, a march to +London with twelve guards,[419] examination in the Gatehouse, +imprisonment in the Tower. Thereafter went forth the mandate to arrest +Edward Arden, his wife, Francis Arden, of Pedmore, his brother, +Somerville's wife and sister, and the priest, Hugh Hall. Sir John +Conway, his wife's grand-uncle, was also commanded up to London, and +seems to have been confined for a time. Examinations, probably under +torture, followed fast on each other. John Somerville, Edward Arden, his +wife and brother, and the priest, Hugh Hall, were tried, found guilty, +and condemned to the traitor's death. Hugh Hall is said to have turned +Queen's evidence, but I have found no proof of it. Somerville and Arden +were carried forth from the Tower on December 19, 1583, to Newgate, in +preparation for their execution on the morrow; Somerville was found two +hours afterwards strangled in his cell; Edward Arden suffered the full +penalty of the law December 20, 1583.[420] Robert of Leicester had his +revenge. Mrs. Arden and Francis[421] seem to have suffered a term of +imprisonment, and then to have been released. + +This first noble victim of the tyrannical Royal Commission was praised +by all the writers of his time, and pitied by all Europe. Burleigh lived +to be ashamed of his part in his death; and in his "Life" one can still +read in the index "On the Case of Arden" an explanation which has been +excised from the text. + +It is more than probable that the active part that Sir Thomas Lucy took +in his arrest told more on the fortunes and feelings of young +Shakespeare than the fabulous deer-stealing story. The touching tragedy, +to which Froude has given but little attention or study, is given in +full detail in the State Papers. The _traitor's_ lands, of course, fell +to the Queen, and were granted to Edward Darcy.[422] But Robert +Arden,[423] "who was a prudent person" (doubtless fortified by his +brother-in-law's interest, and his own knowledge of the law), by virtue +of an entail executed on his marriage got back by degrees most of his +father's lands. He found, however, every tree in his parks had been cut +down by Darcy, who seems to have been a difficult person to deal with, +as may be gathered from Simon Arden's petition (p. 185); this Robert +lived to a great age, dying on February 27, 1635. His son and heir, Sir +Henry, who had been born April, 1580, had predeceased him in 1616.[424] +He had married Dorothy, daughter of Basil Fielding, of Newnham, and had +one son, Robert, and four daughters. Robert seems to have been a +brilliant youth, but he died single at Oxford. In the Bodleian[425] are +some verses deploring his loss. His four sisters were his coheirs: +Elizabeth, wife of Sir William Pooley, of Boxsted, in Suffolk; +Goditha,[426] wife of Herbert Price; Dorothy, wife of Hervey Bagot; +Anne, wife of Sir Charles Adderley, of Lea. + +In Worcestershire, near Stourbridge, there is a parish of Pedmore, and a +hall of the name that seems at one time to have belonged to the Ardens, +as well as the Pedmore Manor, near West Bromwich, Warwickshire. By the +kindness of Mr. W. Wickham King, now resident there, I am told that +"Mistress Joyce Arden" was buried there in 1557; Jane Ardern and Hugh +Hall were married in 1560; Alice Ardeney and Thomas Carter married 1578; +while John Arden, son of Mr. Robert and Mistress Elizabeth, was +christened there in 1578. Frances Arden and Edward Wale married 1658; +Arthur buried 1668, and Judith Arden, widow, 1682. The arms in the +church are those of the Park Hall Ardens, and "Mr. Robert" was the heir +of Edward (p. 41 and notes). + +The Pakingtons of Worcester quarter Ermine on a fesse componé or, and +az. an annulet for Arden. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[368] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," 372; Drummond's "Noble British +Families"; "Guy of Warwick," ed. Zupitza, Early English Text Society, +etc.; Harl. MS., 1167, f. 57; "Dictionary of National Biography." + +[369] + + "Guy of Warwick, I understand, + Slew a dragon in Northumberland." + + Romance of Sir Bevis of Hampton. + + "In Warwick the truth ye shall see + In arras wrought full craftily." + + Romance of Sir Guy. + + "Gy de Warwic ad a noun + Qui occis le Dragoun." + + Legend round the Mazer Bowl, at Harbledon Hospital, Canterbury. + +[370] "Warwickshire," p. 374; Drummond's "Noble British Families"; +Leland's "Itin.," iv. 63; Heylin's "History of St. George," p. 63. + +[371] Nichols's "Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica," iv. 29. + +[372] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," 372-374; Drummond's "Noble British +Families"; Cox and Jones' "Popular Romances of the Middle Ages," pp. 63, +64, 297-319; Ward's "Catalogue of Romances in British Museum," i. 470. + +[373] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," p. 373. + +[374] Drummond's "Noble British Families," ii. + +[375] Harleian MS., 853, ff. 113, 114. + +[376] "Guthmund, Ailwin's second son, held Pakington under Turchil; his +son was Sir Harald de Arden, Lord of Upton" (French, "Shakespeareana +Genealogica," p. 432). + +[377] According to Dugdale and Drummond; Harleian MS., 853, differs. + +[378] Ralph and William are witnesses to a charter from Henry de Clinton +to Kenilworth Priory, Henry I. ("Monasticon," vi. 3). + +[379] Hugh de Arden and Adela; William de Arden and Agnes were witness +to Henry's gifts ("Monasticon," v. 210-212). + +[380] Philip, Osbert's second son, who took the name of Compton +(Drummond; Dugdale's, 'Warwickshire,' 549). + +[381] Novoborgo: or and az., er. Thomas Arden de Rotley: or and az., gu. +A fesse betwixt 6 cross-crosslets or--Beauchamp. The Warwickshire +Visitation gives the coat of Sir Herald de Arden as three +cross-crosslets fitchée and a chief or. See Drummond, p. 5. + +[382] Whalley's "Northampton," p. 464; Baker's "Northampton"; +"Parliamentary Roll of Arms," 862. "Sire ... Ilm de Arderne ... de +ermyne a une fesse chekere dor e de aszure" (_Genealogist_, New Series, +xiii.). I do not know which William this refers to. + +[383] He married Isabella, daughter of Sir Roger Mortimer of Chirk. She +afterwards married John Fitzalan (Berry's "Essex Genealogies"). + +[384] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," p. 927. + +[385] "This lady seems to have married for a third time. Robert de +Wyckham sued Thomas Wake and Nicholaa, his wife, and Giles de Arderne +for the next presentation to the church of Swalclyve. Robert, father of +plaintiff, had given the advowson to John de Arderne, and John had +enfeoffed Robert de Wyckham and Elizabeth his wife. Nicholaa had been +married to Robert de Arderne" (_Genealogist_, New Series, ix.). + +[386] See Visitation, 1619. + +[387] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," p. 928; Harleian MS., 1992, f. 121, "The +Ancient Family of Arderne." Ralph died 8 Henry V. + +[388] 17 Blamyr. + +[389] Walter Arden's son-in-law. + +[390] The decision of the residence of this Thomas would solve a knotty +question. + +[391] Leland's "Itinerary," vi. 20. See also admin. of goods, granted to +his sister Alice Buklond and his nephew John, son of Sir John. + +[392] Patent 17 Henry VII., February 22, second part, mem. 30. + +[393] Same series, September 9, mem. 35. + +[394] Patents 23 Henry VIII., September 24, first part, mem. 12. + +[395] Pat. Henry VIII., p. 1, m. 16. + +[396] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., Gairdner. + +[397] Bedfordshire Visitation, 1566. (See Glover.) There was in Edward +VI.'s reign a William Arderne, Clerk of the Market of Struton +Oskellyswade, Bedford (Est. of Office, Edward VI. to Elizabeth). And in +the accounts of the Treasurer of the Chamber there are mentioned among +the "Extraordinary Yeomen of the Guard, 1570," "William Arden and his +son Robert Arden." + +[398] Somerset House, 8 Porch. + +[399] The name Collins appears in connection with the Ardens in +Wiltshire also. + +[400] See Visitation of Worcester, 1569: "Richard Muklowe of Hodon, +Worcestershire, married Katherine, daughter of John Arden." The +Gloucester Visitation records that Richard Cotton of Sedenton, married +Agnes, daughter of Sir John Arden of Park Hall, sister of Thomas. + +[401] Commissary Wills, Somerset House, 31^a Clyffe. + +[402] Dugdale's "Warwickshire." + +[403] "Stratford-on-Avon Miscell. Papers," see p. 410, _Genealogical +Magazine_, 1897. He was also trustee in a settlement made by Sir John +Arden of Park Hall, in association with Sir Richard Empson and others. +See Petition of Simon Arden, p. 184. + +[404] It is curious that in a will of Sir William Trussel of Cublesdon, +1379, there is a bequest mentioned as having been made to him by his +"cousin Sir Thomas d'Ardene" (Sir N. H. Nicolas, "Testamenta Vetusta," +i. 107). + +[405] Glover's "Heraldry," vol. ii., ed. 1780. + +[406] Fuller's "Worthies." + +[407] 7 Alen. Inquis. P.M. at Warwick, June 27, 37 Henry VIII., Edward, +son and heir, aged twelve. + +[408] See Close Roll, 32 Henry VI., m. 11. Saltley came into the family +with Elizabeth Clodshalle (who married Robert Arden in the time of Henry +VI.), and remained in it till the death of Robert Arden, 1643, when it +fell to the share of his sister Anne. + +[409] By some family arrangement, the old family seat of Pedmore seems +to have been settled on him, as he was always styled Francis Arden of +Pedmore. + +[410] Anne married John Barnesley of Barnesley (see Visitation of +Worcester, 1569); Bridget, Hugh Massey; Barbara, Richard Neville, son of +the last Lord Latimer, and claimant of that title and the earldom of +Westmorland; Joyce, John Ladbrooke. Was this Jane Arden the lady of this +name who married into the Brownlow family about 1553? See Pedigree of +Brownlow. + +[411] "Originalia et Memoranda." Lord Treasurer's side of the Exchequer, +Hilarii Recorda, 7 Elizabeth, Rot. 82. + +[412] _Ibid._, Hilarii Recorda, 15 Elizabeth, Rot. 55. + +[413] Coke's "Entries," f. 39_b_. + +[414] In an account of the Grevilles, when the eldest son still resided +at Drayton, it is noted: "Though a great part of the Lands of Sir Giles +Arden came to Lewis Greville through his wife, yet there is one Arden at +this time in Warwickshire that is a man of three hundred marks land by +the yeare." Addit. MS., 5937, f. 88, British Museum. + +[415] See "Liber Pacis," Eg. MS., 2345. + +[416] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," 884, 927. + +[417] See _Athenæum_, Feb., 1896, p. 190, and my little volume on +"Shakespeare's Warwickshire Contemporaries" (Stratford-on-Avon Press), +p. 48. + +[418] State Papers, Dom. Series, Elizabeth, clxiii., 21 _et seq._ + +[419] Accounts of Treasurer of the Chamber, 1583-84. + +[420] Burke makes an extraordinary error in stating that Shakespeare's +mother was a daughter of Sir Edward Arden, of Park Hall ("Hist. Landed +Gentry," edition 1882, vol. i., p. 34). Now, Edward was never knighted, +and must have been born about the same year as Mary, daughter of Robert +Arden, who married John Shakespeare. + +[421] The Accounts of the Wardens of the Tower mention Francis Arden's +board, up to June 24, 1585, and he sued shortly after for Pedmore, on +the death of Sir George Digby, to whom it had been granted (State +Papers, Dom. Series, Elizabeth, ccii., 40). + +[422] State Papers, Dom. Series, Elizabeth, clxxi. 35; also Patents, +Elizabeth, 28, c. 10. + +[423] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," 927. I find also several pensions +allowed by the Crown to a Robert Arden, early in James I. These may +refer to Robert of Park Hall (Book of Patents, xi. 212). + +[424] Inventory of his property is at Lichfield, where also is that of +his wife, Lady Dorothy Arden, 1635-36, and will of his son, Robert +Arden. + +[425] Ashmolean MSS., 36, f. 125: "Robert Arden, Colonel and Sheriff of +Warwickshire." An elegy upon his death in Oxford of small-pox, August +22, 1643: "Seeing these tapers and this solemn night," etc. Signed, +"Peter Halstead." + +[426] She was a Lady of the Privy Chamber to the Queen-mother, and +survived her husband. See the burial of her daughter, Mrs. Henrietta +Maria Stanhope, October 23, 1674. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE ARDENS OF LONGCROFT + + +This main line of Ardens having thus become extinct, we have to go back +some generations to find the younger branch that carried on the name. +Simon, the second son of the Thomas Arden who died in 1563, brother of +the William Arden who died 1546, and uncle of Edward Arden, who was +executed 1583, seems to have been an important man in his own day. He +was much trusted by his father and nephew, and was elected Sheriff of +Warwickshire in 1569, when he bore as arms three cross crosslets +fitchée, and a chief or.[427] His first wife was Margaret; his second +Christian,[428] widow of Thomas Bond, of Ward End. In a catalogue of all +the noblemen and gentlemen resident in Warwickshire, 1577-78, by Henry +Ferrers, of Baddesley, is mentioned Edward Arden, of Park Hall, and +Simon Arden, of Saltley, his uncle;[429] and in the Subsidy for +Warwickshire, 1581, he is mentioned as one of "those collecting, and not +assessed themselves."[430] During the first half of Elizabeth's reign he +purchased Longcroft, in the parish of Yoxall, Staffordshire, a property +that had previously been in the family. In 18 Elizabeth (1576) he found +one light horse for the royal service there, and paid to the Subsidy of +1590, 26s. 8d. for his lands at Yoxall, valued at £10.[431] He seems, +however, to have got into trouble in his old age. The draft of a +petition of his (_circa_ 1595-98) is preserved among the Longcroft +papers,[432] which is well worthy of being transcribed: + + "_To the most honourable the Lord High Treasurer of + England._ + + "The most humble petition of Simon Arden, of the age of 100 + years or thereabouts, praying your good Lordship's aid in + his owld age against the great wrongs and oppressions + offered by Edward Darcie, Esquire, one of the grooms of her + Majestie's Privy Chamber. + + "As by the enclosed may plainlie apeare: + + {The Pedigree. John Arden had issue Thomas. + + {Thomas had issue William, Simon, George, Edward, Thomas. + + {William had issue Edward & Francis. + + {Edward had issue _vivens_ Robert. + + "The said John Arden did infeff John Kingsmel, + Sergeant-at-Lawe, Sir Richard Empson, Sir Richard Knightley, + Sir Robert Throgmorton,[433] Knights, and others, of the + manor of Crudworth, and other lands in the county of + Warwick, to divers uses; the said Thomas, being seized in + fee, granted to me, and his said other sons, dyvers several + annuities, being all the patrimony he provided for the same + his younger sons. The said Thomas did afterwards make other + assurances to the said William. The said annuities were paid + unto all the said younger sons during their lives, and unto + me till the attainder of Edward Arden. By which means the + premises came into the hands of her Majestie, in what time + that the same remained in her hands, by your Honor's order I + was paid mine annuitie, being 20 marks by the year. And + after that the same was granted to the said Edward Darcie, + your Lordship did likewise very honorably apporcion how much + thereof should be yearely paid unto me by the said Edward + Darcie, and how much otherwise, according to which + aporcionment the said Edward Darcy paid his part thereof + unto me foure or five yeares, and about six yeares sithence + denyd so to do, urging me with seutes in the Court of + Requests, and in the Honourable Court of Exchequer Chamber, + and at the Common Law. Also for the space of vi yeares now + together seeking by this countenance to oppress me. The said + Robert Arden payeth unto me the porcion of the said annuity + apointed by your Lordship's order, or rather more thereof + than he was charged with by your order, and I have desired + but ye residew of Mr. Darcie. I have had judgment against + him in the Common _Place_, he hath removed the record into + the King's Bench by writ of Error; so yt by injunction out + of the Court of the Exchequer Chamber to entertain time and + delay me til death hath wholy interred my ancient bodie + already more than half in grave, knowing, _Mors solvit + omnia_, by my death my cause wil be remeadiless. + + "Be therefore so much, my good Lord, as to take my cause + into your own hands, and for God's sake to end it. I protest + mine adversary hath caused me to spend more then such an + annuity is worth to purchase. Age wold have ease, which is + expedicion in causes of suit and molestacion, and expedicion + in justice is the most Honour that may be; which is no small + part of your Honor's comendacion. Almighty God long preserve + you in all felicity, that this Realm of England may more and + more long take profit of your most wise and grave counsels." + +Perhaps on his coming to Longcroft he found the old Arden arms there. +Before the grant to his grand-uncle Robert there had been Ardens in +Yoxall.[434] Certain it is that after that date they appear in Longcroft +Hall and in the parish church. The headship of the family fell to his +heirs in 1643. Simon's son[435] Ambrose[436] married Mary Wedgewood +1588, and died 1624. His son Humphrey[437] married Jane Rowbotham at +Marchington, December 1, 1630. Of his family, Henry married Catherine +Harper, but died without children, November 26, 1676; John, of Wisbeach, +married Anne, and died without heirs, April 2, 1709, aged 84;[438] +Humphrey, of Longcroft, who married the daughter of ---- Lassel, and +died January 31, 1705, aged 74. His daughters Elizabeth and Katharine +died unmarried. His son Henry married Anne Alcock, and died 1728, aged +63. Humphrey's son and heir, John, was born 1693, and died 1734, aged +40. He married, first, Anna Catherine Newton, and second, Anne, daughter +of the Rev. John Spateman, Rector of Yoxall, 1730. He was High Sheriff +of the County in 3 George II. His son, Henry Arden, of Longcroft, +married Alethea, daughter of Robert Cotton, Esq., of Worcester, and died +June 22, 1782. The full pedigree is given, and the monuments at Yoxall +are described in Shaw's "Staffordshire," and in French's "Shakespeareana +Genealogica." Descendants still survive in this country and the +Colonies. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[427] Fuller's "Worthies." + +[428] Administration of goods of Christian Arden, wife of Simon, 1563 +(Lichfield Wills). + +[429] Nich., "Col. Top. et Gen.," vol. viii., p. 298. + +[430] Lansdowne MS., xxx. 27, 30. + +[431] Subsidy Rolls, Yoxall, 1590; Shaw's "Staffordshire," i., pp. +100-102 and 499; and Talbot Papers, Heralds' College, Dugdale p. 932. + +[432] See also manuscript notes on the copy of Shaw's "Staffordshire," +by Samuel Pipe Wolferstan, Esq., of Statfold, preserved in the British +Museum, p. 102. + +[433] Note that this is the same man appointed trustee by Mary +Shakespeare's grandfather. + +[434] "Nichola, d. of Geff de. Shenton, sued Joan, formerly wife of +Ralph de Anderne, of Yoxhale, for a messuage in Yoxhale" (De Banco, +Trin., 23 Ed. III.). + +[435] His will proved 1625 at Lichfield. Simon's daughter Elizabeth +became second wife of Clement Fisher of Wincote, addressed by Sir Aston +Cokaine in verses alluding to Shakespeare (Dugdale's "Warwickshire," +1140). + +[436] Shaw's "Staffordshire," p. 102; MS. notes of the author, Brit. +Mus. + +[437] Ambrose had another son Ambrose, whose family appears in the +registers of Barton: + + Frances, daughter of Ambrose Arden, bapt. February 19, 1631, buried June + 7, 1634. + + Humphrey, son of Ambrose Arden, bapt. November 2, 1634. + + Henry " " " " October 7, 1637. + + Benjamin " " " " July 19, 1642. + + John " " " " September 3, 1643. + + William " " " " January 8, 1647 + (buried Sept. 18, 1666). + + Robert Masson and Elizabeth Arden were married December 22, 1644. + + Ambrose Arden, gent., buried July 15, 1656. + +[438] His father had been married twice; but this second Humphrey is the +son of Jane Rowbotham. See Registers of Marchington. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +OTHER WARWICKSHIRE ARDENS + + +It would be interesting to know more of some of the other Warwickshire +Ardens, particularly those mentioned in the Register of the Guild of +Knowle, as some have suggested that Shakespeare's mother may have +descended from them: + +"1460. John Arden and Agnes, his wife, of Longehychyngton. + +"1504. Richard Arden and Margaret, his wife, and for the souls of John +and Johanna, their parentes, of Longeychyngton. + +"1506. For the souls of John Arderne and his wife, of the same. + +"... Richard Salway, and Estell his wife, and for the soul of John +Arderne. + +"1512. Alicia Arderne, and for the soul of William." + +On turning to the Subsidy Rolls to find any further notice of the Ardens +of Long Itchington, I found only the following: "14 and 15 Hen. VIII. +Co. Warr., Knighton Hundred, Bilton [the next parish to Long +Itchington].[439] Thomas Arderne, land, 4 marks, 2/6. Solks. Henry +Arderne in goods 40/- 4d." The latter is twice repeated. + +In the same Guild Register appears as member: + +"1496. Robert Arderne, Master of Arts, Rector of Lapworth." + +He does not appear in the preserved pedigree, as Robert, the son of +Walter, who died 1502, was in the King's service. The Warden and +scholars of Merton College appointed Robert Ardern, Master of Arts, to +the Rectory of Lapworth, January 10, 1488. On the rood loft of the +church are the arms of Sir Henry Arden:[440] Ermine, a fesse chequy, or +and az., with a crescent for difference, arms, by some thought to be the +parson's. + +Henry de Arden,[441] in the time of Henry II., had two sons: Thomas of +Curdworth[3] and William de Rodbourn.[442] The descent of Thomas we have +already noticed, as well as the descent of Thomas Arden, of Drayton, +elder son of William Arden de Rodbourn. The second son of William was +another William of Rodbourn, killed in 17 Henry III. He married Avisia, +daughter of Robert de Kyngeston, and had also a son, William of +Rodbourn, whose heir was William, who sold the manor in 1369. + +Dugdale says that Little Grafton was called Arden's Grafton because it +was bought by William de Arden in 10 John. In 52 Henry III. William de +Arden was certified to hold it of the Earl of Warwick; but he +transferred it to Edward I. in exchange for Offord, near Aston Cantlowe, +in the parish of Wootten Wawen. + +A seal used by William D'Arderne, clerk, of Offord, Warwickshire, is +preserved in the British Museum,[443] appended to a deed in which he and +John D'Arderne were concerned, 1366. It has a shield of arms, three +cross-crosslets fitchée, on a chief a lion passant, on the border: "S. +Nicholai de Ardena." I have not traced a Nicholas. But Nichola de Arden +presented John de Arden to Cotesbrook Church, Northampton, May, 1361 +(see p. 195). + +Among other charters in the same collection occur the seals of-- + +Thomas de Arderne, of Newton, co. Warwick, 1280-90, on a shield, a fesse +chequy Ardern, "Sigillum Secreti."[444] + +Thomas de Arderne, Lord of Peddymore, co. Warwick, 1281, on a shield +chequy, a chevron, "Sig. Thome de Arderne."[445] + +Thomas de Arderne, 1286, a shield chequy, a chevron, "S. Thome de +Arderne."[446] + +William de Ardena de Hamtune (_i.e._, Hampton in Arden, Warwickshire) +used a seal with a pointed oval shield thereon, a lion rampant +contourné, _circa_1188-98.[447] + +Dugdale says concerning Hampton in Ardern,[448] that it is not _quite_ +certain that Ralph de Arderne was a son of Turchil.[449] He is mentioned +in 5 Stephen and in 33 Henry II. as a Justice Itinerant. Hampton in +Arden was not altogether his own, but his son Robert purchased it for +500 marks. Robert was a clergyman, Archdeacon of Lisiaux, in Normandy, +and gave his estate here to his brothers Peter and Roger. Peter became a +clerk also, and gave his share to Roger, whose sons were William de +Ardena, 5 Henry III.; Walter, a Clerk; Roger, a Clerk. William's +children were: Hugo de Ardena, a Justice of Assize, 35 Henry III.; +Oliva, who married Robert le Megre; and Hawisia, who married Richard +Peche. Hugh's sons were William and Richard. William sided with the +Montforts, was pardoned, but was soon after slain by Richard de l'Isle. +He left no family; his brother Richard was an idiot; and his estates +went to the heirs of his aunts, John Peche and William le Megre[450] +(Plea Rolls, Ed. I.). + +There is so much confusion regarding the most distinguished of these +early Ardens, that I would like to examine his story more closely. +Dugdale, as I have already noted, is not absolutely certain that Ralph +de Ardern, of Hampton, was a son of Turchil, but believes it +sufficiently to put him in the pedigree. Yet he goes on to state that +this Ralph was a justice itinerant in various reigns. Now, it is not +only dates that make this impossible: Turchil had married, first, the +Countess of Perche, and, second, Leverunia; and Ralph de Arderne, of +Hampton, is given as of the first family. But the mother of Ralph the +justice was a De Bohun. I propose, therefore, tentatively, to consider +that the first Ralph de Hampton married a De Bohun, and hope to find the +records true of an eldest son Ralph, brother of Robert, the Archdeacon +of Lisiaux, of Peter the clerk, and of Roger of Hampton. This view is +supported by many facts, and it gives _time_. Ralph was at the height of +his power in 1188, the very date at which William de Ardene, of Hampton, +the son of Roger, draws up a deed and affixes his seal.[451] According +to Dugdale, this should be his grandson. The name of Ralph's son and +heir is Thomas, not Roger. It was very unusual for a noble family to +bring up the eldest son to the Church, and yet the Archdeacon of Lisiaux +is considered by Dugdale as the eldest son of Ralph, who gives up his +inheritance to his brothers. But if we find a Ralph to be the eldest +son, we can easily account for his giving up the Hampton in Arden home. +He had made his fortunes elsewhere. Ralph was in high favour with the +King,[452] Henry II., and had married Amabilia, daughter and coheir of +Ranulph de Glanville,[453] the great lawyer, author, statesman, soldier, +and crusader, who, while Sheriff of York, had made prisoner William the +Lion of Scotland, and laid the King of England under an obligation. +Ralph's mother was a daughter of Savaric FitzCana, and sister of Ralph, +Gelduin, and Savaric FitzSavaric. Ralph FitzSavaric having died without +heirs, on the death of his uncle Savaric, Franco, the son of Gelduin, +laid claim to his vast possessions in England and the fief of Bohun in +Normandy. It is believed that Gelduin had married within the forbidden +degrees, without dispensation, and that this was the reason that Ralph +de Arderne put forward his mother's claims. Henry II. decided in his +favour at a court at Caen in 1187. But on the accession of Richard I., +Ralph fell into disgrace, ostensibly through some delay in rendering his +accounts at Westminster while Sheriff of Hereford, and Henry's decision +was reversed 1189.[454] But it was evidently a doubtful question. Franco +died in 1194, and when his son and heir Engelger came of age, 1198, +Ralph de Arderne revived his claim, which was settled by a compromise. +After the disturbances in Normandy, 1208, a new dispute arose between +Engelger, the son of Franco FitzSavaric, and Thomas, the son of Ralph +Arden, which ended in a new compromise. + +The offices held by Ralph were numerous. He was Sheriff of Hereford +1184-89,[455] and also justice itinerant. He married a second wife in +1194, Agnes de la Mara, heiress of the Barony of Holgate in Shropshire, +after which he regained royal favour. He received a gift from the King +of land in Essex, for which he paid[456] £362 16s. 8d. He was made +custodian of the temporalities of Canterbury at the time of the troubles +there Bailiff of Pont-Audemar in Normandy, 1198; in 1202 attended King +John at La Suse in Anjou; in 1203 was sent on an embassy to Otho, King +of the Romans; in 1204 went to Flanders on the King's service. He was +said to have acted as justice at Shrewsbury, 1208, but Foss[457] +believes this was his grandson, and states that Coke says so. Ralph de +Arderne endowed the Priory of Butey, Sussex, founded by Ralph de +Glanville, with half the town of Bawdsey. He founded the Priory of +Shulbrede, near Midhurst, and endowed it with half a knight's fee in +Lavington. His son Thomas was engaged in a lawsuit[458] with his aunt +about the partition of his grandfather Glanville's property. "Thomas de +Ardern, et Radulphus filius Roberti ponunt loco suo Mag. Will. de Lecton +_versus_ Will. de Auberville et Matilda uxorem ejus," etc. There is no +mention of Thomas after 14 John, 1213. Lands in Hereford, Sussex, Essex, +and Yorkshire were known to have belonged to him, and many scattered +branches in later periods may represent his descendants. I have not +found his arms; were they the same as William de Ardern of Hampton's, +already referred to? + +Though Shakespeareans are only concerned with the Ardens who remained in +their own county, genealogists are interested in the fortunes of the +whole family. A volume would be necessary for a complete account, and at +present I only attempt to collect and preserve the scattered facts I +have found in various printed and manuscript authorities. + +It is too often taken for granted that individuals do not belong to a +family because their names do not appear in the pedigrees collected at +the Visitations. We know that the descendants of younger sons and +daughters are frequently omitted, and the sons and daughters themselves +occasionally ignored. For instance, the Sir Robert Arden who was +executed in the time of Henry VI., 1451, is stated[459] to have left +seven children, but the name of his heir, Walter, is alone preserved. +Such omissions are more likely to have occurred in earlier times. The +Ardens frequently held land in more counties than one, and thus may +appear in county histories as doubles; while their general use of common +Christian names at other times makes it difficult to separate recorded +incidents. Wills, inquisitions, and other records often strangely bring +into closer relationship individuals not known to be connected, and the +severe test of dates often separates those supposed to be near in blood. + +The main line had estates in Northampton. Robert de Arden had a charter +of free warren in Wapenham and Sudborough.[460] In 7 Henry IV. Wapenham +was assigned as dower to Elena, widow of Sir Henry de Arden, by Ralph +his son, with remainder to Geoffrey de Arden, his brother (see p. 170). +After the death of Elena and Geoffrey it reverted to Ralph, and to +Robert, his son, who in 20 Henry VI. received the King's pardon for +alienating it without licence. The manor of Sulgrave[461] was sold by +the Traffords to Sir Henry Arden, and it remained in the family until +Sir Robert sold it in 20 Henry VI. Laurence Washington, Mayor of +Northampton 1538, had a grant of the dissolved priory of St. Andrews +there. On April 26, 1564, William Arderne of Sulgrave[462] left to his +sister Mary all the portion his father, Richard Arden,[463] had left +her, and all his own goods. He left a legacy to Robert,[464] son of +Laurence Washington, and Laurence was the overseer of his will. There is +preserved a bond by John Ardern, Laurence Washington, and others for +£100, July 4, 1587. + +An Adam de Arden, clerk, was incumbent of Croughton 1218. Another Adam +was Rector of Thornhagh and Bolewyck 1336 and of Barby 1361. Nichola de +Arden presented John de Arden to Cotesbrook Church, May, 1361. +Thomas de Arderne was incumbent of Laxton, July 9, 1310, and of +Clopton-on-the-Wold, 1325. Robert de Ardern, clerk, is mentioned August +16, 1322. Thomas de Ardern, diac., was presented to Nether Heyford, +1455. Eustachia de Ardern, patron of Holdenby, 1263, presented Ralph de +Ardern, and Thomas, son of Thomas Ardern, of Hanwell, recognised as +co-patron Thomas Ardern, of Rotley. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[439] The will of Thomas Arden of Long Itchington was proved 1552, at +Lichfield. Sons, Edmund, William and Thomas, and six daughters. + +[440] Dugdale, 926. + +[441] Baker's "Northampton"; Whalley's "Northampton." + +[442] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," 927. + +[443] Add. Charters, 21, 492. + +[444] Cotton MS. Charters, xxii. 15. + +[445] Egerton Ch., 368. + +[446] Brit. Mus., Ch. lxxxii. 15. + +[447] Cott. Ch., xi. 36. + +[448] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," 952. + +[449] I think the dates show that there must have been two generations +of Ralphs. One appears in another county. + +[450] See _Genealogist_, New Series, XIII. + +[451] A lion rampant contourné. See Brit. Mus., Ch. lxxxii. 15. + +[452] Nichols's "Herald and Genealogist," vi. 432, and vii. 299-311. + +[453] Foss's "Lives of the Judges," i. 379. Campbell's "Lives of the +Chief Judges," i. 19. + +[454] Pipe Roll, 1 Richard I., pp. 208 and 145, Charter, Richard I., +signed at Gorron in Maine, March 31, 1190. + +[455] Fuller's "Worthies of Hereford." + +[456] Pipe Roll, Essex, 6 Richard I. + +[457] Foss's "Lives of the Judges," i. 338. + +[458] Coke, 8th Report, ii. 29, and Blomfield's "Norfolk," viii. 341. + +[459] Harleian MS., Visitation of Warwickshire, 1167, f. 57. + +[460] Concerning forest rights in Clyve, Northamptonshire, Gilbert de +Arden appeared for the Prior of Markyate, Cherchebikenhull, Kynesbury, +26 Edward I. (55, Inquis. P. M.). + +William de la Zouch de Haryngworth enfeoffed Adam de Arderne and Simon +Ward in Boroughley Manor of the Honour of Peverel, Northampton; Eton, +Weston, Ing, Houghton Manors, Bedford; Calston Manor, Wilts; Totnes +Castle, Devon; Weston-in-Arden Manor, Wolfareshull, Foulkeshull, and +Kelpesham Manors, Warwick, probably as trustees, 33 Edward III. (79, +Inquis. P. M.). + +[461] Whalley's "Northampton," i. 25, 263. + +[462] 7, Crymes, Somerset House Wills. + +[463] Of Whitfield, 29, Street, Somerset House. + +[464] Robert's son Laurence sold Sulgrave, went to America, and became +the great-grandfather of George Washington. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE ARDENS OF CHESHIRE + + +In the Conqueror's time the Manor of Watford, Northamptonshire, was +recognised as belonging to Gilbert the Cooke, to whom his son Baldwin +succeeded. But the next owner was Eustace de Arden,[465] son of +Alexander and Agnes Arden, in the time of Henry II. The first Eustace, +born about 1140, was probably the Eustachius de Arderne who granted +Watford Church to the Abbey of St. James. His son, also named +Eustace,[466] died in 1213. The dower of his widow Hawisia was in +Watford and Silvesworth, and Ranulph III., Earl of Chester, became her +security that she would not marry again without license from the +King.[467] Her two sons were Eustace[468] and John de Arderne. Eustace +died in 4 Edward I., 1221, leaving a son Eustace. The line ended with +four daughters, coheiresses--Aveline, Mary, Jane, Elena, 1275. The arms +of Eustace were: Gules, on a chief argent, a label azure.[469] I have +wondered if the following entries concerned younger sons of this family: +"To Master William of Watford 50 marks for his expenses going as a +messenger to the King beyond the sea";[470] and, "Paid to William de +Watford, Keeper of the Queen's palfreys."[471] + +John, the second son of the second Eustace and brother of the third, +received either an original grant, or the confirmation of a grant, from +the Earl of Chester of the Manor of Aldford, in Cheshire. He was +probably the son-in-law of the Richard de Aldford who preceded him.[472] +As the Earl of Chester was Hawisia's surety, he may have been her son +John's guardian. John afterwards granted part of this fee to Peter, the +Earl's clerk, and another part to Pulton and Chester Abbey. On November +28, 1213, he compounded with the King for his father's annual payment +for lands in Watford, and granted to Eustace, his brother, the lands he +had received there from his father. He executed this deed in Aldford, +August, 1216. In that year he received, as a Knight of Ranulph, Earl of +Chester, then in the Holy Land, a grant of the lands of Geoffrey de +Sautemaris. Sir Walkelyn, his son, succeeded him in or before 1237-38. +Through his wife, Agnes de Orreby, he acquired Elford, in Staffordshire, +with Alvanley, Upton, and other manors in Cheshire. He was frequently at +Court, as his attestations to various charters prove, about 41 Henry +III. In 1264-65 he granted the Manor of Alvanley to his eldest son, Sir +Peter, who succeeded to all the family estates on the death of his +father, about 1268. He bore arms based not on those of Eustace de +Watford, or on those of the Earl of Chester, from whom he held land, but +on those of William de Beauchamp, who had succeeded to the Earldom of +Warwick in 1257, as if to claim descent from the Warwickshire family. +His seal appears first in 17 Edward I. in a release to Sir John de +Orreby of a debt due.[473] It bore a shield with three crosses crosslet +pattées, a chief Arderne, with the motto, "Frange, lege tege." See also +the charters in the British Museum.[474] His son and heir by Margery, +his wife, was Sir John, who married Margaret, daughter of Griffin ap +Madoc, Lord of Bromfield, of royal Welsh extraction.[475] + +Sir John de Arderne at the tournament at Stepney, 2 Edward II., in the +retinue of the Earl of Lancaster, bore "Gules, 10 crosses crosslet, and +a chief or."[476] + +But it is said that after his marriage the Arden arms were temporarily +varied to gules, crusule or, and a chief or.[477] + +In 9 Edward II. he purchased part of Haselover from Geoffrey +Salveyn.[478] + +In that year the "Nomina de Villarum" gives the name of "Sir Henry de +Ardena" as Lord of Elford. John's name, however, is given in the list by +the Lieutenant of the Knights and men-at-arms of the county, 17 Edward +II., 1324; and he was one of the Knights summoned to attend the great +council at Westminster, 17 Edward II. John and Margaret had two +sons--John, who succeeded to Aldford, Alderley, Alvanley, and Elford, 19 +Edward III., and Peter, afterwards of Over Alderley. John married, +first, Alice, daughter of Hugh de Venables, and had by her two sons, +John and Peter, and a daughter Margaret. His second wife was Joane, +daughter and heiress of Sir Richard de Stokeport, by whom he had no +issue; and his third wife was Ellen Wasteneys, by whom he had two sons, +Thomas and Walkelyn, born before marriage, and two daughters, Isabel, +wife of Sir Hugh Wrottesley, and Maud, wife of Robert Leigh, of +Adlington, and a son, born after marriage (about 1341), who evidently +died soon. + +Then occurred an extraordinary hitch in the history of primogeniture. +His eldest son, John, had died without issue before his father. Peter, +the second son, and natural heir of his brother and father, then aged +twenty-four, on his father's death found by the inquisition[479] that he +died possessed of "no lands,"[480] all his vast possessions being +settled on himself and his wife Ellen only for life, and secured by a +deed of gift, in reversion to Thomas, the elder illegitimate son of +Ellen Wasteneys. By an appeal, however, to the courts, based on the +previous settlement on his great-grandfather, Peter, the legitimate heir +recovered Alvanley. He married Cicely,[481] daughter and heiress of Adam +de Bredbury, who inherited Hawarden from her father, and henceforward +Alvanley and Hawarden were the chief seats of the Cheshire Ardens. It is +evident, therefore, that the root-meaning of Hawarden, or Harden, has no +relation to the family name. + +The favoured Thomas received Aldford, Etchells, and Nether Alderley, +Cheshire; and Elford, Staffordshire. He was knighted before 1359, and +died 1391. He married Katherine, daughter of Sir Richard Stafford, +heiress of Clifton Campvile, Pipe, Haselover, and Statfold, and was +buried in Elford Church, where his beautiful marble monument still +remains. He is represented in full knightly armour, wearing a rich +collar, with the letters "S.S." interwoven, his basinet bearing the +words "The Nazarene." His wife lies by his side, richly robed, and also +wearing a collar with "S. S." His son and heir, John, born at Elford, +March 12, 1369, was over twenty-one at his father's death,[482] 15 +Richard II. He married Margaret Pilkington, and died in 1408, leaving no +male heir.[483] A large monument in memory of him in Elford Church is +almost decayed. + +In his inquisition, his nearest male relatives are stated to be Robert +de Legh, of Adlington, aged forty, and Hugh de Wrottesley, aged eight. +His only daughter was Matilda, aged twelve, who was granted Alderley and +Etchells only. She married Thomas de Stanley.[484] John's widow, +Margaret, took for her second husband Sir Robert Babthorpe, and died +1423. Her Inquisition Post Mortem is very interesting. She died seized +of Nether Alderley only, which reverted to her daughter, Matilda +Stanley. + +"The Prince of Wales as Earl of Chester _versus_ Margaret, formerly wife +of John, son of Thomas de Arderne, to determine the right to the manors +of Aldford, Alderdelegh, and Echells, the advowsons, and 10 marks a year +from the manor of Upton, in Wyrehale. It mentions that Thomas and +Walkelyn were illegitimate; but Walkelyn died _s.p._, and pleaded the +settlement" (Chester Pleas, 10 Henry IV., m. 9, _Genealogist_, New +Series, vol. xv.). + +Another Chester Plea Roll records the suit of Richard, son of John de +Radcliff and Matilda his wife, against Isabella, formerly wife of John +de Legh, Chivalier, for land in Modberlegh, which John de Ardene gave to +John de Legh for his life, with remainder to John, son of John de Legh +and Matilda, daughter of John de Ardene, and to the heirs of the bodies +of John de Legh and Matilda (_Genealogist_, New Series, vol. xiii.). + +Sir Thomas Arden and Sir John bore as arms the three crosses crosslet, +and the chief or, the same as the legitimate family. + +Hugh, the son of Peter Arden, of Alvanley and Hawarden, carried on the +main line, and had full possession of his estates by 1372. He married +twice--first, Agnes Hulme, by whom he had Peter and Ralph;[485] and +second, Cicely de Hyde,[486] by whom he had John, who lived in the +service of the King. The seal of Peter, son of Hugh de Arderne, of +Macclesfield, co. Chester, 1372,[487] is preserved in the British +Museum, and bears three crosses crosslet and a chief Arderne. Old and +infirm, Hugh was granted exemption from military service in 1408. + +Charles Arden, son of John, son of Peter, married Elizabeth Radcliffe in +Edward III.'s time, and through her inheritance became owner of +Timporley, and founded the Timporley branch of Ardens. + +The pedigree of the family is given _in extenso_ in Drummond, Earwaker, +Ormerod, and the Visitations of Cheshire, so that it is unnecessary to +repeat it here. Further intermarriages with the Hydes[488] are recorded. +Ralph Ardern, of Harden, led his tenantry against the Royalists, 1642, +and died 1657. Sir John, head of the family, in 1660 was Sheriff of +Cheshire. One of his brothers was the Rev. James Arden, Dean of Chester, +1691. + +John, who was Sheriff in 1760, married Sarah Pepper, who brought Pepper +Hall into the family. Their son, Richard Pepper Arden, Chief Justice of +the Common Pleas, was created Baron Alvanley[489] 1801. He had three +sons, John, William, and Richard. The title became extinct 1857.[490] +The arms were the three crosses crosslet and a chief or; crest, a double +row of ostrich feathers out of a ducal coronet. + +There is a curious will at Somerset House[491] (January 9, 1614) of +Thomas Arden, of Hornsey, gentleman, who seems to have been connected +with this family. After trifling legacies, he leaves his lease in +Cheshire of Melton Farm to his dear and well-beloved sister, Ann Ardern. +"Executors, my beloved sister Anne Arderen, ever faithful friend, and +Richard Drape of Hornsey gent."--proved January 17, 1614. But another +similar will of the same man was again proved, 1615, by Anne and another +co-executor. + +In Berry's "Sussex Genealogies" we find that George Ardern, son of +George Ardern, born in Chester, came to Chichester, married Catharine, +daughter and coheir of Robert Palmer, Esq., and had three sons--George, +John, and Richard. Richard married Margaret, daughter of Thomas Green, +and had three sons and a daughter--Thomas, George, Richard, and +Catherine. + +An important official Arden was John, who in the reign of Henry V. was +Clerk of the Works.[492] His patent was renewed under Henry VI., and +payments are recorded to him for making the tomb of King Henry V.[493] +in St. Peter's, Westminster, of Caen stone, £23 6s. 8d.; for repairs in +the Tower; in the palace of Westminster; and in the castle of +Wallingford. He was also Clerk of the Works at York, and in 22 Henry VI. +was made Baron of the Exchequer, and had various grants. + +Foss believes him to be the father of Sir Peter Arderne,[494] also in +royal service. In 18 Henry VI. he was deputy of William de la Pole, Earl +of Suffolk, chief seneschal of the Duchy of Lancaster. He took the coif +February 14, 1443, and was made King's Serjeant and Chief Baron of the +Exchequer May 2, 1448. Dugdale does not mention him as a Judge of Common +Pleas, but he received his patent July 7, 26 Henry VI., and must have +held double office. In 1461 his patents were renewed, but in the +following year there was a new Chief Baron, though Sir Peter retained +his other offices. He had a tun of wine annually for life. His will[495] +is so interesting from a literary point of view, as well as a +genealogical one, that it is worthy of fuller notice. He and his wife +Katharine had founded a chantry in Netteswell, Essex, and a chapel in +the parish of Latton, Essex, where they resided. He left to these and +many other charitable purposes handsome legacies; and to his wife, Dame +Katharine, he left his "daily Primer," much plate and furniture, a +crucifix, the furniture of a chapel, his "book of legends in English, +and his English translation of 'Bonaventura de vita et passione +Christi.'" To his "son, John Bohun," armour, and his book in English of +"Boys de Consolacione Philosophiæ, with the booke of Hunting therein." +To his daughter, Anne Bohun, furniture, and a French booke, "Giles de +Reginum Principii." To his daughter, Elizabeth Skreene,[496] furniture +and a mass-book. To his son, John Skreene, "myne owne volume of old +statutes with the Register, and ye new Lawes therein; my newe statutes +and a boke of termes of parchemyn, and a good boke compiled of Law with +a yallow leather covering, and a booke of law of termes of 2 Ed. II. in +parchemyn, a greate booke of gramer, with the Siege of Troy borded, a +greate booke called Catholicon borded, and a good new bounden fair +little book compiled of Assises." "To my ward, Thomas Bibbesworth, his +own marriage free to himself,[497] my best Register of Lawe, my owne +gret compiled booke of Lawe covered with red leather, and a horn upon it +... a booke of lawe in parchemyn compiled and bokeled, a boke of terms +of Law on paper, with A^o 32-A^o 39 and other yeares therein." "To my +niece, Margaret Newport, a table of ivory with the Salutation of our +Lady in ymages of silver. To my brother, Master Thomas Arden, my scarlet +gowne furred, my book flowered Barthm. his own booke of Lucerna, +conscience, his Sawter glosed, my booke of the Life of St. Thomas of +Canterbury." To his cousin, Master John Roclif, a hoode; to his brother, +parson of Hadham, a cloke; to his nephew, Guy Arden, a gowne. Other +remembrances follow. His interest in the forest of Galtuce, in +Yorkshire, in the towns of Hoby and Esmeswold, to be sold to pay his +debts. His wife to have all the residue if she remain unmarried. The +manors of Monkhall and Enfield to his wife, reverting to his daughters; +the manor of Swale in Godilston to his wife, and to any heir she +chooses. Executors: Dame Katherine Arden, his wife, and Master +Thomas[498] Ardern, his brother, and others, February 20, 1466, proved +July 10, 1467. A rubbing of the sepulchral brass in memory of Sir Peter +and his wife[499] at Latton is preserved in the British Museum. His arms +were: Or, three pellets azure on a chief gules, three lozenges +argent.[500] Bobbingworth Hall, Ongar, Essex,[501] was conveyed to +Richard Ardern 1423, and to Sir Peter Ardern 1446. In that year also +Gregory Wery released Latton Hall, Harlow Half Hundred, to Peter Ardern +and his heirs for ever.[502] The will of the Guy Arden,[503] nephew of +Sir Peter, was drawn up July 24, 1498. He left legacies to the master, +every brother, and every servant of St. John's College, Cambridge; to +Sir Christopher Wright, Fellow of St. John's, his journal; to Mr. Bowes, +of King's College, his great beads; to the Lady Prioress of Crabhouse, +"2 portuess of written hande and x^s, and to her convent 6^s 8^{d}." The +residue to Dr. William Robinson and Master John Basse, Bach. of Civill +Lawe. + +A curious group of wills seem to prove that the Alice Green who married +John Holgrave, one of the Barons of the Exchequer, must have previously +married an Arden,[504] and had children by him. Sir John Holgrave's will +was drawn up on August 6, 1486.[505] After church bequests, he leaves to +his son Thomas some plate, "of the gift of Elizabeth Greene, my +mother-in-law," forty marks to his son John, and fifty marks to his +daughter Elizabeth. "To the brotherhood of the Clerkes of London, wher I +am a brother, 13/4." To Katherine Coleyn, 100^{s}; to Alice Green, +100^{s}; to _Richard Arden_, towards his learning, 10 marks, and one of +his best gowns; to Master Walter Ardern, parson of Cheyham, 100^{s}; the +residue to his wife Alice. Executors: Alice, his wife, Thomas Holgrave, +his son, Master Walter Arden, and Richard Ardern. If his sons and +daughters die without heirs, his estate to go to Richard Arden, his +son-in-law, and Master Walter Arden. His wife Alice made her will in +1487.[506] Her son Thomas was to have fifty marks, her son John £100, +and her daughter Besse £100. "Also to Richard, my son, 100 marc; to Mr. +Wat, my son, 100 marc; to Katerine, my daughter,[507] £40; to Elizabeth, +my daughter, 10 marc." "_Cousin Alice Skreene_"[508] was to have 10 +marks also. There were gifts of plate to her sons Thomas and John and +daughter Besse, to Richard and Mr. Water, her sons, and her daughter +Katharine. Executors: My son Mr. Walter Ardern, my son Richard Ardern, +my son Thomas Holgrave. Overseers: Master Litton and my daughter +Katharine. Proved September 21, 1487. + +The above-mentioned Master Walter Arden,[509] parson of Cheyham, Surrey, +September 13, 1482, left legacies to every household in his parish; and +10 marks each to Richard, my brother, to Thomas, my brother, to John, my +brother, to Elizabeth Ardern, my sister, to Elizabeth Holgrave, my +sister, to the daughters of my sister Collyns, and to various cousins. +Also to the daughters of Mr. Codyngton, and 10 marcs to poor scholars. +Twenty shillings to reparation of St. Mary's, Cambridge. The residue to +Richard Arden, my brother. Executors: John Deye, Sir John Norwood, and +John Codyngton, the younger, with 10 marks each. Proved October 2, 1492. + +Seven years afterwards Richard Arden, of Bosham,[510] Sussex, and of +Bermondsey, left legacies to various churches, and to his brothers +Thomas and John Holgrave. Johane, his wife, sole heir and executor,[511] +with reversion to John Holgrave. Overseers: John of Lee, of Addyngton, +Richard Culpepper, of Ardyns Lee, and John Chaloner, Huwild, 1499. + +The name "Collins" makes one think there may be some connection with the +following: Walter Arden,[512] of Hampton, in Highworth, Wilts, makes his +will on April 1, 1540. He leaves to Thomas Ardern, the elder son of my +brother, Richard Arden, £40 and farm stock; to Johane Arden, my servant, +sister to Thomas, £20; to Margaret Sewell, my daughter, £100 and all my +lands; to Elizabeth Palmer, my sister's daughter, and to other +grandchildren, money gifts. My daughter Elizabeth sole executrix; Simon +Yate supervisor. + +The goods of Edith Arden, Hampton Turvil, Wilts, were administered in +1578, and those of Richard Arden, of Chilton, 1641. + +John Arden,[513] of Hampton Turville, Highworth, Wilts, yeoman, August +16, 1585, leaves half his goods to his wife Amy as long as she is +unmarried, reversion to Thomas Arden, his son; to Editha Collyns, £6 +13s. 4d.; to Agnes Collyns, 20s.; to Elizabeth Collyns, 20s.; to Walter +Arden, my godson, 10s.; to Elizabeth Arden, the daughter of my brother, +Henry Arden, a sheep; to each of the children of my brother Richard a +sheep. All the residue to my son, Thomas Arden, executor. Overseers, +brothers Thomas and Virgill Arden, who were also witnesses. Proved +November 28, 1585. + +The will was proved of Thomas Arden, of Hampton Turvill, Highworth, +Wilts, yeoman, February 3, 1621. His wife Agnes to live in the house in +convenient rooms and have £10 a year, payable out of the manor of +Westthroppe, in the parish of Heynes; or, if she does not like her diet, +£20 a year. He stands possessed for a terme of 1,000 years in the moitie +and one-half part of one-fifth of the manor of Westthropp, to be given +to eldest son, Thomas Arden, and heirs male; if no heirs, to John Arden, +his second son; then to Edward Arden, his third son; to Nicholas Arden, +his fourth son, each of which are to have £100. To Henry Arden, my son, +£4 a year, and his dwelling in the house at Hampton and good usage +there, and if he does not like his treatment, to have £10 a year. To +John, my son, my tenements in Birdlip, Gloucester; to Edward, my son, a +house in Highworth and the Chantrey House. My kinsman, Thomas Arden, of +Fairford, Gloucester, oweth me £40. I give this to Agnes, my daughter, +wife of Henry Gearinge. Thomas, his son, sole executor. His loving +brother, Thomas Stratton, and Henry Gearing, overseers.[514] + +The Ardernes of Cottesford and Kirtlington, Oxford, bore the same arms +as the Park Hall Ardens, with a mullet for difference;[515] but the +relationship is not given in the pedigree of the Visitation. It only +starts with Robert Arden of Cottesford, whose son William[516] married +Agnes Stotesby of Evenley, and he had, first, Thomas, second, John, +third, William, fourth, George. His daughter Alice married Thomas Thorne +of Northampton. Thomas predeceased his father and John succeeded, who +married, first, Isabel Woodward, widow of Richard Swillington, who bore +him a son, Leonard, who became a priest, and Eleanor, married to Anthony +Yate. John married, second, Isabell, daughter of John Gifford, of +Twyford, Bucks, by whom he had John Arden, of Cottesford (who married +Catharine, daughter of John Cheyney, and whose son was John Arden), +Richard, and Anthony, who married Margery, daughter and heir of Walter +Coxe, of Kirtlington, through whom he acquired this property. Anthony's +family consisted of John, Thomas,[517] Henry,[517] Alice, Margaret, and +Mary. + +There were Indentures drawn up between Henry VIII. and "John Arderne, of +Cotisford" (see Cromwell's "Remembrances," 1534). + +The will of John Arden, of Cottesford, Oxfordshire, gentleman,[518] +November 12, 1557, furnishes us with some particulars. He wished to be +buried before the cross in Cottesford beside his father's tomb. To +Katharine,[519] his wife, if she claimed no jointure, an annuity of £13 +6s. 8d. (to be paid by brother Richard Arden, in the lordship of +Willaston), 300 marks, and the house they dwell in, with half the +furniture, etc. "To every of the children of Roger Arndern, of Evynley, +now living, twenty shillings." To his cousin, Robert Thorne, to his +cousin, Nicholas Thorne's wife, to his sister, Eleanor Yates, legacies. +"To John Ardern, son of Anthony Ardern,[520] my young brother," +tenements, etc.; failing whom, they were to pass to Henry Ardern, third +son of his said brother. To the wives of Richard and Anthony, his +brothers, four angels. To Richard, his brother, all his titles to +Cottesford and Willaston, and to Anthony, his younger brother, the title +of his lease of Shelliswell. Residue to his brothers, the executors; +desiring Mr. Walter Wright, Doctor of the Civil Law and Archdeacon of +Oxfordshire, to be overseer. Witnesses, Nicholas Thorne, Walter Prior, +and John Tench. "Memor.: Laurence Pate, parson of Harwicke, had to hide +the will in his coffer till Arden's death."[521] + +Robert Arden, of Berwyck, writes to the Earl of Leicester about Mr. +Arden, of Cotesford, March 1, 1588. + +John Arden in 1595 prays some Court service. But in January, 1595-96, he +has been sent to the Marshalsea on suspicion of treason, when he was +about to marry. Nicholas Poutor, in October, 1601, promises to pay £100 +to John Ardern, of Kirtlington, in October, 1602. + +These Ardens are evidently connected with those of Evenly in +Northamptonshire. Thomas Arden, of Evenly, died between 1520-26; Roger +Arden, of Evenly, 1537-40; William Arden, of Norton, 1548-61.[522] The +Inventory of the goods of John Arden, of Evenley, gent., was taken +November 9, 1559. On the back of this is a settlement, dated 1576, +between John and Thomas Arden, and others.[523] + +It is not clear whether the Cottesford Ardens are in any way connected +with a family residing at Henley-on-Thames, co. Oxon. In a will of +Robert Arden he left everything he had to his wife Margery, August 8, +1493;[524] and on February 24, 1525, John Arderne, of Henley,[525] drew +up a will leaving to his daughter Margery £6 13s. 4d.; and to his wife +Johane all his lands and tenements, with remainder, first to his son and +heir, Humphrey Arderne, after him to his son Robert, after him to his +son John, after him to his son Edmund or their heirs. His wife Johane, +executrix; James Hayles, overseer. Proved May 4, 1526. + +Beyond the more important habitats, we find Ardens in many English +counties. John Yate, the elder, of Bockland, Berks, gent., in his will, +January 12, 1578,[526] mentions his son-in-law, Mr. John Arderne, and +Anthony Arderne, son of his daughter Bridget, deceased. John Daubeney, +of Woolmeston, gent., April 6, 1625, mentions his brother-in-law, Guy +Arden, of West Chinnock.[527] + +The State Papers mention this family. + +The names of such of the guard under the Earl of Leicester "as have been +lately preferred to your excellency in Holland, and by whom: + +"John Arden, by Mr. Thomas Dudley, January 12, 1585." + +"The names of the Household, Flushing, July 21, 1585, Clerk Comptroller, +Thomas Arden."[528] + +John Arderne, will June 5, 1605; ob. s. p. December 17, 1605. Inq. at +Woodstock, 5 Jac. I. Oxford and Berks. Thomas, brother and heir, æt. 60. + +Thomas Arderne, ob. s. p. August 31, 9 Jac. I. Inq. at Oxford, November +12, 14 Jac. I., Oxford. Henry, brother and heir, æt. 60. + +Henry Arderne, ob. May 4 ult. Inq. at Oxford. August 22, August 20, 20 +Jac. I. Oxford and Somerset. Margaret, d. and h., æt. 10 years 11 months +14 days. + +Of this family probably sprung the Arden mentioned in Bishop Scory's +letter from Whitborn:[529] "Messrs. Mug, Blaxton, Arden and Gregory, +popish priests, were driven out of Exeter, but received elsewhere, and +feasted in the streets with torch-light."--August 17, 1561. + +In a search for Arden and other prisoners who had escaped, Popish relics +were found in the house of Francis Yeates, of Lyfford,[530] February 12, +1587. "The examination of John Arden,[531] gent., son of Laurence Arden, +of Chichester, concerning an attempt made against the King of Spain, and +his dealings with Dr. Hall and other fugitives. His brother Robert had +been 24 years a Canon of Toledo in Spain."--December 27, 1590 (?). A +prisoner named Arden is noted for years among the accounts of the Tower +for the boarding of prisoners, and a Mr. Arden[532] escaped thence with +Father Gerard by the assistance of John Lily and Richard Fulwood, +October 8, 1597. + +Thomas Arden, Canon of Worcester 1558, was deprived for Catholicism in +1562. (See Wood's "Athenæ Oxonienses"; and also "John Arden(?), late +prebendary of Worcester, accused of heresy 1561.") + +FOOTNOTES: + +[465] Ormerod's "Cheshire." Ormerod's "Miscellanea Palatina," 72. + +[466] Earwaker's "East Cheshire." + +[467] Close Roll, 1213. + +[468] Bridge's "Northampton"; Whalley's "Northampton," i. 568; Baker's +"Northampton." + +[469] Nichols's "Top. et Gen.," i. 47-480. + +[470] Issue Roll. Michaelmas, 41 Henry III. + +[471] _Ibid._, 9 Edward II. + +[472] Ormerod's "Miscellanea Palatina," 73; Nichols's "Coll. Geneal. et +Topog.," i. 47. + +[473] Nichols's "Top. et Gen.," vi. 324. + +[474] Charters lxxxii., 14. + +[475] Earwaker's "East Cheshire," i. 324. + +[476] Nichols's "Top. et Gen.," iv., p. 67. + +[477] Nicolas's "Roll of Shropshire," 27 Edward II., p. 98, and +Nichols's "Top. et Gen.," vi. 324. No. 967, Parliamentary Roll of Arms +(_Genealogist_, New Series, xii.). + +[478] Shaw's "Staffordshire." + +[479] Inquis., December 23, 23 Edward III., 1349. See also Shaw's +"Staffordshire." + +[480] Ormerod's "Miscellanea Palatina." + +[481] Earwaker's "East Cheshire," i. 13, 324. + +[482] See Inquis. P. M., 15 Richard II., Sir Thomas of Elleford, +Haselor, Kingsbromley, etc. + +[483] See Will at Somerset House, 17 March. Inquis. P. M., 10 Henry IV., +John of Elford, Lichfield, Kingsbromley, etc. + +[484] A Cecilia de Arderne also appears as wife to a John Stanley. + +[485] Ralph married Catharine, daughter of Sir W. Stanley, and had a son +Thomas, from whom the Leicestershire Ardens descended.--"Cheshire +Visitations." + +[486] Drummond's "Noble British Families." + +[487] Add. Ch., 20, 492. + +[488] Ashmolean MSS., Bodleian Library. 833, f. 51-59. The family of +Hyde and Arderne, 837, f. 128, and 1137, f. 135 (Arderne pedigree. +Harleian MS., 2074, f. 113). Frances Marbury, née Arden, married Thomas +Marbury, Esq., Marbury (Chester Funeral Certificates, 1634). Earwaker's +"East Cheshire," i. 472. + +[489] Earwaker's "East Cheshire," 472. + +[490] Burke's "General Armory." + +[491] Commissary Court of London, vol. for 1614, ff. 387 and 443. + +[492] Foss's "Lives of the Judges," iv. 281. Was he son of Peter of +Alvanley and Cicely de Hyde? + +[493] Issues of the Exchequer. + +[494] Foss's "Lives of the Judges," iv. + +[495] 19 Godyn, Somerset House. + +[496] See in 1510 pardon and release to Elizabeth Skreene, _alias_ widow +of Richard Harpur, _alias_ widow of Andrew Dymock, daughter of Sir Peter +Ardern (Papers, Henry VIII.). + +[497] Thomas de Bibbesworth, who died 1485, held a moiety of the manor +of Latton (Morant's "Essex," ii. 487). + +[498] Newcourt, ii. 543. A Thomas Arden, S.T.B., Prebend of Reculverland +in St. Paul's; Rector of Hadham Magna, exchanged for St. Bride's, +London; Rector of Stambridge Parva 1472. One of the masters of the +college of Pleshy was also called Thomas Arden, 1477, but seems to have +been another of the name. William Arden was presented to Stambridge, +1474. + +[499] Add MS., xxxii. 490 (u. 9). + +[500] Morant's "Essex," ii. 487. + +[501] _Ibid._, i. 148. + +[502] Close Rolls, 24 and 25 Henry VI. + +[503] 24 Horne. Vicar of Littlebury, February 16, 1463; Strethall, April +25, 1467; Upminster, March 2, 1483 (Newcourt, ii. 394). + +[504] Could it have been John Arden, executor of Walter Green? See Will +of Walter Green, Lord of the Manor of Hayes in Middlesex, December 6, 35 +Henry VI., 1456, proved on February 12 by Elizabeth his wife, John +Gaynsford, his son-in-law, John Arden, Robert Green, his son, and John +Catesby, his son-in-law. His daughter Alice was wife of Sir John +Holgrave (Nichols, i. 211). + +[505] 4 Milles. + +[506] 5 Milles. + +[507] Katharine Collins. See previous will. + +[508] See will of Sir Peter Arderne, p. 203. + +[509] 9 Dogett. + +[510] Moone. Commissary Wills. + +[511] Byfleet Manor in Busselagh parish, Surrey, belonged to John de +Arderne, 2 Edward III. (see Close Roll, 2 Edward III., m. 24), and +Mitcham (Inquis. P. M., 22 Edward III.). Leigh Place, near Reigate, +belonged to the Ardernes _temp._ Henry VI. John Arderne was Sheriff of +Surrey and Sussex in 1432. In Leigh Church is a sepulchral brass in +memory of John Arderne and Elizabeth his wife and six children, without +date. Also one to the memory of Richard Arderne and Johanna his wife, +which Richard died November 22, 1489(?). His arms were a Fesse chequy +between three crescents impaling a chevron three stags. Among gentlemen +12 Henry VI., "John Ardern of Lye," arm. (Fuller's "Worthies of Surrey," +33; in Rot. Capella. Inquis. P. M., 15 Henry VII., Richard Arden). +Brayley's "Surrey," iv. 282. + +[512] 8 Alenger. + +[513] 54 Brudenell. See "Berkshire Wills." The Loan, 1523. The +certificate of Simon Yate, Highworth, and of Westropp, Walter Arden. +Pap. Henry VIII., P.R.O. In 1539 Simon and Thomas Yate each find a +horse, harness, bill, sword and dagger, and Walter Arden a horse and +harness with bows and arrows; Thomas Arden a harness. + +[514] 53 Dale. + +[515] See Harl. MS., 1095, f. 93. Harl. Public., Visit. Oxford. Sir +Thomas Phillipps' "Oxfordshire Visitations." + +[516] Fuller's "Worthies of England," Oxfordshire, 343, gives among the +county gentry of 12 Henry VI. a William Anderne(?). Fuller thinks the +Commissioners passed too many gentry for this small shire. In others it +was the cream, here the thin milk. + +[517] Inquis. P. M. of Thomas, 14 James I., of Henry, 20 James I. + +[518] 52 Wrastley. + +[519] Katharine, daughter of John Cheney of Woodaye, Esq., married to +John Arderne of Cottesford, co. Oxon. See Visitation of Wiltshire, 1565 +(_Genealogist_, New Series, xii.). + +[520] He had to prove his right to Kirtlington and Jackley, +Oxfordfordshire (Hil. Rec., 10 Elizabeth, Rot. 38). + +[521] Anthony's will was proved in 1572, 3 Peter, Somerset House. + +[522] Northampton and Rutland Wills. + +[523] Inq. P. M., 1 & 2, Ph. & M. + +[524] 11 Vox, Somerset House Wills. + +[525] _Ibid._, 6 Porch. + +[526] Somersetshire Wills, printed, Fourth Series. + +[527] _Ibid._ + +[528] Cotton MS., Galba, c. viii. + +[529] State Papers, Dom. Ser., Eliz., xix. 24. + +[530] _Ibid._, cxcviii. 12. + +[531] _Ibid._, ccxxxiv. 66. + +[532] "Life of Father John Gerard," by John Morris, p. cxv. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +BRANCHES IN OTHER COUNTIES + + +An interesting Arden whom I have not been able to connect with any +relatives was John Arderne, of Newark,[533] a physician who practised +with distinction at the time of the plague, 1349, and whose medical +books were freely quoted by Johannes Argentein and succeeding medical +writers. + +I have not found his arms. There is, indeed, the seal of a John Arderne, +son and heir of Sir Adam de Arderne, of Lincolnshire, 1312, in the +British Museum, bearing a shield[534] "Ermine, on a bend three crosses +crosslet, depending from a tree of three small branches," who might have +been the same person. + +Richard Arderne owned a messuage in Stanford, Lincoln, 27 Edward III., +Inquis. P.M. As late as 1501 an Edmund Arden,[535] of St. Martin's, +Lincoln, left a gown to his brother Thomas, a gown to Pierce Arden, and +other legacies. John Gedney married Mary, daughter of John Arden, of +Sibsey, co. Lincoln (Visitation, 1592). In the neighbourhood there was a +noted Robert de Arderne, of co. Norfolk, 1315, whose seal bears two +shields side by side in fesse; Dext. ermine a fesse chequy Arden; +Sinist. on a fesse three garbs with cabalistic letters, explained in +_Journ. Brit. Arch. Ass._, xl. 317.[536] + +Nothing brilliant is recorded of the Ardens of Yorkshire. Sir ---- de +Arderne, bearing arms Arg. a lion ramp. az. debruized by a baston gu., +appears in Planché's Roll of Arms of Henry III.[537] John de Ardern, of +Yorkshire, is in the list of gentlemen of 43 Edward III. He is mentioned +also as witness for Haselden, of Goldyngton, 41 Edward III. Thomas +Arden, of Marton, near Bridlington, 1455, and Margaret, his wife, 1458, +were buried in Bridlington Priory.[538] William Ardern, of Belthorp, was +among the gentlemen of 12 Henry VI.[539] John Arderne, of Kelingthorpe, +secured an exemption from serving on juries, April 1, 8 Henry VIII., at +Greenwich.[540] There are many documents in the Record Office concerning +the sale of the lands of John Ardern, of Kelingthorpe,[541] York; and a +receipt from Thomas Perpoint, draper, London, of £516 paid him by John +Arden; also a release to Perpoint and John Arden by Thomas Hennage of +the Cardinal's household. To this Hennage, Arden grants the wardship of +his son Peter; and, if he should die, the wardship of Raffe; failing +whom, the wardship of John, his third son, 1533. His wife was Margery. +Sir Raff Ellerker married Jane, daughter of John Arden, Esq. +(Visitation, Yorks, 1563). There is also noted the Inquis. P. M., of +Peter Arden, of York, 22 Henry VIII.,[542] and William Arden's lease of +Yaresthorpe, Yorks. The priory of nuns at Arden, founded 1150, was +suppressed in 1536.[543] + +[Illustration: SWAN THEATRE (BY DR. GAIDERTY.) + +_To face p. 214._] + +The Ardens appeared also early in Essex. At the Conqueror's Survey, Earl +Eustace of Boulogne owned Horndon-on-the-Hill,[544] but the next owners +were Ardernes, who built Ardern Hall. In 1122 Thomas Ardern and his son +Thomas gave to the monks of Bermondsey the tithe of the corn in their +lordship of Horndon. Sir Ralph de Ardern, of Horndon, was Sheriff of +Essex, 39 and 40 Henry III.[545] His seal bore on a shield a fesse +chequy between two roundels.[546] Sir Thomas de Arderne, the son of +Ralph, used "a seal, bearing two trumpets, mouthpieces in base, between +nine crosses crosslet in fesse, three and three, in pale S. Thome de +Arderne."[547] John Lovetot, who died in 1295, held land of him in +Horndon, by the service of one rose of yearly rent; and John de Arderne +granted lands in Rochford 33 Edward I.[548] The manor of Walkefares, in +Clavering, Essex, belonged to Walter Arden some time previous to +1340.[549] + +The property of Timothy Arden, Somerset, was administered 1631.[550] + +There was an Inquisition Post Mortem of William de Arderne, of +Chelesworthy Manor, Devon, in 56 Henry III. (39). Another of Adam de +Ardern, 53 Henry III. (35), owner of Colverden, Walesworth, and Berton +juxta Gloucester. + +In 1 Edward VI. Inquisition Post Mortem of William Arden, Wig, the +administration of the goods of Richard Arden, of Worcester, was granted +his wife Margaret, 1636 (Admins., 1636-38, f. 116, Worcester). + +William Arden, parson, of Wennington, in 1582, left small legacies to +his sister-in-law, Bridget Doulton, and all the rest to his two +daughters, Alice Arden, who married a Stevenson, and Margaret +Arden.[551] + +In the Visitation of the Cheshire Ardens, it is stated that from Thomas, +son of Ralph and brother of John, the Leicestershire Ardens are +descended.[552] + +In the great "History of Leicestershire," edited by Nichols, there are a +few notices of the name, and these chiefly of the Warwickshire Ardens, +who held property in the shire. Baldwin Freville owned certain lands at +Ratcliffe held by Roger de Ardern 1387.[553] Sir Robert of Park Hall was +Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire 16 Henry VI. + +"Thomas Ferrars holds of the heirs of Roger Arden the third part of the +feod of Radcliffe, Leicestershire," 37 Henry VI., Inquis. P. M. (34). + +Simon de Ardern and Hugo de Arderne were priests 1387.[554] + +In Bedford, the earliest entry I have found is the record of lands of +Sir Thomas de Arderne, "utlagatus pro feloniis et transgressionibus," +Rokesden Manor and Bereford Cottage in Bedfordshire, 21 Edward III. +(Inquis. P. M. 60). + +[Illustration: THE BEAR GARDEN AND HOPE THEATRE] + +[Illustration: SWAN THEATRE. + +_To face p. 216._] + +William Ardern of Struton, in Oskellyswade, co. Beds, Clerk of the +Market to the King's household, Crest a boar quarterly, or and az., +granted by Barker (Stowe, 692; "Misc. Gen. et Her.," Harwood, New +Series, xii. 13).[555] A William Ardern wrote to Cromwell, from Hawnes, +May 27, 1535, on behalf of Mr. Franklyn, cited before my Lord of Lincoln +(Letters and Papers Henry VIII., Gairdner). Can these be the same? +Compare pp. 171, 172, 188 and notes. + +There was an Inquisition Post Mortem on the property of Isabel Arden, +Ideot, Bedfordshire, 10 Elizabeth. + +The manor of Lyesnes, in Kent, was released to Thomas Ardern in 37 Henry +VIII.[556] There are many notices of the Kent Ardens in Hasted's +"History of Kent." But perhaps public attention was drawn most to the +member of the family who was murdered.[557] The story is closely +followed in the "Tragedy of Arden of Feversham," by some attributed to +Shakespeare, though with little probability. + +Burke[558] gives many other branches; as, for instance, Arden of Sunbury +Park, Middlesex, and Rickmansworth Park, Herts; arms: Ermine, two +barrulets compony or and azure, in chief three boars' heads erased of +the last, armed of the second, langued gu. + +Ardens of East Burnham, Bucks, same arms. Arden of Blackden Hall, co. +Chester, Ermine, a fesse chequy or and az.; same crest as the Park Hall +arms, but with different motto. + +Various Ardens drifted to London, but there seems to have been one +business family settled there from early times. Thomas of Plumstede left +rents and a cellar, called Drynkwater Taverne, in the parish of St. +Magnus, to John Arderne, fishmonger, September 26, 1361.[559] John +Hanhampsted left the reversion of tenements held for life by John +Arderne, Esquire, in the parish of St. Mary Aldermanchurch, May 4, +1424.[560] An administration of goods of John Arderne, of St. +Sepulchre's, was granted February 15, 1508.[561] + +In May, 1534, a pardon was granted John Appowell for abetting John Done, +a thief, who stole a gown and a piece of cloth belonging to Thomas +Ardrenne from the house of Thomas Chief, May, 1534.[562] + +Thomas Arden, September 29, 1549, citizen and clothworker, left all his +goods to Agnes, his wife; will proved January 27, 1549.[563] + +Robert Arden, of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, vintner, and Agnes Mather +of the same, were licensed to be married at any church in the +jurisdiction of Westminster, November 27, 1568.[564] + +A Robert Arden was assistant to the Clerk of the Accatory, 1577.[565] + +Several deliveries to him of Government victuals are noted in State +Papers, 1594-97. + +I do not know whether or not he is the Robert Arden who writes a letter +to the Government about the composition of ling and cod from the Iceland +fisheries, landed in Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, September 14, 1593, a +letter interesting as showing the relative trade of the towns at that +date.[566] + +At St. Saviour's, Southwark, Robert Stillard and Bridget Arden were +married August 21, 1618.[567] + +Among marriage licenses[568] are those of Richard Bromfield and Jane +Arden, February 14, 1564; John Arden and Dorothy Hazard, of the city of +Westminster, June 16, 1639;[569] Hugh Phillips, gent., of St. +Margaret's, Westminster, and Elizabeth Arden, of same, November 17, +1641;[570] Henry Arden, of Chelmsford, Essex, gent., widower, and Mary +Boosie, of Writtle, spinster, at St. Magnus the Martyr, London, February +22, 1664;[571] Thomas Arden, of the city of Westminster, Esq., to +Theodosia Long, October 10, 1664; William Ardern, junior, gent., Bach., +of St. Martin's, Ludgate, and Mrs. Margaret Smith, of Great Wigborough, +Essex, widow, to be married there, March 21, 1665-66;[572] John Arden, +of St. James's, Westminster, widower, aged about fifty, and Mrs. +Elizabeth Wright, spinster, twenty-two, January 12, 1687-88. + +Gabriel Josselyn, gent., of St. Michael, Bassinghall,[573] and +Elizabeth, daughter of ---- Arden of same, deceased, December 1, 1587. + +John Brown, of St. Olave's, Hart Street, London, haberdasher, and Anne +Arden, of St. Andrew's,[574] Holborn, widow of John Ardern, Fletcher, +February 10, 1595. + +The will of Robert Arden, gent., Deptford, was proved 1579.[575] + +An Alexander Arderne, of Deptford, wished to be buried in the churchyard +beside the hawthorn-tree; he had a wife, Elizabeth, a brother-in-law, +William Inson, and no children, February 26, 1639.[576] Administration +of the goods of James Arden, London, was granted his wife Anne,[577] +1639. Thomas le Barber, from Peter de Arderne, held tenements in the +parish of St. Clements Danes.[578] Alicia Arderne, who was wife of +Richard Hampton, left tenements in the parish of St. Mary in the Strand +and in the parish of St. Clement's Danes, 1466. + +It seems wiser to group a set of records not generally accessible to +students, which, though preserved in London, concern the Ardens of many +branches--I mean a set of deeds, charters, and conveyances preserved +among the Guildhall Records of London: + + "Johanna Arden, wife of Roger de Arden, tailor, 1295. Roll 24. + + "Henry de Arderne, A.D. 1305. Roll 34 (35). + + "Cecilia, wife of Henry de Arderne, 1307. Roll 36 (26). + + "Agnes, wife of William de Arderne, 1307.... + + "Henry, son of William de Arderne.... + + "John, son of William de Arderne, 1337 and 1345. + + "Hugh de Arderne, 1321. Roll 50 (5); A.D. 1342. Roll 70 (2). + + "Alice, wife of Hugh de Arderne ... Johanna, wife of ... + + "Giles de Arderne, 1351. Roll 80 (29). + + "John Arden, called Mordon, Stockfishmonger, 1363. + Roll 91 (87) (93); also 1371, 1373, 1374, 1377. + + "Margaret, wife of John, called Mordon.... + + "Isabella, wife of Richard Arden, and widow of John Melbourne, + co. Surrey, 1392. Roll 121 (143). + + "Alice, wife of Thomas de Arden, Brewer, 1371. Roll 99 (83). + + "... 1372. Roll 100 (54) (55), 1373, 1376; 104 (145). + + "Alice, widow of Richard de Arderne, 1403. Roll 131 (61). + + "John Arden, Esq., 1413. Roll 141 (25-36); 1421 (Roll 149). + + "... 1426. Roll 154 (50); 1457, Roll 185 (32). + + "Margaret, wife of John Arden, gent., 1413 and 1421; same Rolls. + + "Peter Ardern, chief Baron of the Exchequer, 1459. Roll 188 (37). + + "Thomas Arden, clerk, 1466. Roll 196 (17). + + "John Arden, of Creechurch, merchant tailor, 1625. Roll 302 (15). + + "Francis Arden, son of Richard, Cit. and Loriner, + of London, 1646, Apprentice." + +The Royalist Composition Papers,[579] 1644-57, mention as "Delinquents," +"Mr. Arden," "John," "Robert" is mentioned twenty-three times, "Thomas," +"Ann," "Elizabeth," "Godetha," "Mary," "Mrs. Arden," "John and Mary +Arderne." And many other allusions could be added to the list of +references to the various members of this distinguished family. + + +COLONIAL ARDENS. + +In speaking of the Ardens of Victoria, Burke[580] disclaims their right +to arms, but nevertheless derives them from Humphrey Arden. He says: +"The first recorded ancestor, Humphrey Arden, of Longcroft, co. +Stafford, died in 1705, and so far from being able to show descent from +Siward, they are unable even to prove connection with the extinct family +of Arden of Park Hall." + +Here Burke is clearly in the wrong. If they can prove their descent from +Humphrey of Longcroft, they can through him claim descent from the +Ardens of Park Hall and from Siward, as can be seen from all pedigrees. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[533] Ashmolean MS., 829, iii., and 1434, i.; also Sententiæ, 1437, Art. +xv., alluded to in Gerard's "Herbal," 657. + +[534] Harl. Chart., 45, D. 9. + +[535] 23 Moone, proved May 26, 1501. + +[536] "Misc. Gen. et Her.," N. S., iv. 21; "Yorksh. Archæo. Journ.," xi. +12. + +[537] Burton's "Monasticon Eboracense," p. 250. + +[538] Fuller's "Worthies of Yorkshire." + +[539] Letters and Papers Henry VIII., 1524, _et seq._, Gairdner. + +[540] Pat. 9 Henry VIII., p. 1, m. 14. + +[541] Add. Chart. 8069. See also Blomfield's "Hist. of Norfolk," viii. +533. + +[542] Peter Arden, son and heir of John, ob. May 20, 21 Henry VIII.; +Inq. at Poklyngton, York. Ralph Arden, brother and heir of Peter, then +aged eighteen. + +[543] Burton's "Monasticon Eboracense," p. 90. + +[544] Morant's "History of Essex," i. 216. + +[545] Fuller's "Worthies of Essex," 341. + +[546] Harl. Charters, 45, D. 8, Brit. Mus. See also p. 193. + +[547] Add Chart., 19,967. + +[548] Inquis. Post. Mort., 33 Edward I., 117. + +[549] Morant's "Essex," i. 148. John Arderne was Vicar of Harwich +Chapel, March 23, 1388. Will Arderne, Vicar of Tolleshunt Darcy, April +4, 1676. + +[550] Administrations, Somerset, f. 4, 1631-33. + +[551] Consistory Court, f. 162, Sperin, and 291, Bullock. + +[552] Visitation of Cheshire. + +[553] "History of Leicester," iv. 939. + +[554] _Ibid._, 19. + +[555] This William Arden left a son, Thomas, who had no heirs ("Grants +and Certificates of Arms," _Genealogist_, New Series, xiii.). + +[556] Originalia et Memoranda on the Lord Treasurer's side of the +Exchequer. + +[557] "Receyved of Mr. Arden for a payer of wheels and the hedd of an +old pageant, 2s. 8d. 1504." "Payd. For the charges of brenning Mrs. +Arden, and the execution of George Bradshaw, 43s."--Chamberlain's +Accounts, City of Canterbury, 1550-1. + +[558] Burke's "General Armory." + +[559] Wills of the Court of Hustings, ii., p. 63. + +[560] _Ibid._ + +[561] Commissary Court Admins., 1508. + +[562] Papers of Henry VIII., P.R.O. + +[563] 31^a Clyffe, Commissary Court Wills. + +[564] Chester's "Marriage Licenses of Bishop of London." + +[565] State Papers, Dom. Ser., Eliz., cxx. 34. + +[566] Brit. Mus., Add. MS., 34,729. + +[567] Registers of St. Saviour's, Southwark. + +[568] "Marriage Licenses of Dean of Westminster," Harl. Publ. + +[569] _Ibid._ + +[570] "Marriage Licenses of Dean of Westminster," Harl. Pub. + +[571] _Ibid._ + +[572] _Ibid._ + +[573] Chester's "Marriage Licenses." + +[574] _Ibid._ + +[575] 35 Bakou. + +[576] 5 Stevenson, Somerset House. + +[577] Administrations, 1639, f. 36, Somerset House. + +[578] Inquis. P.M., 1 Edward III. (12). + +[579] See Index Library (12). + +[580] Burke's "Colonial Gentry," _Genealogist_, New Series, xiii. + + + + +TERMINAL NOTES. + + +Page 2.--Mary, Countess of Southampton, was the mother of Shakespeare's +patron, the Earl of Southampton, to whom he dedicated "Venus and Adonis" +in 1593, and "The Rape of Lucrece" in 1594. In both of these poems, +probably corrected by himself, his name is spelt _Shakespeare_. In 1594 +the Countess married Sir Thomas Henneage, the Vice-Chamberlain of the +Household, and that same year Shakespeare was invited to act at Court. +Sir Thomas died the following year, after a lingering illness, and his +widow had to superintend the making up of his official books, and check +the bills. And thus it happened that it was she who introduced the +_first official record of Shakespeare's name_, and probably spelt it +correctly, according to the contemporary usage. + +Page 5.--Mr. Nanson, the town clerk of Carlisle, has in his possession +the deed which concerns the Shakesperes of Penrith, 21 Richard II. + +Page 22.--Shakespeare's shield bore an ordinary _canting_ pattern, or +one that was based upon the supposed meaning of the name. But the use of +the falcon in the crest requires explanation. French says: "The falcon +was one of the badges of Edward IV., father of Henry VII.'s Queen +Elizabeth. No person would venture to adopt this without special favour" +("Shakespeareana Genealogica," p. 523). There is something keenly +suggestive of expected objections in the motto, "Non sanz droict." Some +day, perhaps, it may be discovered why this crest and motto were +assumed. + +Page 27.--Aston Cantlow, with the castle of Abergavenny, was settled on +Sir William de Beauchamp, second son of Thomas, Earl of Warwick, 12 +Henry IV. It descended to his son, Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, +whose daughter Elizabeth married Sir Edmund Neville, and brought it to +him (Dugdale's "Warwickshire"). + +Page 27.--Another opinion of the derivation of Thomas Arden has been +discussed. It has been supposed possible that he might have been +descended from Thomas Arden of Leicestershire, son of Ralph Arden of +Alvanley, by his wife Catharine, daughter of Sir William Stanley, of +Hooton. This would account for the grant of the Cheshire arms, and would +not thrust him out of the Arden pedigree; but the theory is not +satisfactory on other grounds. One main objection is that there was no +known Thomas of suitable date in that family. But in the Park Hall +family there was a Thomas known to be alive during the period between +1502 and 1526, who has _never been traced_, if he did not go to Aston +Cantlow. Members of the Arden family accept him as the missing brother +of Sir John, and believe that it was through a careless mistake of the +heralds that the fesse chequy was struck out, and that the Shakespeares +resented the substitution of another in place of the arms to which they +had a right, and never accepted the grant. During the discussion John +Shakespeare died. + +Page 27.--The pedigrees of those associated with the Ardens are worth +noting, and their wills might suggest connections. + +Page 32.--It would be interesting to find and group the Warwickshire +Ardens who bore the three cross-crosslets and the chief or, for it has +never been done. + +Page 35.--Thomas Arden was presented for owing suit of Court in 1526, +1529, 1531. (See Portfolio 207, Court Rolls, No. 88.) + +Page 36.--Thomas and Robert Arden's purchase at Snitterfield had been +witnessed by John Wagstaff,[581] Richard Rushby, of Snitterfield, +Richard Atkins, of Wilmecote, John Alcokkes, of Newenham. The overseers +of Robert Arden's will were Adam Palmer,[582] of Wilmecote, Hugh +Porter,[583] of Snitterfield, and John Skerlett, of Wilmecote; the +witnesses, Sir William Bouton Curett, Adam Palmer, John Scarlet, Thomas +Jenkes, William Pitt. Adam Palmer was overseer of Mrs. Agnes Arden's +will, in conjunction with George Gibbes, who had, later, the lease of +Asbies from the Shakespeares at the time of its mortgage to Lambert. + +Page 45.--A Thomas Mayo had a seat in the Church of St. Nicholas, +Warwick, 1595; an Elizabeth Mayo was buried there in 1596; and Henry +Maio in 1601. (See Churchwarden's Accounts of St. Nicholas, Warwick, +edited by Mr. Richard Savage.) The Webbes of Snitterfield appear among +the gentry of the country in 1580 (State Papers, Domestic Series, Eliz., +c. xxxvii. 68). + +Page 51.--It is difficult to imagine John Shakespeare making up the +bills for the other Chamberlains, or conducting so many financial +responsibilities, if he was unable to read and write, as well as reckon +well--as Halliwell-Phillipps says he was. + +Page 52.--The goods of Richard Shakespeare were prised at £35 17s., and +the bond for their just administration entered into by John Shakespeare +and Thomas Nicols, of £100, seems disproportionably large, unless there +were some unusually heavy responsibilities attached. John Shakespeare +may very well have been termed a farmer if he had been brought up as +one, and if he had been superintending his father's farm at the time of +his death. In the description of a neighbouring farm, Ingon is mentioned +as "now or late in the occupation of John Shaxspere or his assignes." It +is quite possible that he was the responsible farmer, and that Henry his +brother was his "assigne." Ingon, though in the parish of +Hampton-on-Avon, was very near Snitterfield. + +Page 56.--Henry Shakespeare probably quarrelled with Mr. Cornwall, the +second husband of Margaret Arden, about the resettlement of Snitterfield +farm, and went to reside at Ingon, though taken in his brother's name. +The Court Rolls show that he was "contumaceous" in not paying tithes, +May 22, 1582, and was "excommunicated." "Of Henry Shaxper, for not +labouring with teems for the amending of the Queen's Highway, 2/6." "Of +Henry Shaxper for having a dich between Redd Hill and Burmans in decay +for want of repair, Oct. 22nd, 1596." Probably the man was ill and dying +then. He was buried two months later. + +Page 58.--The petition of the burgesses of Stratford-on-Avon for relief +of burdens shows that the borough had fallen into decay through the +decline in the wool trade. From this general depression John Shakespeare +probably suffered. + +Page 61.--"The Book of John Fisher of Warwick" shows that the master of +the Grammar School there had a salary of £10 a year. Seeing that the +master of Stratford-on-Avon Grammar School had £20 a year, it is +probable that the burgesses had a better selection of scholars as +candidates. + +Page 62.--It is too often forgotten that Anne Hathaway lost her father +in the summer of 1582. It is probable that the betrothal would therefore +be a quiet one. It is also more than likely that she went to reside with +a friend or relative after her father's death, and that this caused the +confusion in the address in the marriage bond. The bridegroom in general +only required one guarantee for a bond of the kind; but Shakespeare +being under age, the one became his representative, and the other +guarantor for that representative. + +Page 67.--"The Comedy of Errors" was doubtless one of the plays +performed before the Queen at Christmas, 1594, seeing that it was ready +to be put upon the boards at the Gray's Inn Revels on the spur of the +moment. I have discussed this at full in my paper, "The Earliest +Official Record of Shakespeare's Name," Berlin (a copy at the British +Museum); also in a long letter to the _Times_, January, 1895. + +Page 70.--James Burbage bought the part of a house in Blackfriars from +Sir William More, February 4, 1596, which he afterwards converted into a +theatre. Regarding the quarrel with Allen and "the Theatre" lease, see +the depositions in the case of Burbage _v._ Allen taken at Kelvedon, in +Essex, August, 1600, reproduced in Halliwell-Phillips's "Outlines," i. +350. Further illustration of the earning proportions of players and +proprietors may be learned from the article by Mr. James Greenstreet, +"The Whitefriars Theatre at the Time of Shakespeare" (The New +Shakespearean Society's Transactions, 1888). + +Page 77.--In John Combe's will there is mentioned a field in Ingon Lane, +called Parson's Close, or Shakespeare's Close. This may have been one of +the poet's minor purchases, or merely a name come down from Henry's +time. + +Page 78.--A petition was sent up to the Lord Chief Justice from the +Corporation of Stratford-on-Avon, to restrain William Combe, Esq., son +and heir of John Combe, March 27, 1616. He overthrew the Aldermen who +came peaceably to hinder his digging, whereof great tumult arose. In +spite of orders to the contrary, he continued his enclosures, and +another petition was addressed to the Privy Council, describing "Mr. +Combe of so unbridled a disposition," etc. On February 14, 1618, a reply +came signed, "Francis Verulam," "Pembroke," "Naunton," "Fulke Greville" +(Wheler Collection, Stratford-on-Avon). + +Page 82.--From the town clerk's account of what took place at the Halls +during Shakespeare's lifetime, we are sure that his position must have +been anomalous. + +"The Halle, 17 Dec., 45 Eliz. Plays. At this Halle yt ys ordered that +there shalbe no plays or enterludes played in the Chamber, the Guild +Halle, nor in any parte of the House or Courte, from hensforward, upon +payne that whosoever of the Baylif, Aldermen, and burgisses of this +boroughe shall give leave or licence thereunto shall forfeit for everie +offence 10s. + + "7 Feb., 1611-12, 45 Eliz." + +"... The inconvenience of plaies being verie seriouslie considered of, +with their unlawfulness, and how contrarie the sufferance of them is +against the orders heretofore made, and against the examples of other +well-governed cities and burrowes the Compaine here are contented, and +they conclude that the penaltie of 10s. imposed in Mr. Baker's year, for +breaking of the order shall from henceforth be £10 upon breakers of that +order, and this to holde until the next common council, and from +henceforth for ever, excepted that be then finally revoked and made +void." This was the period of Shakespeare's retirement to +Stratford-on-Avon. + +Page 84.--It may be noted as a coincidence that the plays were published +in folio the year of Mrs. Shakespeare's death. Some change among the +leases, or the termination of the connection with his family through the +death of his widow, may have suggested this. + +Page 93.--A Robert Hall rented the old School House in +Stratford-on-Avon, and paved the Guild Hall, 1568. A Richard Hall was +churchwarden of St. Nicholas, Warwick, in 1552, who died in 1558, and +among the churchwarden's accounts are notices of Richard Hall the +younger, Nicholas Hall, John, Alice, Simon and "Eme Hall." "Received of +Ric. Hawle the younger for the benevolence that Richard Hawle gave unto +the poor out of his lands in Church Street, World without end," 1566-67. +Richard Hall was churchwarden in 1600 and in 1606 (Churchwarden's +Accounts, St. Nicholas, Warwick, Mr. Richard Savage). + +Page 99.--Michael Drayton frequently visited Sir Henry Rainsford at the +Manor House, Clifford Chambers. This gentleman had married Anne Goodyere +of Polesworth, whose parents were Drayton's patrons. She was the "Idea" +of his sonnets. (See introduction to "Michael Drayton," by Oliver Elton, +1895.) + +Page 103.--Susanna Hall's signature appears on the settlements of 1639, +and on that of 1647, in which her daughter joined. + +Page 104.--"15th Dec., 1648. Tithes: Mrs. Elizabeth Nashe for Shottery +Corne Tithes, being of the yearly value of one hundred pounds, £5." +"28th June, 1650. Mrs. Elizabeth Barnard for Shotterie Corn tythes of +the yearly value of one hundred and twentie pounds, £6." (Wheler's +Notes, Stratford-on-Avon.) + +Page 107.--There are many Bagleys in the parish registers of St. +Martin's-in-the-Fields, and also Hathaways. It _may_ be they were +connections. + +Page 110.--Halliwell-Phillipps states that in the "Coram Rege Roll of +1597, Gilbert Shakespeare is named as one of those standing bail for a +clockmaker of Stratford"; and adds that he is described as "Haberdasher +of St. Bridget's Parish, London." Through the kind permission of the +Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, I have been allowed to go through +their books at leisure, and find that there is no trace of a Shakespeare +anywhere, and in the sixteenth century, no trace even of a _Gilbert_, +except "Gilbert Shepherd," who took up his freedom in 1579. Neither is +there any trace of him in the registers of St. Bridget's or St. Bride's, +nor in the Subsidy Rolls, but in both places appear Gilbert Shepherd. I +am, therefore, forced to the conclusion that Halliwell-Phillipps misread +"Shepherd" as "Shakespeare." See my article in the _Athenæum_, Dec. 22, +1900, "John Shakespeare, of Ingon, and Gilbert of St. Bride's." + +Page 112.--William Hart, the hatter, died a week before his +brother-in-law, probably of the same epidemic. Joan Hart, his widow, +survived till November 4, 1646. Their eldest son William was an actor. +(See Royal Warrant, May 17, 1636; Halliwell-Phillipps, i. 129.) In +William Hewitt's "Visits to Remarkable Places," 1839, he mentions +Stratford and a boy whom he had noticed from his likeness to the poet. +He turned out to be a descendant of his sister Joan Hart, and was called +William Shakespeare Smith (_Notes and Queries_, 5th Series, VIII. 475). +Probably the same referred to on page 109. + +Page 116.--Thomas Shakespeare seemed to have been somewhat like Henry in +character. He was entered on the Court Roll at a rental of £4 in 1563. +"At the Court 31st March, 23 Eliz., he incurred a penalty of 4d. for not +having and exercising bows; for not wearing cappes 4d.; for leaving his +swine unringed in the fields 12d." He appears also as a juror several +times in court. + +Page 121.--Mr. Rylands' "Records of Rowington" supply many details, as, +for instance: + +"In 1576, a lease by feoffees, among whom was Thomas Shakespeare, was +granted Richard Shakespeare of Rowington, weaver of the 'Tyinges.'" + +In the same year a lease of "the Harveys" was granted to "Elenor +Shakespeare, widow, of Rowington," 20 Feb., 18 Eliz. + +The customary rent of Rowington, 1605, mentions "Thomas Shakespeare, one +close, 2/; one tofte and 16 acres, 13/4; one messuage, etc., 10/4." + + "George Shakespeare, one cottage and 2 acres, 2/." + + "Richard Shakespere, one messuage, half a yd land (14 + acres), 14/." + + "John Shakespeare, one cottage and one quarter yd land (9 + acres), 6/8." + +The Court Rolls, 1633, give: + + "Imprimis of Jane Shaxper for default of sute of court + fined, 4d." + + "Thomas Shaxper, vitler, for breaking assize of ale and + beer, 4d." + + "1634, Richard Shaxper, for encroaching on common, 2d." + + "1647, fine of admittance to land, Thomas Shaxper, 6/8." + + "Exchequer lay subsidies," Thomas in 1595, 1598, 1599, + "assessed on goods valued £4,8/." + + "Lay subsidies 1668," Thomas, "assessed on land, 30/ and + 4/." + +In 1674 John Shakespeare, in the name of the other tenants of Rowington, +was empowered to bring an action against enclosures. + +A grant of a fee of 20/ a year by will of Humphrey Shakespeare, 1794, +was payable out of premises in Kingswood. + +This cottage was the subject of a lawsuit in which Jane Lord and John +Slye _v._ Humphrey Shakespeare and one Culcup were at variance. Humphrey +had a 200 years' lease, and left it to the poor of the parish. + + +SHAKESPEARES FROM THE REGISTER OF ROWINGTON. + + "1616, Mar. 16. Baptisms: Thomas Shaxspere, son of William + Shaxspire." + + "1619, Ap. 28. William Shakespeare, son of John + Shakespeare." + + "Aug. 13. William Shakespeare, son of Thomas Shakespeare." + + "1621, Aug. 18. Thomas Shaxper, son of Thomas Shaxper." + + "Nov. 4. Elizabeth, dau. of John Shaxper." + + "1622, William Shaxpere was Churchwarden." + + "1624, April 26. Clement Shaxpire, son of John Shaxpire, + bapt." + + "July 23. John Sheldon and Jone Shaxspear married." + + "1630, Ap. 4. Baptisms: Elizabeth Shaxspeare, d. of Thomas + Shaxspire." + + "1633, Ap. 20. Thomas Shaxspeare, son of Thomas Shaxspeare." + + "1634, Dec. 30. Thomas Shakspeare, son of John Shaxspeare." + + "1635, May 5. Burial: John Shakespear buried." + + "1637. Baptisms: July 18, Mary, dau. of Thomas and Elizabeth + Shakesper." + + "1638, Aug. 17. Burial: Christopher Shakspeare buried." + + "1639, Mar. 8. Baptism: John, son of John Shakespeare and + Mary bapt. + + "William Shaxspere Churchwarden." + + "1640, Aug. 3. Burials: Anne, d. of Thomas Shakespeare, + buried." + + "1641, April 10. Thomas Shakespear, son of Thomas Shakespear + and Margaret, bur." + + "Oct. 30. Mary, daughter of Thomas Shakespear, buried." + + "1642, Feb. 14. Thomas, son of John Shakespeare, buried." + + "1643, June 14. Clement, son of John Shakespeare, buried." + + "1645, Sept. 18. Anne Shakespeare, widowe, buried." + + "1646, July 12. William Shakespeare buried." + + "July 24. The wife of William Shakespeare buried." + + "Feb. 20. William Shakespeare, senior, buried." + + "Mar. 8. Thomas Shakespeare buried." + + "1647, Sep. 20. Mary, dau. of William Shakespeare, junior, + and Elizabeth his wife, buried." + + "Oct. 1. Elizabeth, d. of John Shakespear, buried." + + "Nov. 4. Elizabeth, dau. of William Shakespeare, jun., and + Margaret his wife." + + "1649, Oct. 5. William Shakspeare, junior, buried." + + "1650, Dec. 25. John Shakespeare, junior, buried." + + "1651, Mar. 3. Widow Shakspeare buried." + + [A gap in the registers.] + + "1662, Feb. 17. John, sonne of John Shakspeare of Kingswood, + bapt." + + "1663, Mar. 29. Thomas, son of John Shakspeare of ye hill, + bapt." + + "1664, Feb. 8. Josiah, sonne of John Shakespeare of ye hill, + bap. Feb. 8, buried Feb. 17." + + "1665, Ap. 3. Richard, son of John Shakespeare of Kingswood, + bapt." + + "1665, Dec. 3. Mary, dau. of John Shakespeare, bapt." + + "1666, Mar. 18. John Shakspeare of Kingswood brook buried." + + "1667, Aug. 6. Old William Shakespeare of Brookfurlong + buried." + + "Nov. 23. Margaret Shakespeare of Whitehall, widdow, buried. + John Shakesper Churchwarden." + + "1668, June 1. Samuel, son of John Shakespeare and Rebecca, + his wife, bapt., buried June 6." + + "June 28. Rebecca, wife of John Shakespeare of the Hill, + buried." + + "1669, Nov. 20. Old Thomas Shakespeare of Whitley Elme, + buried." + + "1670, Sep. 29. Widdow Shakespeare of ye Hill buried." + + "Oct. 20. Thomas Shakespear the weaver was buried." + + "1672, Ap. 9. Ann, dau. of Mr. Shakespeare of ye Hill, + bapt." + + "1676, Mar. 18. (Mary) the wife of Thomas Shakespeare, of + Lowston End, buried." + + "1677, April 21. Widdow Shakespeare of Whitley Elme, + buried." + + "1679, July 31. William Shakespeare and Alice Jennings + married." + + "1679-80, Jan. 27. Thomas Shakespeare of Lapworth buried." + + "1680, Nov. 9. Alice, wife of William Shakespeare, buried." + + "1682, Oct. 19. William, son of William Shakespeare, of + Lowston ford, bapt., and buried Dec. 27." + + "1683, Ap. 24. Thomas Shakespeare and Anne Biddle married." + + "1686, June 21. William Shakespeare of Brookfurlong buried." + + "Dec. 12. John, son of Thomas Shakespeare, bapt." + + "Feb. 19. Thomas Shakespeare of Rowington buried." + + "1687, Sep. 15. William, son of John Shakespeare, jun., + bapt." + + "1688, Dec. 10. Thomas Shakespeare buried." + + "1693, Nov. 14. John, son of Thomas Shakespeare of Lapworth, + buried." + + "1695, Aug. 10. William Shakespeare, senior, buried." + + "1696, Nov. 11. Thomas, son of William Shakespere, bapt." + + "1697, May 12. Henry Shakespeare of London buried." + + "1707, July 1. Thomas Shakespear buried." + + "1710, July 13. John Shakespeare, senior, buried." + + "1721-2, Jan. 30. (By licence) Francis Chernocke, of + Killingworth, co. Warr., gent., about 24, and Mary + Shakespeare, of Rowington, about 24, maiden, his father + consenting, her parents dead. He sealed ... within ... on a + bend ... three crosses crosslet[584] in sinister ... chief a + mullet for difference" (see Worcester Marriage Licenses). + +From overseers' books: "Buried in Woolen": + + "1695, Aug. 10. William Shakespere, senior." + + "1697, May 12. Henry Shakespere of London." + + "1707, March 24. Edward Shakespeare." + + "1710, July 13. John Shakespeare, senior." + + "1716, Dec. 4. William Shakespere, Blacksmith." + +Page 131.--In "The Book of John Fisher, Bailiff of Warwick in 1580," +edited by Mr. Thomas Kemp, deputy-Mayor of Warwick, are several notices +of Shakespeare. In the first page he is mentioned, and later on we find +that he lived in the Market-Place Ward, and was assessed 1d. weekly for +relief of the poor. + +A "Thomas Shakesper" lived at the same time in West Street Ward, and was +assessed the same amount. These may be the Thomas and John, sons of +Thomas Shakespeare, shoemaker, of Warwick, who made his will in 1557. +There is also a casual allusion to Shakespeare the turner, of Rowington; +and in 1580-81 John Fisher notes: "I paid to ---- Shakesper, servant to +Mr. Humphrey Catheryns, for fees for the discharge of 39/7-1/2 charged +upon the Church of St. Maryes, in Mr. Boughton's account for subsidy +supposed to be due in the 5th yere of Queen Elizabeth, 9/-." + +"Thomas Shakespeare of Warwick's son John was apprenticed to William +Jaggard the Stationer of London 1609" (Rylands's "Records of +Rowington"). + +"John, son of Thomas Shakespeare of Coventry, co. Warwick, pleb. p.p. +St. John's Coll., matric. 18th Oct., 1662, aged 18; B.A. from St. Mary +Hall 1666 (subscribes serv.)"--(Oxford Alumni and graduates). "Vicar of +Anstrey, co. Warwick, 1670" (Foster's "Index Eccles."). + +Page 134.--The registers of All Saints', Oxford, date from 1549; St. +Michael's, 1559; St. Peter's-in-the-East, 1563; St. Martin's Carfax, +1569; St. Giles', 1576; St. Peter-le-Bailey, 1585; St. Mary's, 1599; St. +John Baptist's, 1616. + +Page 134.--"Thomas Shakespeare and Jane Toupe married ye 2nd Maie, +1625." (Register of Mere. _Notes and Queries_, 9th Series, iii. 109.) +The county not named. It may be either Cheshire, Wiltshire or +Lincolnshire. + +Page 141.--One, at least, of the Irish Shakespeares was a suspicious +character. "William Shakespeyre, formerly of Kilmaynham Hibernia, +laborer, arrested for suspected felony 6 Ed. VI." ("Chester in the +Plantagenet and Tudor Reigns," Canon Rupert Morris; also _Notes and +Queries_, 8th Series, x. 192). + +Page 147.--I find that "Gutheridge" was a Stratford-on-Avon name. Mr. +Gutheridge was a dealer in leather there (see will of Joyce Hobday, +1602); and John Milburn was a Rowington man (see the Records of +Rowington)--which two facts much increase the likelihood of John, of St. +Clement's Danes, being at least a Warwickshire man, if not the +Snitterfield one. + +Page 151.--"Edward Shakespear, Clare, A.B. 1728; A.M. 1736" +("Cantabrigensis Graduati"). + +"Joh. Jos. Art. Shakespear, Trin., A.B. 1844; A.M. 1848" +("Cantabrigensis Graduati"). + +Page 162.--The first Earl of Warwick, Arthgal, was said to have slain a +bear with a blow from a young tree which he had pulled up, and +afterwards he used as a badge "the bear and the ragged staff"--a device +borne by succeeding earls. + +Page 166.--Osbert de Ardern granted an estate near Tamworth to Walter de +Somerville, 2 Henry II. (Shaw's "Staffordshire," i. 118). + +Page 168.--Among the Rowington charters is (No. 11) a grant by Robert de +Arderne, son and heir of Thomas le Hayward, of Shrewley, 2 Edward III. +No. 12 is a "Grant from Nicholas Wylemyn de Shrewely to his son John of +his Shrewley tenements and lands, which Thomas de Arderne formerly held +of John, Lord of Shrewley, 2 Edward III." Mr. Rylands thinks these refer +to the same people and property. + +The Nottingham Visitation (under Blondeston) refers to the pedigree. Sir +Thomas Arden, 9 Edward II., married Elizabeth, daughter of Roger +Swinford; their son was Roger Arden, whose wife was unknown, but his +daughter and heir Beatrix married William Chamber. + +Page 171.--William _may_ have been the member of the Guild of Knowle for +whose sake masses were said in 1512. "Alicia" may have been his wife, or +his sister Alice before she married "Buklond." But I confess I am +puzzled with this William. + +Page 171.--The tombs of Walter and Eleanor are well preserved in +Erdington's Chantry of the Church of St. Peter and Paul, at Aston, near +Birmingham. He died August 5, 1502. + +Page 173.--The Shropshire Visitation gives: "William de Chettleton m. +Katharine, d. of Sir John Ardern; Elizabeth, d. of Reginald Corbet of +Stoke, Justice of the Royal Pleas, m. Robert Arden of Park Hall." +"Katharine Mucklow" also is mentioned; and "William Wall m. Elizabeth, +d. of Thomas Ardren, of Billingsly, in co. Salop." + +Page 173.--Sir John Arden's will is long and interesting. It directs +that the furniture of the King's chamber should be kept as heirlooms, +also "the silver cup." "It is said that it was Henry VII. who honoured +him by staying in his house, and that he then granted Sir John a Cap of +Maintenance, purpure turned up crimson, upon which the wild boar is +represented instead of on a wreath as before" (Arden MSS.). + +Page 175.--The indenture of a lease by Thomas Arderne, Esq., and Mary +his wife, to William Wilmer, of Longly, co. Warwick, husbandman, of a +messuage, lands, etc., in Wilmer, late in the tenure of Robert Wilmer, +deceased, was drawn up July 15, 23 Henry VIII., 1541. The lease was for +thirty years, the yearly rent 10s. 3d., with a heriot of the best beast, +the lessee to "furnish a sufficient horse for a harnesseman to ryde +upon, when the King shall call upon the said Thomas Arderne for +harnessyng of men." This is Thomas of Park Hall (Wheler Collection, +Stratford-on-Avon). + +Page 178.--The tomb of Sir Edward Devereux (died 1622), and of his wife, +Katharine Arden (died 1627), are preserved in the church of Aston, near +Birmingham, beside those of her ancestors, Walter and Eleanor. + +Page 181.--In the "Visitation of Warwickshire," published by the +Harleian Society, there are many evident slips in proper names, which +must be checked from other sources. It makes one extraordinary +statement: "The younger house of the Ardens were Lords of _Upton in +Warwickshire_, and grew to be surnamed Uptons. The heire generall of +them was married to one Fenne of Banburie, who, removing his dwelling to +Hungerford in Wiltshire, was there called by the name of Moeles, of whom +the Moeles, ancestors to the Lord Hungerford, seem to be descended." It +gives the coat of arms as, Chequy or and azure, a chevron ermine. + +Stow MS. 692 contains the arms of the gentry and the grants by Sir +Christopher Barker, 1536-49. Among these are: "Ardern goules, a cheff +engrayled and three cross crosslets fitchée in gold. Ardern silver, a +fesse chequy, gold and azur between three cressards gules. Arderne, Sir +Robert, Ermine a fesse or and azur, Warwickshire." Among the grants is +one to William Arderne, of Struton, Oskellyswade, Bedford, Clerk of the +Market to the King's most honourable household. It omits the shield and +only gives, "Crest a boar quarterly, gold and silver and Fleurs de luce, +goules." As the Park Hall Ardens had a boar on their crest, he may have +claimed connection. + +In Dugdale's account of Clodshalle's Chantry, near Birmingham, he says +it was founded by Walter de Clodshalle of Saltley, 4 Edward III. The +patronage remained with the Clodshalles until Robert Arden's marriage to +Elizabeth Clodshalle. Robert Arden, arm., was patron in 1441, 1449, +1455; Walter Ardern, arm., in 1468, 1469, 1489; John Ardern de Lee +Lodge, presented in 1510; and Nicholas Cotterell, of Yardley, co. Wig., +through concession of Thomas Ardern, 1537. + +According to Dugdale, Upton was possessed by the Ardens in Henry II., +one Haraldus filius Gunfridi having made sale to Godfrey de Arden, a +monk of Coventry, and son to Siward de Arden, of certain lands for the +Monastery. In Richard I., Thomas de Ardern granted certain lands there +to the canons of St. Sepulchre's, Warwick. A family who _assumed_ their +name from their residence there held it of the Ardens, but Thomas de +Ardern sold it to Guy de Gyllebrok, who passed it to Will. de Beauchamp, +Earl of Warwick. + +Page 181.--Pedimore, Warwickshire, on the Ebroke, at the north of the +Tame, was the chief seat of the Ardens at one time, but was allowed to +go to ruin when the family settled at Park Hall on the south side of the +river. It was all levelled except its double moat by Dugdale's time. + +Pedmore, Worcestershire, where "Mistress Joyce Arden" died in 1557, was +part of the possessions of Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Clodeshalle, +which she brought to Robert Arden, of Park Hall, 4 Henry VI., 1425. He +died, seized of Pedmore, Yardly and Stockton, Worcestershire, 3 Henry +VI., 1453. There are entered as residents William Arden, 1455, John +Arden, 1468-83, Thomas Arden, 1530, Edward Arden. But in the State +Papers Edward's brother Francis was entered as "Francis Arden of +Pedmore," in 1583, at the time of the attainder, so it may have been +granted him as a second residence, or it may have been the ruinous old +home in Warwickshire he held. The registers here prove that Robert, +Edward's heir, was residing here, and already married, before 1578, an +important point to be noted in the family history. + +Page 183.--Simon in Longcroft, according to Shaw, used the Arden arms +with a difference, the arms being "Ermine a fesse chequy G. and B. Crest +on a Chapeau, Erm. and Gu., a boar passant or." At the north end of the +village of Longcroft was an old half-timbered house, which was purchased +by John of Wisbeach, who died 1709, and thus became the property of the +family of Longcroft. + +Page 187.--Shaw mentions the tombstones: "Henry Arden died 1674"; "Henry +Arden died 1698, aged 24"; "Humphrey Arden died 1705, aged 74; Elizabeth +his daughter died 1689, aged 21; Katharine, his eldest daughter, died +1722; John Arden died 1709, aged 84." + +Henry Arden died 1728, and Anna his wife and Catherine his twin sister. +The stone erected by John, his son. "John died 1734, aged 40; Anna +Catherina, wife of John Arden, and daughter of John Newton of King's +Bromley, died 1727, aged 29." "Also to the memory of Anne, second wife, +daughter of Rev. John Spateman, died 1764, without issue, aged 67." + +"Henry Arden, 1782, aged 59. Alethea, his wife, daughter of Robert +Cotton, Esq., died 1783, aged 60." + +Clement Fisher, of Wincot, married as his second wife Elizabeth, +daughter of Humphrey Arden. + +(MS. notes in British Museum; copy of Shaw's "Staffordshire.") + +Page 189.--The Rev. Robert Arden, of Lapworth, might have been one of +the six unnamed younger children of the Robert executed during the Wars +of the Roses. + +Nicholaa was widow of William de Boutvilein when she married Sir Robert +de Arderne de Draiton. After her husband's death she was involved in a +contest with Robert de Wyckham about the presentation to the church of +Swaldyve. There is no doubt that the name on the seal mentioned in the +last line of p. 189 is in the masculine genitive; but I am inclined to +believe that the die-cutter made a mistake, and that it was really the +seal of Nicholaa. + +Page 193.--In Blomfield's account of Bawsey, Norfolk, he states that it +belonged to the family of Glanville in 6 Richard I. "Thomas de Ardern +and Ralph, son of Robert, impleaded Sir William de Auberville and Maude +his wife for their portion in Bawsey and Glosthorp." Maud, the eldest +daughter of Ralph de Glanville, married Sir William de Auberville; +Amabil, the second, married Ralph de Arden; and Helewise married Robert +FitzRalph de Middleham, Yorkshire (Blomfield's "Norfolk," viii. +341-342). + +Page 194.--John Arderne was a priest at Oxburgh in 1386 (Blomfield's +"Norfolk," vi. 191). Mortimer's Chapel, Attleborough. A benefactor +thereto was John Arderne, buried therein 1479. Other entries may concern +his descendants. Sir Edward Warenne, of Boton, in 1365 married Cecily, +daughter and coheir of Sir Nicholas de Eton, widow of John, son and heir +of Sir John Ardern (ix. 370). John Arderne, Rector of Brinton 1452 (ix. +370). Isolda de Arderne presented to Plasset and Attleborough in King +John's time (i. 503, 523). She was a benefactress to the Abbey of +Windham (ii. 516, 525). She was a daughter of Alured de Plesseto, and +left her body to be buried at Windham, and benefactions to the Abbey, +with the consent of William de Arderne, her son. Thurston Holland, of +Denton, married Jane, daughter of John Ardern, of Hawarden (i. 342). +Elizabeth, Duchess of Norfolk, presented Robert Arderne to the Rectory +of Aldeburgh (149), and at his death, 1504, gave it to Will Taylor (v. +353). Peter Arderne trustee for John Copputdike, of Witlingham, in 1432 +(v. 456). + +Page 196.--In relation to the Cheshire Ardens, Burke says that "the +elder branch of Ardens became extinct by the death of Walkelin Ardern, +_temp._ Richard II. Sir John Arden, younger brother, became head of the +family. A younger branch of Arderns settled at Alderley (Edward III.), +and ended in a few descents in a female heir, who married into the +Weever family, whose heiress married the ancestor of Sir J. Stanley. The +Ardernes of Leicestershire descended from Thomas, the younger son of Sir +Ralph Arderne of Harden, 1420, and brother of John of Harden." This is +confusing and unsatisfactory. + +Page 199.--Does the following notice refer to this Thomas Arden of +Elford, etc.? "Thomas de Arderne, Chivaler, who was in Gascony in the +retinue of Ed. Prince of Acquitaine and Wales, had letters of protection +granted him for a year, Feb. 13, 1367.--Vascess. Roll, 41 Edward III." +(sent me by a member of the family). + +Page 201.--In reading through the books of the Haberdashers' Company, I +find that "William Arden of Timporley, co. Cestr., Armiger, apprenticed +John Wigge 1583." + +Page 202.--Debrett states that Baron Alvanley descended from Ailwin de +Arden. Vincent's "Cheshire Collections" state that he descended from +Ralph de Hampton. Ormerod disagrees with both. + +"Mrs. Anne Goldsmith, of Nantwich, Chester, left a legacy to her +grandson, John Arden, 1709" (Marshall's "Genealogist," ii.). + +Page 204.--The letters of the Rev. Thomas Arden, 1472, are among the +MSS. of the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. + +Page 205.--John Arderne is mentioned in the Inquisition Post-Mortem of +Edward Green, 18 Henry VII., as owning property in London. + +Page 207.--The Visitation of Surrey gives "the Ardens' Arms as Azure, +the sun in splendour, argent," but it does not mention the family. + +Page 210.--In the Haberdashers' books I found: "Ralphe Arderne, son of +Robert Ardern de Berwick-sup-Twede, in co. Northumberland, gen., +apprenticed to Edmund Walden, Citizen and Haberdasher, for 8 years from +Christmas, 1589" (October 30, 1589). + +Page 211.--Edmond Yate, of Bockland, Berks, Arm., appears as a surety in +1583, in the Haberdashers' books. + +Page 213.--Gerard says: "John of Arderne hath set down a composition for +wounds, etc., from Alkanet" (Gerard's "Herbal," 1597, p. 657). + +Page 214.--"Yorkshire. Thomas Crake m. Jane, d. and coheir of Thomas +Arden of Marton" ("Visitation of Yorkshire," 1564). + +An Agnes Arden married John Middleton, son of Sir John Middleton, of +Stockeld Park, co. Yorkshire ("Visitation of Essex," 1588). She +afterwards became the second wife of Sir Thomas More, and her arms may +be seen on the Chelsea tomb--Ermine a fesse chequy (_Notes and Queries_, +4th Series, iv. 61; _Gent. Mag._, 1833, ii. 481-486). + +Sir Edmund Talbot married Agnes, third daughter and coheiress of John +Arderne, of Nether Derwind, co. Lancaster, and quartered the arms of the +Cheshire Ardens. (See Dugdale's "Visitation of Yorkshire," 1665; Surtees +Society's Publications, 1859, vol. xxvi., p. 239.) + +Several notices of the name occur in the _Yorkshire Archæological +Journal_, vol. xi., p. 392; vol. xii., p. 212, etc. + +Page 215.--Among "the Recusants, 1717," is mentioned Anne Arden, widow +of John Arden, late of Grafton, co. Worcester, gentleman. + +Page 216.--"Visitation of Shropshire": William de Chettleton, Arm., m. +Katharine, d. of Sir John Ardern. Elizabeth, d. of Reginald Corbet, of +Stoke, Justice of the King's Pleas, mar. Robert Arden, of Park Hall. +Katharine Arden, daughter of John Arden, who married Richard Muklowe, of +Hodon. William Wall married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Ardren, of +Billingsley, in co. Salop. + +The "Visitation of Suffolk," notes: "In the shield of Lady Elizabeth +Morrison, daughter of Nicholas Clerk, of Weston, in Oxfordshire, the +Ardern arms are quartered, a Fesse chequy or and azure, at Great Saxham, +Suffolk." + +The will of Robert Arden of Maggotifilde, Gloucester, was proved in 1560 +(11 Loftes), and that of Robert Arden of Westtray, Charlton, co. +Gloucester, 1583 (24 Rowe, Somerset House). + +"Visitation of Derbyshire," 1569-1611: Robert Ratcliffe of Mellon's 2nd +wife was Jane, daughter of Perkin Ardren: + +From Musgrave's "Obituary" (Harleian Publications): + + Rev. R. Crewe Arden, of Tarporley, Lancashire, brother of + the Master of the Rolls, August 25, 1787 (_G.M._, 838). + + Rev. James Arden, Dean of Chester, F.R.S. 1668, September + 18, 1691 (Carter's "Cambridge," 1235; Neve's "Fasti," 344). + + James Arden, Captain in the Army, February 24, 1771 (_L.M._, + 175; _G.M._, 142). + + Mary Arden, aunt of Sir Richard P. Arden, the Master of the + Rolls, August 17, 1788 (_G.M._, 758; _E.M._, 152). + + Robert Arden, proctor at Oxford (Clar., 1486; Pointer's + "Oxford," 223). + + Rev. Robert, Preb. Worcester, October 25, 1768 (_G.M._, + 542). + + John Ardern, Harden, Cheshire, May 27, 1703, æt. 40, (Neve's + "Mon.," 64). + + Richard Arderne, proctor, Oxford (Clar., 1538; Pointer's + "Oxford," 226). + + William Arderon, F.R.S. 1745, at Norwich, November 25, 1767 + (_L. M._, 687; _G. M._, 610). + + Sir John Ardon, K.B., 1399. + +Arden wills preserved at Lichfield: + + 1541. Margery Arden. + + 1552. Thomas Arden, of Long Itchington (39). + + 1561. William Ardren (22). + + 1562. Henry Arden (29). + + 1563. Christian Arden, admin. (45). + + 1575. William Arden (64). + + 1608. George Ardron, of Barlborough, admin. + + 1616. Sir Henry Arden, Knight, admin. (80). + + 1616. Richard Arden (182). + + 1625. Dame Dorothy Arderne, admin. (306). + + 1625. Ambrose Arden, Esq. (7). + + 1634. Humphrey Arden (inv.). + + 1635. Robert Arden, Esq. + + 1647. Joan Arden, of Enville. + +Berkshire wills: + + 1578. Edith Arden, Hampton Turvil, Wilts, admin. + + 1641. Richard Arden, of Chilton. + +It may interest some to have the following unrecorded entries: + +From the register of St. Bridget's or St. Bride's, Fleet Street, London: + + "Marriages: John Hoare and Agnes Arden, 27 June, 1596." + + "John Arderne and Dennis Harsted by lycence, 8 Nov., 1609." + +From the register of St. Martin-in-the-Fields: + + "Johannes Arden duxit Juditham Battersby per. lic. 24 Nov., + 1638." + +From the register of St. Clement's Danes, London, in the Strand: + + "Marriages: Edward Arden and Mary Waulkner, 11th Nov., + 1587." + + "Hamond Rightwood and Elizabeth Arden, 3 Dec., 1618." + + "John Foxwell and Mary Arden, 12th July, 1629." + + "Baptisms: Thomas Arden, son of Thomas and Anne, 20th July, + 1627." + + "Guy Arden, son of Thomas Arden and Anne, uxor, 9th Oct., + 1632." + + "Burials: Elizabeth Arden, daughter of Thomas, 25th March, + 1629." + + "Alethia Arden, daughter of John, 21 Feb., 1617." + +Also from the Diocese of Bath and Wells (Harleian Publications): + +"Marriage Licenses: Thomas Arden of Lopen, bachelor, and Elizabeth +Plumer of same, spinster, 10th March, 1755." + +Bishop of London's Marriage Licenses: + + "Rich. Bromfield and Jone Aorden of St. Margaret's, + Westminster, Feb. 4, 1564." + + "Jan. 15th, 1569-70. John Ardren and Elizabeth Lee 'Puella' + of St. Andrew's, Holborn, to marry there." + + "Nov. 9, 1641. Hugh Phillips gent of Westminster, and + Elizabeth Arden, to marry at St. Faith's." + + "December 22, 1623. Luke Yates of St. Sepulchre's, and + Frances Arden, d. of ---- Arden of Whethamstead, Herts." + + "June 15, 1639. John Arden and Dorothy Hazard of + Westminster." + + "Feb. 22, 1664. Henry Arden of Chelmsford and Mary Boosie." + + "Oct. 16. 1664. Thomas Arden of Westminster and Theodosia + Long of Parmenter, co. Kent." + + "William Ardrene Junior of St. Martin's, Ludgate, gent., and + Mrs. Alice Smith of Great Wigborough, Essex, widow. March + 21, 1665-6." + +Mar. Allegations, Reg. Vic. Gen. Cant.: + + "William Elwes of St. Clement's Danes and Mrs. Dionysia + Arden of same at St. Saviour's, Southwark, Surrey. Ap. 14, + 1688."[585] + + "John Arden of St. James, Westminster, and Mrs. Elizabeth + Wright of St. Paul's, Covent Garden, Jan. 12, 1687, married + at Westminster Abbey." + + "John Arden of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, gent., and Mrs. Anne + Ratcliffe, Sept. 28, 1691." + + "Francis Marlow of Westham, co. Essex, and Bridget Arden of + St. Sepulchre's, London, September 16, 1674." + + +Register of St. James, Clerkenwell, Burials: "Feb. 14, 1688. Ellinor +Arden." + + "Marriages: Jan. 11, 1561-2. John Arden and Anne Phillips." + + "Sept. 15, 1596. Thomas Jerome, and Helen Arden." + + "Christenings: March 6, 1712. Ann, d. of Richard Ardin and + Elizabeth his wife." + + "Jan. 29, 1685-6. James, son of Christopher, and Elizabeth + Ardon." + + "June 25, 1676. Mary, d. of Robert and Jane Arden." + +Registers of St. George's, Hanover Square: + + "Marriages: May 14, 1757. John Hutchins and Miriam Arden, + Lic." + + "October 30, 1786. Thomas Ardren, and Elizabeth Head." + + "August 5, 1786. Samuel Ardron, and Mary Bellamy Higdon." + + "March 19, 1787. Thomas Oliver, and Susannah Ardrenn." + + "Hon. Thomas Walpole and the Right Hon. Margaret Perceval. + Spec. Lic. Witnesses Lord Arden, H. Walpole, and M. E. + Arden." + + "Sep. 3, 1788. William Carter and Mary Ardren." + + "Sep. 29, 1811. John Exley Adams and Anna Maria Arden, Lic., + Oct. 24, 1811." + + [At the marriage of H. F. Compton Cavendish and Sarah + Fawkenor, a witness is Catharine Emma Arden. Also Lord + Walpole to Mary Fawkenor, July 23, 1812, witnesses Catharine + Emma Arden and Henrietta Arden.] + + "Dec. 28, 1815. John Ardin and Sarah West." + + "Feb. 12, 1832. James Ardren and Harriet Pugh." + + [B. R. Arden witness to marriage of Rich. Pennefather and + the Rt. Hon. Lady Emily Georgiana Butler, July 26, 1836. + Lord Arden witness to Charles Scrase Dickins and the Rt. + Hon. Frances Elizabeth Compton, Feb. 18, 1829.] + +Registers of St. Dionis, Backchurch: + + "Marriages: October 16, 1653. Edmund Webberley and Elizabeth + Ardourne." + + "Dec. 13, 1694. John Arden of St. Faith's, London, and Grace + Lansdale of the same Parish." + + "Oct. 27, 1696. Humphrey Arden of Rotherhithe co. Surrey, + and Elizabeth Page of St. John's, Wapping." + +Registers of St. George, Hyde Park Corner: + + "May 7, 1750. John Pearce of Westminster and Mary Arden of + St. Margaret's, Westminster." + + "Jan. 12, 1752. William Houghton and Susannah Arden of St. + James, Westminster." + + "June 14, 1753. James Ardern and Elizabeth Bath." + +Registers of St. Paul's: + + "Nott Fettiplace, Esq., of the Middle Temple, London, and + Anna Catherina Arden of Longcroft Hall in the County of + Stafford, were married by Licence by me in this Cathedral. + Thomas Spateman, 15th Nov., 1753." + +Registers of St. Thomas Apostle, London: + + "Burial: Thomas Arden, December 11, 1750." + +Registers of Kensington Parish: + + "Christenings: July 8th, 1649. Elizabeth daughter of John + and Mary Ardin." + + "July 24, 1642. Thomas, s. of John and Mary Ardin." + + "Dec. 29, 1644. Thomas, s. of John and Mary Ardin." + + "March 14, 1646. Mary, daughter of John and Mary Arden." + + "Feb. 15, 1651. Christening: Edward son of John and Mary + Arden." + + "March 27, 1653. James, son of John and Mary Arden." + + "March 27, 1640. Richard, son of John and Mary Arden." + + "April 16, 1656. Daniell, son of John and Mary Arden, at + Brompton (buried Nov. 9th, 1656)." + +Registers of St. Antholin: + + "Marriage: June 22, 1578. Roger Cumber and Joyce Arden." + +Christ Church, Newgate Street: + + "Burial: Anne Arden, a prisoner, Jan. 31, 1733." + +Registers of St. Michael's, Cornhill: + + "Marriage: June 8, 1675. John Arden and Elizabeth Briscoe, + by Lic." + + "Robert Ardone and Agnes Holder, Aug. 29, 1565." + + "Christenings: Dec. 6th, 1670. Thomas, son of John Arden and + Mary his wife, Dec. 6, 1670." + + "Richard, son of John Arden and Mary his wife, Dec. 20, + 1672." + + "Aug. 20, 1683. Alice, daughter of John Arderne and + Elizabeth his wife." + + "May 25, 1686. Ralph, s. of John Ardern and Elizabeth his + wife." + + "Burials: Sept. 9, 1674. Mary, d. of John Arden and Mary his + wife." + + "Thomas, son of John Arden the Parish Clerk in the + Churchyard, Ap. 24, 1679." + + "Thomas Arden, a Stranger, in the Cloister, May 20, 1705." + +Chancery Proceedings in reign of James I.: + + B.A., 2, 8. Arderne _v._ Arderne. + + B.A., 5, 70. Arden _v._ Askrigg. + + B.A., 7, 49. Arden _v._ Biddulph and others. + + B.A., 8, 16. Ardern et al. _v._ Rysbrook et al. + + B.A., 9, 28. Arden _v._ Hodges et al. + + B.A., 10, 26. Arden _v._ Hodges. + + B.A., 4, 13. Ardern _v._ Greenfield, etc. + + B.B., 20, 28. Browne Mil. _v._ Arden et al. + + Will in the Public Record Office, 5 G.T., p. 20: "No. 8. + John Arden, 16 May, 1718." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[581] Robert Arden purchased another tenement from him and his wife +Agnes in 1619. + +[582] Robert Arden purchased another tenement from John Palmer in 1529. + +[583] Adam Palmer and Hugh Porter were trustees for Robert's settlements +on his daughters. + +[584] In St. Mary's, Warwick, a marble monument bears similar arms +sacred to the memory of "Franciscus Chernocke of gen. antiqua. Baronet +cognominum in com. Bedford, familia oriundus. Obiit 1727, æt. 69." + +[585] Lieutenant, R.N.; died, _s.p._, 1691. Mrs. Elwes died, _s.p._, +1718 (Marshall's "Genealogist," i. 149). + + + + +INDEX + + +Abel, Margaret, 173 + +Abell, Agnes, 173 + +Abington, 105 + +Adams, John Exley, 237 + +Addenbroke, John, 76, 117 + +Adderley, Sir Charles, 181 + Lady Anne, 181 + +Ailwin, 32, 165, 234 + +Albans, St., Hall, 15 + +Alcester, 10, 14, 122 + +Alcock, Anne, 186 + +Alcokkes, John, 30, 223 + +Alderley, 198, 200 + Nether, 199, 200 + +Aldford, 197, 198, 199 + +Aldford, Richard de, 197 + +Alfred, King, vi, 163 + +Allen _v._ Burbage, 224 + +Alleyn, 34 + +Allon, Thomas, 150 + +Altcar, 171 + +Alvanley, 197, 198, 199, 201-202 + +Amabilia, 167 + de Glanville, 192, 233 + +Amicia, 167 + +Andrew, Mary, 175 + Sir Thomas, 175 + +Appowell, John, 218 + +Archer, Joan, 160 + Margaret, 93 + Sir Richard, 160 + +Archivists, Society of, 3 + +Archy's "Banquet of Jests," 84 + +ARDEN, ARDERNE, or DE ARDEN + Adam, 195, 215 + Sir Adam, 213 + Adela, 166 + Adeliza, 167 + Agnes, 166, 173, 196, 208, 218, 220 + Agnes, of Wilmecote, m. (1) Hewyns, (2) Stringer, 36, 37, 40, 49, + Agnes Webbe, m. (1) Hill, (2) Arden, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 44, 45, 223 + Her will, 39, 40, 41, 223 + Alethea, 186, 232, 236 + Alexander, 196, 219 + Alianore, 170 + Alice, 209, 216, 220, 230, 238 + Alice of Wilmecote, 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 49 + Alicia, 168, 188, 219, 230 + Amabilia, 167 + Amabilia de Glanville m. Ralph de Hampton, 192, 233 + Ambrose, 186, 235 + Amicia, 167 + Amy, 208 + Anna, 232 + Anna Catharine, 187, 238 + Anna Maria, 237 + Anne, 172, 177, 181, 186, 202, 219, 221, 234, 236, 237, 238 + Anthony, 209, 210, 211 + Arthur, 182 + Aveline, 196 + Barbara, 177 + Beatrix, 230 + Benjamin, 186 + B. R., 237 + Bridget, 177, 211, 218, 236 + Catharine, 178, 202, 232, 238 + Catharine Emma, 237 + Cecilia, 166, 167, 200, 220 + Charles, 201 + Christian, 183, 235 + Christopher, 237 + Cicely, 176, 202 + Daniell, 238 + Dionysia, Mrs., 236 + Dorothy, 181, 235 + Edith, 207, 235 + Edmund, 188, 211, 213 + Edward, 30, 64, 94, 176, 208, 221, 230, 232, 236, 238 + Edward, of Park Hall, 1532-1583. 30, 64, 94, 177, 178, 179, + 180, 183, 184, 185 + Eleanor, 49, 170, 171, 209, 230, 231 + Elena, 169, 170, 194, 196 + Elizabeth, 170, 172, 176, 181, 182, 186, 206, 208, 219, 236, 237, 238 + Mistress, 182 + Ellinor, 237 + Eustace, 196, 197 + Eustachia, 167, 195 + Felicia or Phillis, 163, 164, 167 + Frances, 177, 182, 186, 201, 236 + Francis, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 184, 221 + Fraunces, 177 + Galfridus, 167 + Geoffrey, 170, 194 + George, 176, 184, 202, 209, 235 + Giles, Sir, 160, 169, 220 + Godfrey, 232 + Goditha, 181, 221 + Guy, 204, 205, 211, 236 + Harald, 165 + Hawisia, 190, 196 + Helen, 237 + Henry, 26, 49, 166, 167, 168, 169, 171, 172, 181, 186, 187, + 188, 189, 209, 211, 219, 220, 232, 235, 236 + Henry, Sir, of Park Hall, 169, 181, 195, 198, 235 + Henrietta, 237 + Heraud, 164 + Herbert, 167 + Hugh, 166, 178, 190, 201, 216, 220 + Hugh de Vienna, 167 + Isabel, 199, 200, 209 + Isabella, 217, 220 + Isolda, 233 + James, Rev. Dean, 201, 235 + James, Captain, 235 + James, 219, 237 + Jane, 177, 181, 186, 196, 214, 218, 234, 235 + Joan, 168, 172, 207, 235 + Joan, of Wilmecote, m. Lambert, 36, 37, 39, 49 + Johane, 207, 211 + Johanna, 168, 220 + John, 169, 171, 172, 176, 182, 185, 188, 190, 195, 196, 197, + 198, 199, 201, 202, 203, 205, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, + 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 229, 230, 231, + 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237 + John, Sir, Park Hall, Esquire of the Body, 26, 49, 170, 171, + 172, 173, 174, 184, 223, 230, 231, 232, 234, 236 + John, Sir, 169, 233 + John, of Pepper Hall, 202 + John, Clerk of the Works, 202, 203 + John, of Newark, 213 + John, of Wisbeach, 186, 232 + Jone, 236 + Joseph, 166 + Joyce, 41, 176, 177, 238 + Joyce, of Wilmecote, 36, 37, 40, 41, 43, 49, 111, 181 + Joyce, Mistress, 41, 181, 232 + Judith, 182 + Katharine, 203, 204, 205, 209, 230, 231, 234 + Katharine, of Wilmecote, m. Edkins, 36, 37, 49 + Laurence, 212 + Leonard the priest, 209 + Letitia, 167 + Leverunia, 165 + Lucia, 168 + Margaret, 166, 169, 178, 183, 198, 200, 209, 212, 214, 216, 220 + Margaret, of Wilmecote, m. Webbe, 36, 37, 224 + Margery, 198, 211, 214 + Martin, 26, 27, 32, 49, 171, 172, 173 + Mary, 175, 178, 179, 180, 185, 195, 196, 209, 213, 221, 231, + 235, 237, 238, 239 + Mary, of Wilmecote, m. Shakespeare, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 31, + 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 45, 49, 51, 60, 175, 180 + Matilda, 200 + Maud, 199 + Miriam, 237 + Muriel, 178, 180 + Mr., of Feversham, 217 + Mrs., 180, 217, 221 + M. E., 237 + Nicholaa, 168, 169, 190, 195, 233 + Nicholas, 189, 190, 208, 233 + Oliva, 167, 190 + Osbert, 166, 167, 230 + Perkin, 235 + Peter, 166, 167, 170, 190, 191, 197, 198, 199, 201, 202, 203, 214, 221 + Peter, Sir, of Latton, 203, 204, 205, 206, 221 + Philip, 167 + Pierce, 213 + Ralph, 168, 169, 170, 186, 194, 195, 201, 214, 215, 216, 222, 233, 234, + 238 + Ralph, of Hampton, 166, 190, 191, 192, 193, 234 + Ralph, Sir, of Park Hall, 168, 169 + Ralph, Sir, of Hornden, 215 + Richard, 167, 188, 190, 191, 202, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, + 213, 216, 220, 221, 235, 238 + Richard Pepper, Baron Alvanley, 202, 234, 237 + Robert, 166, 168, 169, 170, 172, 173, 176, 178, 180, 181, + 182, 189, 190, 194, 195, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 218, 219, + 221, 233, 235, 237, 238 + Robert, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, 234 + of Cottesford, 209, 210 + of Henley, 211 + de Draiton, 168, 233 + of Lapworth, Rector, 189, 233 + of Park Hall, 26, 27, 46, 49, 170, 181, 182, 184, 185, 194, + 195, 216, 232, 233 + of Norfolk, 213 + Robert, of Wilmecote, 22, 25, 27, 29, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 43, + 45, 49, 50, 175, 180, 184 + His will, 37, 38 + Robert, of Yoxall, 171, 172, 173, 189 + Roger, 190, 191 + R. Crewe, Rev., 235 + Rose, 167, 168, 169 + Samuel, 237 + Sibilla, 170 + Simon, 31, 174, 176, 178, 181, 183, 184, 185, 232 + of Longcroft, 175 + Siward, 168 + Susannah, 237 + Thomas, 167, 168, 171, 172, 176, 178, 188, 190, 191, 192, + 195, 199, 200, 201, 202, 204, 205, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, + 212, 213, 214, 216, 217, 219, 220, 221, 222, 228, 229, 230, + 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238 + Thomas de Draiton, 168 + Thomas de Hanwell, 167, 168, 169 + of Long Itchington, 173, 188 + of St. Martin's, Outwich, 173, 218 + of Park Hall, 26, 27, 31, 35, 172, 173, 175, 176, 177, 178, + 183, 184, 231 + Thomas, of Wilmecote, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31, 32, 35, 45, 46, 49, + 174, 175, 184, 222, 223 + Thomas, son of Walter, 171, 172 + Timothy, 215 + Turchil, 165, 166, 167 + Ursula, 177 + Ursuley, 177 + Virgil, 208 + Walkeline, 197, 199, 200, 233 + Walter, of Park Hall, 26, 27, 28, 35, 49, 170, 174, 208, 215, 230, 231 + His will, 26, 170, 171 + William, 26, 32, 49, 166, 167, 168, 170, 171, 172, 175, 176, + 183, 184, 186, 188, 189, 190, 191, 193, 195, 202, 205, 209, + 210, 214, 215, 216, 219, 230, 232, 233, 234, 235 + William, son of Thomas of Park Hall, his will, 176, 177 + William, of Hawnes, 172, 173, 175, 216, 231 + +Ardens' Arms, The, 26, 31, 32, 33, 168, 169, 174, 175, 176, + 179, 182, 189, 190, 193, 196, 198, 201, 202, 209, 216, 217, + 221, 223, 230, 231, 232, 234, 235 + Impalement of the, 24, 25, 31, 32, 33, 175, 223 + +Ardens, The, 161, 162, 174, 178, 181, 194, 201, 216, 222, 223 + +Ardens, The, of Alvanley, 197 + Bedfordshire, 32, 216 + Burnham, Bucks, 217 + Cheshire, 31, 32, 196, 197, 234 + Cottesford, 209, 210 + Essex, 215 + Feversham, Tragedy of, 217 + Kent, 217 + Kirtlington, 209 + London, 217, 220, 236 + Longcroft, 183 + Oxfordshire, 209, 211, 212 + Park Hall, 25, 26, 28, 31, 32, 33, 36, 40, 41, 45, 58, 162, + 169, 175, 209, 222 + Victoria, 221 + Warwickshire, 188, 189, 190, 191 + Wilmecote, 28, 31, 33, 35, 36 + Yorkshire, 214 + +Ardeney, Alice, 181 + +Arden's Grafton, 189 + +Arderon, William, 235 + +Armyn, Robert, 73 + +Arthgal, 230 + +Asbies, 37, 40, 41, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 56, 57, 62, 71, 223 + +Ashby, 134 + +Ashwell, John, 119 + +Astley, Isabella, Prioress of Wroxall, 11 + +Aston Cantlow, 27, 31, 39, 40, 51, 174, 175, 222 + +Athelstan, King, vi, 33 + +_Athenæum_, 25, 64, 66, 139, 179, 226 + +Atkins or Edkins, Richard, 30, 223 + +Atwood, Thomas, 113 + +Auberville, Matilda de, 93, 232 + William de, 93, 232 + +Averne, Anne, 124 + + +Babthorpe, Margaret, 200 + Sir Robert, 200 + +Baconians, The, 17, 121 + +Baddesley Clinton, 6, 7, 11, 124, 130 + +Badger, George, 59 + +Bagley, Edward, 106, 107, 108 + +Bagleys, The, 226 + +Bagot, Hervey, 181 + Dorothy, 181 + +Baker's "Northampton," 168, 189, 196 + +Balsall, 7, 14, 119, 124 + +Barbor, John, 9 + +Barber, Thomas le, 219 + +Barker, Herald, Sir Christopher, 216, 231 + Thomas, 59 + +Barking, 140 + +Barnards, The, 105, 109 + +Barnard, Sir John, 104, 105, 106, 109 + Lady Elizabeth, 103, 105, 109, 226 + +Barnesley, John, 177 + Anne, 177 + +Barnet, James, 151 + +Barston, 13 + +Barton, 186 + +Barton-on-the-Heath, 45, 48, 57 + +Basnet, Mr., 122 + +Basse, Master John, 205 + William, 84 + +Bath, Elizabeth, 237 + +Battersby, Judith, 236 + +Bawdsey, or Bawsey, 233 + +Bearley, 36, 37 + +Beauchamps, de, or Bellocampo, 27, 31, 46, 167, 168, 174, 175 + Arms, 167, 174, 175 + Alicia de, 168 + Elizabeth, 46, 174, 222 + Joan, 170, 197 + Lady, of Bergavenny, 46, 170 + Lord, of Bergavenny, 174 + Maud, 167 + Richard, Earl of Worcester, 174, 221 + Thomas, 169, 174, 221 + William, 167, 174, 221, 232 + +Beaumont, 84 + His poems, 86 + +Beaupré, 176 + Elizabeth, 176 + +Bedfordshire, 26, 32, 172 + +Belknap, Edward, 171 + +Bell in Carter Lane, 69 + +Bellomont, Roger de, Earl of Mellent, 166 + +Benfield, Swanston and Pollard _v._ Burbage, 70, 71, 81 + +Berewood Hall, 178 + +Berkshire, 132 + +Berkswell, 13, 124 + +Berry's "Genealogies," 168, 202 + +Beverston Register, 87 + +Bevis, Sir, of Hampton, 163 + +Bibbesworth, Thomas, 204 + +Bickley, Mr. W.B., 7, 28, 35 + +Biddle, Anne, 228 + +Bigsby, Dr., 109 + +Billesley, 27, 29, 35, 104 + +Bilton, 188 + Birmingham, 35, 130, 131 + +Birt, John, 136 + +Blackfriars' tenement, 76, 80, 107 + Theatre, 70, 76 + +Blagrove, John, 158 + +Blaxton, Rev. Mr., 212 + +Blomfield's "Norfolk," 193, 214, 233 + +Blount, John Henry, 132 + +Bodleian Library, 22 + +Bohun, Anne, 203 + John, 203 + D.A., 191 + +Boles, Rev. Mr., 97 + Christian, 183 + Thomas, 183 + +Boosie, Mary, 219, 236 + +Bordesley, 14, 21 + +Botecourt, Sir John de, 169 + +Boteler, John, 171 + +Boulogne, Earl Eustace of, 215 + +Bouton, Sir William, Curate, 38, 223 + +Boutvilein, Nicholaa de, 169 + William de, 169 + +Bowes, Mr., of King's College, 205 + +Bowles, Anne, 172 + Richard, 172 + +Bracebridges, The, of Kingsbury, 167 + Alice, 172 + John, 171 + Peter, 167 + Richard, 172 + +Bradshaw, George, executed, 217 + +Bratt, Mr. Robert, 55 + +Brayley's "Surrey," 207 + +Braylys, Geys, 173 + Thomas, 173 + +Brearley, Thomas, 130 + +Bredon, Worcestershire, 132 + +Brewer, Anne, 150 + +Bridge's "Northampton," 196 + +Brigide's, St., Church, 149, 176, 226, 235 + +Briscoe, Elizabeth, 238 + +Bristol Wills, 139 + +Broadspear, 2 + +Brodesley, 178 + +Broke, Simon, Clerk, 173 + +Brome, Beatrice, 11 + Jocosa, Prioress, 11, 12 + John, 11 + Nicholas, 11 + Thomas, 11 + +Bromfield, Richard, 218, 236 + +Brook, Ralph, York Herald, 22, 24, 25 + +Brown, daughter, 173 + John, 57, 219 + +Brownlow pedigree, 177 + +Bucknall, Thomas Skip Dyott, 156 + Harriet Sophia, 156 + +Budbrook, 11, 115, 124, 126, 177 + +Buklond, Alice, 171, 173, 230 + +Burbage, Anne, 126 + Cuthbert, 70 + James, 70, 81, 224 + Richard, 34, 36, 70, 73, 77, 80, 136 + Thomas, 81, 126, 136 + William, 70, 81 + Winifred, 70, 81 + +Burke's "Landed Gentry," 180, 202, 221 + "Colonial Gentry," 221 + +Burleigh, 180 + +Bushell, Mr., 69 + +Butler, Lady Emily Georgiana, 237 + +Byrdsale, William, 9 + + +Cade, Richard, 176 + Joyce, 176 + +Cage, The, 91 + +Camden, 17, 33, 52, 84 + His "Britannia," 84 + +Campbell's "Lives of the Judges," 192 + +Campbell, Hon. John, 153 + Anne, 153 + +Carew, Elizabeth, 95 + +Carlisle, 5 + +Carter, Maria Anna, 143 + Thomas, 182 + William, 237 + +Catesby, John, 182, 205 + +Catheryns, Humphrey, Mr., 229 + +Cavendish, H. F. Compton, 237 + +Chacsper, Thomas, 7 + +Chafford, 140 + +Chaloner, John, 207 + +Chamber, William, 230 + +Champe, Thomas, 134 + +Champ, Joseph, 137 + +Chancery Cases, 48, 77, 121, 123, 129, 133 + +Charles I., a student of Shakespeare, 85, 101 + +Charnells, John, 26, 173 + William, 179 + +Charterhouse Chapel, 155 + +Chaucer, 84 + +Chaworth, Sir Thomas, 9 + +Chedwyns, The, 7 + +Chelesworthy Manor, Devon, 215 + +Cheney, Katharine, 209 + John, 209 + +Chernocke, Francis, 229 + +"Cheshire Collections," Vincent's, 234 + +Chester, Earl of, Prince of Wales, 200 + Ranulph, 196, 197 + +Chettle, publisher, 65 + +Chettleton, William de, 230 + +Chief, Thomas, 218 + +Children's Company of Actors, 70 + +Church End, Rowington, 13 + + +Claredon, or Claverdon, 123, 129 + +Clement's Danes, St., Register, 146, 147, 148, 149, 236 + +Clerk, Nicholas, 235 + +Clifford Chambers, 119 + +Clifton Camvile, 199 + +Clinton, Henry de, Earl of Huntingdon, 174 + +Clodeshalle, Elizabeth, 170, 176, 231, 232 + Richard de, 170, 232 + Walter de, 231 + +Clopton, Barbara, 107 + Sir Hugh, 108 + Sir John, 107 + Mr., 51 + William, 45 + +Cockes, Elena, 12 + +Codd, Rev. E. T., 124 + +Codmore, 171 + Bailiff of, 171 + +Codyngton, Mr., daughters of, 206 + +Cokaine, Sir Aston, 186 + +Colbrand, 163 + +Cole, Henry, 50 + +"Colin Clout's Come Home Again," Spenser's, 2 + +Collier, J. P., 143 + +Collins, Agnes, 208 + Edith, 208 + Elizabeth, 208 + Francis, 80, 122 + Katherine, 206 + name of, 207 + +Colyns, Hugh, 173 + +Combe, John, 72, 77, 224, 225 + Mr. Thomas, 80 + Mrs., 100 + Mr. William, 78, 225 + +"Comedy of Errors," The, 67, 68, 224 + +Compton, Rt. Hon., Frances Elizabeth, 237 + +Compton, Philip, 167 + +Compton Winyate, 166 + +Condell, Henry, 70, 73, 77, 80, 81 + +Conway, Edward, 176 + Elizabeth, 176 + Sir John, 177, 179 + Lord, 85 + +Cooke, Gilbert the, 196 + +Cooke, Dr. James, 98, 99 + J., 85 + Thomasine, 139 + +Cooke, the Herald, 17 + +Corbet, Elizabeth, 138, 178, 230, 234 + Reginald, Justice, 178, 230, 234 + +Cornish, 41 + +Cornwall, Edward, 36, 41, 44, 49, 56, 114 + +Cotgrave, Richard de, 5 + +Cotesbrook Church, 195 + +Cotterell, Nicholas, 232 + +Cotton, Alethea, 187, 232 + Robert, 187, 232 + +Coughton, 166, 169 + +"Court of Virtue," Dr. John Hall's, 93 + +Court, Mrs. Grace, 100 + Richard, 57 + William, attorney, 57 + +Coventry, 5, 124, 131 + +Cowley, Richard, 73 + +Cowper, John, Under-Sheriff, 43 + +Cowper, Mr. J.M., 141 + +Coxe, Margery, 209 + Walter, 209 + +Crabhouse, Prioress of, 205 + +Croke, John, 173 + +Crollalanza, Goffredo di, 1 + +Cromwell, Lord, 216 + +Crosmore, Agnes, 140 + +Culpepper, Richard, 207 + +Cumber, Roger, 238 + +Curdworth, 166, 167, 169, 178, 179, 184 + +Currie, Colin, 153 + Elizabeth, 153 + +Cymbeline, 163 + + +Dance, Mr. William, 136 + +Darcy, Edward, 180, 181, 184, 185 + +Daubeney, John, 211 + +Davenant, John, 75 + Sir William, 75 + +Davenport, Mary, 154, 157 + Rev. William of Bredon and Lacock Abbey, 154, 157 + +Davies, John, "Microcosmus, the Civil Warres of Death and Fortune," 34 + +Dawson, Harriet, 157 + +Debrett's Peerage, 234 + +Denbigh, Earl of, 149 + +Denham, Joan, 160 + Sir John, 160 + +Derbyshire, 136, 235 + +Dethick, Sir William, Garter, 17, 22 + +Devereux, Lady Catherine, 178, 231 + Sir Edward, 178, 231 + +Deye, John, 207 + +Dibdin's "History of the Edinburgh Stage," 73 + +Dickenson, Mr. C. C., 132, 141 + +Dickins, Charles Scrase, 237 + +Dier, Sir Edward, 22 + +Digby, Sir George, 43, 180 + +Digges, Leonard, 83 + +Dilcock, Henry, of Coventry, 5 + +Dimbleby, Mrs., 146 + +Divos, Rev. Roger, 51 + +Dixson, Thomas, 31 + +Dodde, Dorothea (Mrs. Shakespeare), 145 + Elizabeth, 145 + Jane (Mrs. Wren), 145 + +Domesday Book, 165 + +Done, John, 218 + +Donnelly, Hon. Ignatius, 17 + +Doulton, Bridget, 216 + +D'Oyley, Justice, 179 + +Dragon, The, 163 + +Draiton, 169 + +Drape, Richard, 202 + +Drayton, Michael, the Poet, 99, 225 + +Drey, Christopher, 177 + +Drummond's "Noble British Families," 31, 162, 163, 164, 167, 168, 201 + +Dudley, Ambrose, Earl of Warwick, 131 + +Dudley, Mr. Thomas, 211 + +Dudston, 178 + +Dugdale, Sir William, 11 + His "Monasticon," 11, 12, 113, 166 + His "Warwickshire," 11, 12, 42, 97, 104, 162, 163, 164, 167, + 168, 170, 171, 174, 175, 180, 184, 189, 190, 191, 222, 231, + 232 + +Duncombe, Mr., 111 + +Dwale, John, 8 + +Dyer, Rev. Mr., 111 + + +Ealdstreet, Prebendary of (Hugh Saunders, or Shakespeare), 15 + +"Earliest Official Record of Shakespeare's Name," 3, 66, 224 + +Earwaker's "East Cheshire," 198, 199, 201, 202 + +Echenours, 167 + +Edgehill, 101 + +Edkyns, or Atkins, Adam, 49 + Clement, 49 + Richard, 31 + Thomas, senior, 36, 49 + Thomas, junior, 36, 49 + Walter, 31 + +Edmund, King, 165 + +Edmunds, Alice, 124 + +Edward I., 160 + +Edward the Confessor, 165 + the Elder, 162 + the Martyr, 165 + +Edwards, Margaret, 148 + +Elford, 197, 198, 199, 200 + +Elizabeth, Queen, 66, 139, 179 + +Ellerker, Sir Ralph, 214 + +Ellesmere, Lord, 76 + +Elton, Oliver, 225 + +Elwes, William, 236 + +Empson, Sir Richard, 174, 184 + +Engelger, 192 + +Ensors, The, 111, 125 + +Ermenhild, 163 + +Errors, Brooke's pamphlet of Camden's, 24, 25 + Comedy of, 67, 68, 224 + +Essex, Countess of, 178 + Earl of, 72 + Forest of, 4 + +Essex, Shakespeares of, 7, 138, 139, 140 + +Etchells, 199, 200 + +Ethelfleda, 163 + +Ethelred, 165 + +Eton, The Master of, 61 + +Eton, Cicely de, 233 + Nicholas de, 167, 233 + +Euphorbus, 68 + +Eustace de Arden, 196, 197 + +Eustachia, 167 + +Euston, 171 + +Evenley, 209, 210 + + +Farron, William, 151 + +Fawkenor, Mary, 237 + Sarah, 237 + +Feckenham, 64 + +Felicia, or Phillis the Fair of Warwick, 163 + +Fellows, William, 151 + +Fenwick, Charles, 157 + +Fenwick, Octavia, 157 + +Ferne, Sir John, 17 + +Ferrars, Thomas, 216 + +Ferrers, Mr. Henry, 11, 93, 130, 131, 183 + +Fettiplace, Nott, Esq., 237 + +Field, Henry, tanner, of Stratford-on-Avon, 58 + Richard, his son, printer, of London, 65 + +Fielding, Basil, 181 + Dorothy, 181 + +Fillongley, 111, 131 + +Finsbury Fields, The Theatre in, 70 + +First folio of Shakespeare's Plays, 84 + +Fisher, Clement, 186, 232 + +Fisher, John, The Book of, 130, 224, 229 + +Fisher's "Forest of Essex," 4 + +Fitzalan, John, 168 + +FitzCana de Bohun, Engelger, 192 + Franco, 192 + Gelduin, 192 + Ralph, 192 + Savaric, 192 + +Fitzralph, Robert, de Middleham, 233 + +Fleay's "History of the Stage," 71 + "Life of Shakespeare," 76 + +Flecknoe, Christopher, 123 + +Fletcher, Charlotte, 157 + Giles, 94 + Joan, 94 + Lawrence, 73 + Phineas, 94 + +"Foedera," Rymer's, Patent to Shakespeare and others, 73, 74 + +Foss's "Lives of the Judges," 192, 193, 202, 203 + +Foxwell, John, 236 + +Franklin, Elizabeth, 172 + John, 172 + + +Franklyn, Mr., 217 + +Freeman's "Epigrams," 34 + +French, G. R., "Shakespeareana Genealogica," 8, 31, 35, 46, 88, 112, + 122, 123, 133, 135, 141, 144, 160, 165, 187, 221 + +Freville, Baldwin, 216 + +Freyndon, 5 + +Fuller's "Worthies of England," 31, 192, 207, 209, 214, 215 + +Fulwood, John, 39 + Mary, 39 + Richard, 212 + Robert, 59 + +Furnivall, Dr. F.J., 3, 62 + + +Galton, Mr. Francis, 160 + +Gamell, John, 170 + +Garnett, Dr. Richard, 1 + +Gay, Elizabeth, 143 + +Gaynsford, John, 205 + +Gearing, Agnes, 208 + Henry, 208 + +Gedney, John, 213 + +"Gentlemen of Verona," 68 + +George, St., 162 + +Gerard, Father, 212 + +Gerard's "Herbal," 213, 234 + +Getley, Walter, 72 + +Gibbes, George, 40, 42, 223 + Nicholas, 31 + +Gibbons of Oxfordshire, 171 + +Gifford, Isabel, 209 + John, 209 + +Gilbert, Sir William, Curate, 88 + +Gilpitts, The, 55 + +Glanville, Amabilia de, 192, 233 + Helewise de, 193, 233 + Matilda, or Maud de, 193, 233 + Ralph de, 192, 193, 233 + +Globe Theatre, 70, 77, 78, 83, 84 + +Glover's "Heraldry," 32, 175 + +Glover, William, 132 + +Gloucester Wills, 132 + +Goldsmith, Mrs. Anne, 234 + +Gollancz, Mr. Israel, 9 + +Goodwin, Mary, 151 + +Goodyere, Anne, The "Idea" of Drayton, 225 + +Gotheridge, Mary, 147 + +Grace, Alice, 129 + Thomas, 129 + +Grange, John, 153 + +Gray's Inn revels, 67, 224 + +Green, Alice, 205, 206 + Anna, 130 + Edward, 234 + Elizabeth, 205 + Margaret, 202 + Mrs., 116 + Philip, 59 + Robert, 205 + Thomas, 116, 117, 121, 130 + +Green, Thomas, alias Shakespeare, 76, 78, 116 + Walter, 205 + +Greene's "Groatsworth of Wit" and the "Upstart Crow," 65 + +Greenhill Street House, 51 + +Greenstreet, Rev. James, 224 + +Greenway the Carrier, 69 + +Greenwich, Shakespeare plays at, 66 + +Gregory, Rev. Mr., 212 + William, 151 + +Greswold, Thomas, 170 + +Gretwyn, Thomas, 31 + +Greville, Sir Edward, 59 + Sir Fulke, 25, 45, 122 + Ludovic, 169, 178 + +Grevilles of Drayton, 178 + +Grey, Lord, 9 + +Griffin, Agnes, 140 + Alice, 15, 140 + Edward, 15 + Francis, 15, 140 + +Guiderius, 163 + +Guildhall Library, 77, 92 + +Gutheridge, Mr., a Dealer in Leather, 230 + +Guthmund, 165 + +Guy of Warwick, vi, 32, 164 + +Guy's Cliff, 164 + +Guy, William, 151 + +Gwillim's "Display of Heraldry," 22, 87 + + +Haberdasher's Books, The, 226, 234 + +Hales, Bartholomew, Lord of Manor of Snitterfield, 45 + +Hall, Alice, 225 + Anne, 94 + Edmund, 55, 94 + Edward, 94 + Elizabeth, 93, 94 + Elizabeth, poet's grand-daughter, 75, 79, 80, 92, 95, 99, + 100, 101, 105, 109 + Eme, 225 + Emma, 55, 94 + Hugh, 181 + Hugh, priest, 179, 180 + John, 12, 93, 94, 129, 225 + Dr. John of Maidstone, 92 + Dr. John, the poet's son-in-law, 75, 80, 81, 82, 89, 90, 91, + 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 101, 107, 109 + his cures, 98, 99, 100 + his epitaph, 97 + Joyce, 129 + Maria, 93 + Mr., 51, 94 + Mr. A., 95 + Rev. Dr., 212 + Richard, 93, 225 + Robert, 225 + Simon, 225 + Susanna, the poet's daughter, 77, 79, 89, 93, 95, 97, 98, 99, + 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 226 + Her epitaph, 104 + Thomas, 94 + +Halls, Arms of the, 104 + +Halls, the, of Henwick, 94 + of Idlecote, 94 + of Warwick, 225 + of Worcester, 93 + +Hallen, Rev. Cornelius, 112 + +Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare," 6, 10, 17, + 20, 21, 39, 41, 42, 43, 47, 49, 51, 59, 69, 72, 75, 78, 81, 93, 107, + 115, 121, 122, 224, 226 + +Halstead, Peter, 181 + +Hamilton, Fanny Isabella, 156 + Sir Robert North Collie, 156 + +Hammond, William, 108 + Mrs., 108 + +Hampden, Eleanor, 26, 49, 170 + John, 26, 49, 170 + +Hampton in Arden, 10, 124, 125 + Lucy, 10 + -on-Avon, 115 + Corley, 13, 115 + +Hanhampsted, John, 217 + +Harbage, Francis, 51 + +Harborne, John, 47 + +Hareley, 22 + +Hargrave, John, 37 + +Harold, 165 + +Harper, Catherine, 186 + +Harstead, Dennis, 236 + +Hart, George, 106 + Joan, poet's sister, 49, 54, 79, 101, 107, 109, 226 + John, 112 + Thomas, 106, 109 + William, 109, 112, 226 + William Henry, F.S.A., 4 + +Harts, The, 42, 61 + +Hartwell, Elizabeth, 143 + +Harveys, The Rowington, 8, 14, 226 + +Haselden, 214 + +Haseley, 10, 13, 14, 122, 124, 125 + +Hasted's "History of Kent," 217 + +"Haste-vibrans," 1 + +Hastings, John, 125 + +Hathaway, Agnes or Anne, poet's wife, 62, 63, 64, 80, 81, 83, 87, 88, + 89, 90, 99, 117, 224 + Her epitaph, 90 + Bartholomew, 88, 89 + Catherine, 88 + Elizabeth, 89, 106 + Isabel, 89 + Joan, 106 + John, 87, 88 + Judith, 89, 106 + Margaret, 88 + +Hathaway, Richard, 53, 62, 63, 88, 89, 224 + Rose, 106 + Susanna, 106 + Thomas, 88, 89, 106 + William, 88, 89 + +Hathaways, The, 87, 106, 117, 224. + +Hatton, 13, 14, 124, 125, 129 + +Hatton, Sir Christopher, 66 + +Havering, 139 + +Hawarden, 199 + +Hawnes, Beds, 26, 172, 231 + +Hayles, James, 211 + +Hazard, Dorothy, 218 + +Head, Elizabeth, 237 + +Hedges, Henry, 134 + +Helen's, St., Parish, Bishopsgate, 142, 143 + +Hemings, John, 70, 73, 75, 80, 81 + +Henley, John, 37 + +Henley-on-Thames, The Ardens of, 211 + +Henley Street House, 41, 47, 50, 51, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60, 79, 112 + +Henneage, Sir Thomas, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, 3, 66, 214, 222 + +Henrietta Maria, Queen, 101, 129 + +"Henry IV.," 68 + +"Henry VIII.," 77 + +Heraud, 164 + +Hertfordshire, 136, 137 + +Hewes, Joan, 173 + +Hewlands, 88 + +Hewyns, John, 49 + Margaret, 49 + Thomas, 49 + +Heylin's "History of St. George," 163 + +Higgins, Alice, 124 + +Highworth, Wilts, 208 + +Hill, Agnes (Mrs. Arden), 36, 49 + Elizabeth, 59 + Francis, 143 + John, of Bearley, 36 + John, of Rowington (1485), 8, 14 + Mary, 39 + William, 31 + +Hoare, John, 236 + +Hobbyns, Julian (Mrs. Shakespeare), 119 + +Hodgson, Margaret, 154 + Joseph, 154 + +Holder, Alice, 238 + +Holgrave, Alice, 206 + Elizabeth, 206 + John, 206 + Sir John, 205, 207 + Thomas, 205, 206, 207 + +Holinshed's "Chronicles," 17 + +Holland, Thurston, 233 + +Holyoake, Mr., "who made the dictionary," 100 + +Hooper, Humphrey, 42 + +Hornby, Richard, 54, 76 + +Hornchurch, Shakespeares of, 139, 140 + +Horndon, 215 + +Hospicium Vocatum le Greyhounde, 9 + +Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, 9 + +Hospital of St. Nicolas, Carlisle, 5 + +Howard, Lord Henry, 22 + +Howitt's, William, "Visits to Remarkable Places," 226 + +Huddespit, Elizabeth, 7 + Robert, 7 + +Hugh de Vienna, 167 + +Hulme, Agnes, 201 + +Hunter, Rev. Joseph, 13, 14, 33, 142, 145 + +Huva, or Uve, 164, 165 + +Hybarnes, 178 + +Hyde, Cecily de, 201 + + +Ingleby, Dr. Thomas, 78, 85, 116 + +Ingon, 52, 112, 115, 123 + +Ingram, Richard, 31 + +Inson, William, 219 + + +Jackley, 210 + +Jaggard, William, 229 + +James I., King, 73, 74 + +Jenkes, Dorothy, 114 + John, 31 + Thomas, 38, 222 + +Jennings, Alice, 228 + +Jeny, M.L., 159 + +Jephson, William, vintner, 152 + +Jerome, Thomas, 236 + +John, King, 68 + +John, St., of Jerusalem Hospital, 9 + +Jons, Joan, 139 + +Jonson, Ben, 75, 85, 99 + +Josselyn, Gabriel, 219 + + +Kakley, Isolda, 7 + Robert, 7 + +Kambur, Margaret, 173 + +Kemp, William, 3 + +Kenilworth, 124, 127 + +Kent, Edward, 106 + Junior, 106 + +Kineton, 101 + +King, Mr. W. Wickham, 181 + +Kingsmell, John, Sergeant-at-Law, 28, 184 + +Kirkland, 5 + +Kirtlington, 209, 210 + +Knightley, Sir Richard, 28, 184 + +Knights Templars, 167 + +Knolles, Nicholas, Vicar of Alveston, 42, 45 + +Knowle, 124, 126, 131 + Guild of St. Anne of, 7, 10, 11, 12, 27, 28, 170, 188, 189 + +Kyngeston, Avisia de, 189 + +Kyngeston, Robert de, 189 + + +Lacock Abbey, 154 + +Ladbroke, John, 177 + Joyce, 177 + +Lambert, Edmund, 36, 40, 41, 45, 46, 48, 49, 57 + Joan, 36, 39, 40, 49 + John, 36, 39, 40, 45, 47, 48, 49 + +Lane, Annes, 8 + Mrs., 96 + Nicholas, 57, 114 + Richard, 105 + +Lane, Green and Shakespeare complain of the tithes, 76 + +Lane slanders Susanna Hall, 77 + +Lanfranc's "Chirurgerie," 93 + +Langham, Alice, 9 + +Lansdale, Grace, 237 + +Lapworth, 127, 169, 189 + +Latton, Essex, 203, 206 + +Lawrence, Henry, scrivener, 77 + +Lee, Elizabeth, 236 + +Lee, John de, 207 + +Legh, de, Constantia, 4 + John de, 200, 201 + Matilda, 200, 201 + +Leicester, 133, 178, 180 + Earl of, 178, 179, 210, 211 + Mayor of, 133 + +Leicestershire, 31, 133, 134, 216 + Ardens, 216 + Shakespeares, 133 + +Leigh, John de, 201 + Maud, 199, 200 + Robert, 199, 200 + +Leighton, Sir Thomas, 160 + +Leland's "Itinerary," 27, 163, 171 + +Lench, John, 35 + +Leofric, Earl of Mercia, 165 + +Leonetta, 164 + +Letherbarrow, Elizabeth, 131 + +Leverunia, 165, 191 + +Ley, Francis, 15, 119 + Joan, 15, 119, 137 + +Lichfield Wills, 125, 174, 186 + +Lightfoot, Mr. J. W., 141 + +Lily, John, 212 + +Lingard, Rev. Edmund, 179 + +L'Isle, Richard de, 191 + +Little, Agnes, Prioress of Wroxall, 11, 12 + +Littleton, Thomas, 170 + +Litton, Master, 206 + +Lloyd, Rev. John William, 158 + +Lone, Alice, 8-12 + +Long, Theodosia, 219, 236 + +Longcroft, 31, 176, 183, 185, 221, 232 + +Long Itchington, 173, 188 + +Longsword, 2 + +"Love's Labour's Lost," 68 + +"Love's Labour's Wonne," 68 + +Lovetot, John, 215 + +Lewis, Lieutenant Ninian, 155 + +Lowston End, Rowington, 13 + +Lucy, Sir Thomas, 45, 54, 58, 64, 180 + Deer-stealing story fabulous, 180 + Lady, 90, 122 + +Lutterworth, 132 + +Lyannce, Hatton, 14 + + +"Macbeth," 73 + +"Macbeth," The Scottish and English, 73 + +Macray, Rev. Dr., 130, 135 + +Madoc, Griffin ap, 198 + Margaret, daughter of, 198 + +Madywattons, 128 + +Malaleone, Eustachia, 167 + Savaricius, 167 + +Malone's "Life of Shakespeare," 23, 115 + +Malory, Charles, 119 + +Manning and Bray's "Surrey," 159 + +Mara, Agnes de la, 192 + +Marbury, Frances, 201 + Thomas, 201 + +Marchington Register, 186 + +Margaret's, St., Westminster, 237 + +Margery, Mrs., 121 + +Marlow, Francis, 236 + +Marsh, Antony, 80 + Mr. John, 80 + +Martin's, St., -in-the-Fields, 145, 146, 147, 236 + +Mary, Queen, 139 + +Massey, Hugh, 177 + +Masson, Robert, 186 + +Mather, Agnes, 218 + +Matthews, Maria, 129 + William, 129 + +Mauley's, Lord, Arms, 23 + +Maxton, Charlotte, 155 + +Maydes, Richard, 50 + +Mayne, James Edward, 157 + +Mayowe, "The Appeal," 56, 114 + Elizabeth, 223 + Henry, 223 + John, 45, 174, 223 + Thomas, 45, 56 + +Mazzini, 61 + +Megre, le, Oliva, 190 + Robert, 190 + William, 191 + +Melbourne, John, 220 + +Mellent, Earl of, 166 + +Mercia, 163 + +"Merchant of Venice," 68 + +Mere's, Professor of Literature at Oxford, "Wit's Treasury," 67, 68 + +Meriden, 8, 124, 130 + +Merrick, Madame Anne, 85 + +"Merry Wives of Windsor," 79 + +Merton College, Oxford, 15 + +"Microcosmus," John Davies', 34 + +Middleton, John, 234 + Sir John, 234 + +"Midsummer Night's Dream," 68 + +Milburn, Ellen, 150 + John, 150, 220 + +Milton's epitaph on Shakespeare, 85 + +Minworth, 178 + +Mixbury, 16 + +Moeles, The, 231 + +Montfort, Simon de, 167 + +More, Agnes, 234 + Sir Thomas, 234 + John, 212 + +Morris, Katherine, 119, 212 + +Morrison, Lady Elizabeth, 235 + +Mortimer, Isabella, 168 + Sir Roger, 168 + +Mortlake, 75 + +Moseley's, Mr., account, 85 + +Mountford, William, 91 + +Mowsley End, Rowington, 128 + +Muerson, Louisa, 156 + +Mug, Rev. Mr., 212 + +Muklowe, Katharine, 173, 231, 234 + Richard, 173 + +Murray, Edith, 156 + William Sim, 156 + +Myttons, Mr., 69 + + +Nanson, Mr., Town Clerk of Carlisle, 221 + +Nash, Arms of, 101 + Edward, 102, 103, 106, 107 + Elizabeth, 96, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 109, 226 + Thomas, 89, 91, 95, 96, 97, 100, 101, 102, 109 + +Nash's "Worcestershire," 14 + +Naso, Richard, 127 + +Nason, John, 100 + +Natford, 171, 172 + +Neville, Barbara, 177 + Richard, 177 + Sir Edward, 174 + +Newburgh, Henry de, 166 + Margaret de, 166 + William de, 166 + +Newburghs, or Novoborgos, The, 166, 167, 168 + their arms, 168 + +Newcome, Colonel, 155 + +Newcourt's "Repertorium," 15, 204 + +New Place, 60, 67, 71, 72, 76, 77, 80, 89, 95, 101, 102, 103, 107, 108, + 117 + +Newport, Margaret, 204 + +Newton, Anna Catharine, 187, 232 + John, 187, 232 + +Nicholas, St., Hospital of, Carlisle, 5 + Parish, Warwick, 120, 225 + +Nichols, Sir George, "History of the English Poor Law," 37 + +Nichols's "Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica," 25, 30, 31, 93, + 130, 137, 197, 198 + "Herald and Genealogist," 125, 192 + "History of Leicestershire," 216 + "Progresses of King James," 74 + +Nicolas, Sir N.H., 21, 175, 198 + +Nicols, Thomas, 223 + +"Non Sans Droict," 22 + +Norhull, 167, 169 + +Norris, Rev. Henry, 6 + +Northampton, 194, 195 + +Northamptonshire, 195 + +Norton Curlew, 129 + +"Nottingham Records," edited by Mr. W. Stevenson, 5, 8, 10 + +Nuneaton, 166 + + +Offord, 189 + +Oken's, Thomas, money, 119 + +Oldich, or Woldiche, 6, 7 + +Oliver, Mary, 154 + Laver, 158 + Thomas, 237 + +Ormerod's "Cheshire," 93, 196, 201 + "Miscellanea Palatina," 197, 199 + +Orreby, Agnes de, 197 + Sir John de, 198 + +Ortelius, 52 + +Oxfordshire, 134, 209, 211 + + +Packwood, 127 + +Page, Elizabeth, 237 + +Pakeson, Thomas, 169 + +Pakingtons, The, of Worcester, 182 + their arms, 182 + +Palmer, Adam, 8, 37, 38, 40, 45, 50, 223 + Catherine, 202 + Elizabeth, 207 + John, 36 + Robert, 202 + +Pardu, John, 115 + +Park Hall, 178 + +Parkes, Alice, 135 + Penelope, 127 + Richard, 127 + +Parkins, Isabel, 124 + +Parnassus, Return from, 33 + +Parsons, Robert, 136 + +Pate, Rev. Lawrence, 210 + +Pearce, John, 237 + +Peche, John, 191 + Richard, 190 + +Pedimore, or Pedmore, Warwickshire, 169, 177, 181, 232 + Worcestershire, 40, 181, 232 + +Peele, George, 143 + Isabel, 143 + James, 143 + +Pegge, Mr., 163 + +Pembroke, Earl of, 70, 71, 74 + +Pennefather, Richard, 237 + +Penrith, 5 + +Pepper, Sarah, 202 + +Perche, Countess of, 165, 191 + +Percival, Right Hon. Margaret, 237 + +Perkes, John, 44 + Mary, 44, 49 + William, 44 + +Perkyns, John, 133 + Richard, 133 + William, 133 + +Perpoint, Thomas, 214 + +Peto, Humphrey, 45 + +Petyfere, Richard, 40 + +Philip, King, 139 + +Phillips, Anne, 237 + Augustine, 72, 73, 75 + Hugh, 218, 236 + Sir Thomas, 209 + +Phillis, or Felicia, of Warwick, 162 + +Pickering, John, Lord Keeper, 129 + +Pilkington, Margaret, 200 + +Pinley, 129 + +Pipe Office accounts, 3, 66 + +Pitt, William, 223 + +Plague in Stratford, 52 + +Planché's Roll of Arms, 213 + +Plautus, 68 + +Players, Earl of Worcester's, 54 + King's Company, 73, 74, 75 + the Lord Chamberlain's, 66 + the Queen's Company, 54 + +Plays not to be performed in Guildhall, Stratford, 82, 225 + +Plesseto, Alured de, 233 + +Plumer, Elizabeth, 236 + +Plumstead, Thomas of, 217 + +Plutarch's "Lives," 65 + +Poate, George, 137 + +Pole, William de la, Earl of Suffolk, 203 + +Pollard, Benfield, and Swanston _v._ Burbage, 70, 71, 81 + +Poole, Isabel, 126 + +Pooley, Elizabeth, 181 + Sir William, 181 + +Porter, Hugh, 37, 38, 50, 223 + John, 30 + Robert, 30 + +Portingale, Richard, 6 + +Pouter, Nicholas, 210 + +Powlett, William, D.D., 156 + +Pre-Shakespearean London Shakespeares, 139 + +Price, Goditha, 181 + Herbert, 181 + Michael, 57 + +Prince, John, of Abingdon, 135 + +Prins, William, 8 + +Prior, Walter, 210 + +"Pruslbury," 4 + +Pugh, Harriet, 237 + +Puttenham's "Art of Poetrie," 65 + +Pythagoras, 68 + +Pytt, William, 38 + + +Quiney, Adrian, 50, 51, 54, 59, 92 + Elizabeth, 91 + Judith, poet's daughter, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 89, 91, 92, 100, 105, 109 + Richard, of London, 89, 92 + Richard, of Stratford, 68, 89, 91 + Richard, son of Thomas and Judith, and grandson of the poet, 92, 100 + Sarah, 92 + Shakespere, son of Thomas and Judith, and grandson of the poet, 92, 100 + Thomas, poet's son-in-law, 78, 79, 89, 91, 105, 109 + Thomas, son of Thomas and Judith, and grandson of the poet, 92, 100 + William, 92 + + +Radcliffe, Elizabeth, 201 + John de, 200 + Matilda de, 200 + Richard de, 200 + +Rainsford, Lady Anne, 225 + Sir Henry, 225 + +Randall, John, 88 + +"Rape of Lucrece," 65, 66, 222 + +Ratcliffe, Mrs. Anne, 237 + Robert, 235 + +"Ratsey's Ghost," 34 + +Rawreth, 140 + +Raynborn, 164 + +Reve, John, 15 + William, 15 + +Rewardine, Gloucestershire, 87 + +Reynolds, Humphrey, 50 + Roger, 27, 29, 30, 194 + William, 80 + +"Richard II.," 68, 72 + +"Richard III.," 68 + +Richardson, Cicely, 138 + John, 63 + Sarah, 150 + +Ridley, Jane, 154 + Sir Matthew, 154 + +Rightwood, Hamond, 236 + +Robbins, Antony, 127 + +Roberts, Margery, 118 + Thomas, shoemaker, 118, 119 + +Robinson, Dr. William, 205 + John, 80 + +Rocliff, Master John, 204 + +Rodburn, 166 + +Rogers, Henry, 59 + Philip, 121 + +"Romeo and Juliet," 68, 108 + +Roses, The Wars of the, 26, 170 + +Rosswell, Mr., 69 + +Rotley, 166 + +Rous, John, 162 + +Rowbotham, Jane, 188 + +Rowington, 4, 8, 13, 14, 21, 54, 93, 113, 114, 115, 124, 127, 128, 129 + Court Rolls, 4, 8, 13 + Records of, edited by Mr. J.W. Rylands, 4, 14, 54, 80, 121, + 122, 129, 130, 220, 226, 227 + +Rucking, Kent, 141 + +Rupert, Prince, 101 + +Rushby, Agnes, 36 + Richard, 30, 36, 223 + Thomas, 80 + +Ruswell, Mary, 123 + +Rymer's "Foedera," the grant of Shakespeare and others, 73, 74 + + +Sadler, Hamnet, 80 + Judith, 80 + Roger, baker, 41 + +Sage, Joseph, 158 + +Sakesper, Simon, 4 + +Sakspere, Henry, 114 + Margaret, 114 + +Salisbury, Earl of, 146 + +Saltley, 176, 177, 183 + +Salveyn, Geoffrey, 198 + +Sandells, Fulke, 63 + +Sanders, Margaret, 114 + Richard, 114 + +Sattlewell, William, 127 + +Saunders, Hugh, alias Shakespeare, 15, 16, 134 + +Sautemaris, Geoffrey de, 197 + +Savage, Mr. Richard, 120, 225 + +Saviour's, St., Church of, 83, 110 + +Saxper, Nicholas, 140 + Saray, 143 + +Sayer, Louisa Caroline, 156 + Robert, 156 + +Scarlett, or Skerlett, Elizabeth, 36, 223 + John, 31, 38 + Margaret, 31 + +Scatcliffe, John, 143 + +Schakespeir, or Schaftspeire, Sir Thomas, priest, 15, 139 + +Scory, Bishop, 211 + +Scotland, Shakespeare in, 73 + +Scott, Sir Walter, 71 + +Seeley, Martha, 152 + +Seneca, 68 + +Sewell, Margaret, 207 + +Shackspeare v. Lambert, 48, 57, 59 + +Shakespeare, Abigail, 143 + Adam, of Oldiche (1389), 6, 7 + the Younger (1441), 6 + Adrian, 130, 151 + Agnes, 8, 12, 15, 125, 156 + Alderman, the, 137, 153, 154, 158 + Alice, 7, 10, 12, 15, 40, 119, 123, 124, 125, 126, 140, 228 + Alicia, 7 + Alexander, 156, 159 + Allan, of Cumberland, 5 + Andrew, 125 + Ann, 124, 136, 138 + Annah, 124, 139, 158 + Anne, 125, 131, 136, 139, 158, 227, 228 + Anne, Mrs., 159 + Anne, the poet's sister, 49, 54, 56, 109 + Anne, the poet's wife, 80, 81, 88, 89, 90, 225 + Annis, 128 + Anthony, 115, 147, 148 + Antonio, 115, 119 + Antony, 12, 115 + arms of, 17-34, 59, 153 + Arthur, 137, 153, 154, 156 + Arthur Bucknall, 156 + Arthur Franklin, 157 + Arthur Robert, 155 + Arthur William, 154 + Arthur Wyndham, Rev., 157 + Augusta, 155, 156 + Barbara, 125 + Bennet, 153 + Benjamin, 121, 151, 152 + Betty, 132 + Catharine, 124, 125, 127, 136, 148 + Charles Bowles, 134 + Charles Maxtor, 155 + Charlotte, 155, 157 + Christian, 7, 124, 151 + Christopher, 11, 125, 127, 227 + Clement, 227 + Colin, 154, 157 + Cornelius, 124 + David, 157 + Dorothy, 127, 145, 146, 147 + Edmund, the poet's brother, 49, 56, 60, 109 + Edward, 120, 126, 127, 132, 140, 150, 159, 229, 230 + Edward O., 159 + Eleanor, 128, 136 + Elena, 12 + Elizabeth (Huddespit), 7 + Elizabeth, 7, 8, 121, 122, 124, 125, 126, 128, 134, 135, 136, + 139, 143, 151, 153, 154, 227, 228, 230 + + Ellen, 134, 148, 150 + Ellinor, 135, 226 + Emily, 155, 159 + Emma, 156 + Florence, 129 + Frances, 124 + Francis, 144 + Frederick George, 155 + Geoffrey, of Brixton, 4 + George, 10, 111, 123, 125, 128, 129, 132, 138, 151, 152, 159, 226, 227 + George Bucknall, 156 + George Trant, 154 + Georgiana, 157 + Henrietta Matilda, 157 + Gilbert, the poet's brother, 49, 53, 72, 100, 111, 226 + Hamnet, the poet's son, 56, 67, 71, 90, 109 + Hannah, 130, 136, 158 + Harriet, 156, 157 + Harriet Blanche, 157 + Henrietta, 156 + Henry (1349), of Cumberland, 5 + Henry, 115, 119, 120, 126, 130, 137, 143, 155, 158, 159, 229 + Henry, the poet's uncle, 45, 50, 56, 57, 109, 114, 158, 224 + Henry Davenport, 154, 155, 156 + Henry John Childe, 156 + Hester, 124 + Humphrey, 118, 127, 132, 144, 227 + Hugh, 144 + Hugh, alias Saunders, 15, 16 + Ida Nea, 157 + Isabel, 123, 125, 143 + Isabella, Prioress of Wroxall, 7, 10, 11, 12 + Isolda (Kakley), 7 + James, 115, 132 + Jane, 144, 147, 148, 154, 227 + Jane, or Johanna, Domina, 11, 12, 14, 125 + Jeames, 115 + Joan, 8, 14, 114, 116, 128, 131 + Joan, the poet's sister, 49, 51, 52, 54, 79, 109 + Joane, 115, 119, 121, 128, 131 + Joanna, 7 + Johanna, 7, 13, 144 + Johanna, or Jane, 12, 116, 144 + Johannes (1526), 12 + John, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 114, 115, 118, 119, 120, 121, 123, + 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, + 137, 138, 139, 140, 143, 150, 152, 153, 157, 159, 227, 228, + 229 + John, of Clifford Chambers, 119 + of Doncaster, 8 + of Ingon, 52, 115, 120, 226 + of Kent (1278), 5 + of Nottingham (1357), 5 + of Oldiche (1414), 7 + of Rowington, 114, 115 + of St. Clement's Danes, 146, 147, 148, 149 + of St. Martin's, 145, 146 + of Snitterfield, Agricola, 52, 116, 120, 145, 147, 152, 223 + of Warwick, 15, 130, 229 + John, the shoemaker, 58, 112, 118, 119, 120, 147 + John, the poet's father, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, + 31, 33, 36, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, + 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 64, 94, 109, 110, 116, 158, + 175, 223, 224 + comes to Stratford-on-Avon, 50 + marries, 51 + alderman, 53 + bailiff, 53, 54 + place of residence, 55 + Lambert's mortgage, 45, 57 + death, 59 + John Davenport, 156 + John Dowdeswell, 154, 155 + John Jos. Art., 230 + John Joseph, 230 + John, of Shadwell, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 158 + John, of St. Clement's, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 230 + John, of St. Martin's, 145, 146, 147 + John Talbot, 154, 155, 156 + Jonathan, 152, 153 + Jone, 15, 131, 138, 139, 227 + Joseph, 139 + Joshua, 158 + Josiah, 228 + Joyce, 129, 137, 151 + Judith, 124, 139, 141, 151 + Judith, the poet's daughter, 56, 78, 81, 82, 90, 109 + Julian, 119 + Lawrence, 13, 14, 126 + Leonard, 135, 136, 141 + Leslie, 156 + Lettyce, 115 + Lionel Fairfax, 157 + Louisa, 156 + Lucy, 137 + Luke, 137 + Manasses, 151 + Margaret, 14, 15, 124, 129, 141, 148, 149, 150, 151, 227, 228 + Margaret, the poet's sister, 49, 52 + Margaret, wife of Henry, 114 + Margeria (1464), 7 + Margery (1458), 9 + Margery, Mrs., 121 + Maria, 129, 145, 146 + Marianne, 155 + Marie, 125, 127, 129 + Martha, 158 + Mary, 125, 128, 129, 131, 134, 136, 143, 149, 150, 152, 154, + 156, 157, 158, 227, 228, 229 + Mary, the poet's mother, 19, 22, 24, 25, 36, 37, 42, 43, 44, + 45, 48, 49, 58, 60, 76, 109, 110, 161, 184 + heir and executor to her father Robert, 38 + probable date of marriage, 51 + she died, but no memorial left, 60, 76 + Matthew, 138, 143, 144, 159 + Matthew, John, 154 + Mrs., 137 + Mrs. O., 159 + Nathaniel, 143 + Nicholas, 124, 125, 126, 128 + Owen, 157 + Peter (1483), 9, 142 + Peter (1596), 10 + Peter, 14, 124, 125, 130 + Philip, 118, 125 + Radulphus, 7 + Ralph, 7, 13, 136 + Reginald, 141 + Rebecca, 228 + Rebekah, 151 + Richard (1457), 7 + Richard, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 123, 125 + Richard, of Rowington, 14, 15, 114, 121, 226, 227, 228 + Richard, of Snitterfield, probably poet's grandfather, 7, 8, + 12, 14, 15, 21, 36, 37, 50, 52, 109, 113, 114, 116, 158, 223 + Richard, the bailiff, 12, 13, 14, 113 + Richard, the poet's brother, 49, 54, 109, 110, 111 + Richmond, 155 + Richmond Campbell, Sir, 154, 155 + Robert, 8, 13, 15, 115, 123, 124, 126, 134, 135, 136, 138, + 140, 144, 156, 157, 158 + Robert, of Pontefract (1381), 6 + Robina, 136 + Roger, 21, 114, 123, 124, 125 + Roger, the monk, 14, 21, 124 + Roger, the Yeoman of the King's Chamber, 21 + Samuel, 137, 139, 140, 152, 154 + Sara, 125, 143 + Sarah, 158 + Selina, 155 + Simon, of Gloucestershire (1260), 4 + Sophia, 159 + Susan, 139, 147, 148 + Susanna, the poet's daughter, 56, 75, 77, 79, 90, 95, 109 + her epitaph, 104 + Susannah, 122, 124, 125, 136, 139 + Thomas (1359), of Coventry, 5 + Thomas (1375), of Youghal, 6, 141 + Thomas (1476), 7 + Thomas (1486), 7 + Thomas (1511), 11 + Thomas, 13, 14, 15, 19, 21, 114, 119, 120, 121, 124, 125, + 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 137, 139, 140, + 141, 144, 148, 151, 152, 226, 227, 228, 229 + Thomas, of Ireland, 6, 8, 141 + Thomas, of Lutterworth, 132, 133, 134 + Thomas, of Oxford, 134 + Thomas, of Snitterfield, 109, 115, 116, 145, 147, 158 + Thomas, of Staple Inn, 132, 133, 152 + Thomas, Royal Messenger, 21, 144 + Thomas, Sir, the Priest, 15, 138 + Ursula, 118 + Walter, 124 + Walter (1379), 6 + Widow, 120, 136, 226, 228 + William, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 21, 114, 115, 119, 120, 121, 122, + 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 131, 134, 136, 138, 142, 143, + 151, 152, 155, 156, 158, 228, 229, 230 + William (1398), of Cumberland, 5 + William (1413), of London, 9 + William Makepeace, 154 + William Oliver, 154, 155 + William, the money-lender and malt agent, 120, 121 + William, the poet, 15, 18, 19, 22, 33, 34, 49, 57, 59, 64, 69, 73, 76, + 79, 80, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 90, 95, 97, 100, 104, 108, 111, 112, + 120, 121, 147, 148, 160, 180, 186, 217, 222, 227 + he used the coat of arms, 33 + consented to sale of Asbies, 46 + marriage, 56 + birth of children, 56 + became head of family, 61 + his betrothal, 62 + marriage license, 63 + friends in London, 64 + sonnets and poems to same patron, 66 + played before the Queen, 66 + death of his only son, 67 + Quiney's letter to Shakespeare, 69 + Shakespeare in Scotland, 73 + death of his mother, 76 + his will, 78, 79 + his epitaph, 84 + William, his poems, 86 + William Powlett, 156 + William Ross, 156 + William of Westminster, 142 + Winifred, 127 + Wyndham, Rev. Arthur, 157 + +Shakespeare, the arms of, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 33, 59, 112, 153, + 156, 222 + Impalement of Ardens with, 24, 33, 175, 222 + +Shakespeare's ancestry, 6 + +Shakespeare's descendants, 87, 104, 108 + +"Shakespeareana Genealogica." See G.R. French. + +Shakespeare Inn, Gloucester, 109 + +"Shakespeare Jahrbuch," Berlin, 3 + +Shakespeare Library in Warwick Castle, 117, 120 + +Shakespeare's Name, The Earliest Official Record of, 3, 66 + +Shakespeare signatures, 3 + +Shakespeares, the, of Alcester, 10, 124 + Ascote, 10 + Baddesley Clinton, 124 + Balsall, 7, 10, 124 + Beausal, 10 + Bedfordshire, 136 + Berkshire, 132 + Berkswell, 10, 124 + Budbrook, 10, 124 + Cumberland, 5 + Derbyshire, 136 + Dursley, 132 + Essex, 4, 10, 138 + Fillongley, 111, 131 + Gloucestershire, 4, 132 + Grafton, 10 + Hampshire, 136 + Haseley, 10, 124 + Hatton, 10, 122, 124 + Hertford, 136 + Kenilworth, 124 + Kingswood, 130 + Knowle, 10, 124, 126, 131 + Lapworth, 10, 124 + Leicestershire, 132, 133, 134 + London, 137, 142 + Meriden, 11, 124 + Northampton, 132 + Norton Lindsey, 10 + Nottingham, 5, 8 + Oxford, 132, 134, 135 + Packwood, 10, 11, 124 + Rowington, 8, 10, 12, 19, 124, 129 + Snitterfield, 10, 28, 36 + South Stoke, 136 + Staffordshire, 10, 132 + Surrey, 4, 136 + Tachbrook, 10 + Warwick, 10, 14, 130, 131, 132 + Worcestershire, 10, 132 + Wroxall, 10, 124 + +Shakespeares, The, 31, 39, 40, 123, 223 + +"Shakespeare's Warwickshire Contemporaries," 64, 65 + +Shakespeare, The name of, 1, 2, 3 + +Shakespeare _v._ Lambert, 47, 48, 57, 59 + +Shakespeye, Simon, 4 + +Shakesphere, 140 + +Shakespurr, 140 + +Shakspere, William (1413), 9 + +Shallett, Elizabeth, 153 + +Shallow, Justice, 64, 79 + +Shankes' Petition, 71 + +Shaw's "Staffordshire," 184, 185, 187, 198, 199, 232 + +Shaxsby, John, 140 + +Shawe, Ralphe, 58 + +Sheldon, Mrs., 100 + +Shenton, Geoff. de, 186 + Nichola, 186 + +Sheppard's, Samuel, "Epigrams," 85 + +Shillingworth, Mr. Ralph, 134 + +Shirley, Henry, 176 + +Shottery, 87, 88, 226 + +Shotteswell, Catharine, 127 + William, 126 + +Shrawley, 128, 129 + +Shugborough, Simon, 179 + +Shuter, Richard, 122 + +Siche, Thomas, of Arscote, 50 + +Sidney, Sir Robert, 22 + +Sigisbert, 1 + +Siward, 166 + +Skinner, William, 128 + +Skreene, Alice, 206 + Elizabeth, 203 + John, 204 + +Slender, 79 + +Sly, John, 227 + William, 73 + +Smith, Mrs. Alice, 236 + Henry, 105, 106 + Mrs. Margaret, 219 + Sir Thomas, 18 + William, 57, 105, 109, 119, 124, 145 + William Shakespeare, 226 + +Snitterfield, 27, 30, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 50, + 113, 114, 123, 174, 223, 224 + +Solar, William, 4 + +Somerville, John, 30, 178, 179, 180 + Margaret, 178, 179 + Elizabeth, 179 + Walter de, 230 + +Sonnets, The date of, 66 + +Southampton, Mary, Countess of, 2, 221 + Henry, Earl of, 58, 65, 66, 67, 71, 72, 74, 147, 222 + +Spateman, Anne, 187, 232 + Rev. John, 187, 232 + Thomas, 238 + +Spencer, Thomas, 123 + +Spenser, Edmund, 2 + +Spondon, Robert le, 5 + +Stafford, Sir Richard, 199 + Katharine, 199 + +Stanhope, Mrs. Henrietta Maria, 181 + John de, 200 + Sir William, 201, 222 + Thomas de, 200 + +Starke, Grace, 138 + +Stanley, Catherine, of Hooten, 201, 222 + +Statfold, 199 + +Stevenson's "Nottingham," 5, 8, 10 + +Stiffe, Barbara, 124 + +Stillard, Bridget, 218 + Robert, 218 + +Stokeport, Joane, 198 + Sir Richard, 198 + +Stokes, Ralph, 124 + +Storeton, Grace, 139 + +Stotesby, Agnes, 209 + +Stratford-on-Avon, 19, 41, 50, 51, 52, 58, 59, 79, 92, 101, 116 + its records, 19, 37, 41, 50, 51, 53, 56, 57, 69, 95, 116, + 119, 121 + its church, 60, 84 + its Grammar School, 61 + the master of, 61 + +Stratton, Thomas, 208 + +Stringer, Agnes, 40, 41, 49, 62 + Arden, 49 + Ellice, 49 + John, 49 + Thomas, 40, 41, 49, 50, 63 + +Sturley, Abraham, 68 + Katharine, 100 + +Suffolk Visitation, 234 + +Sulgrave, 170 + +Surrey Visitation, 234 + +Sutton, 169 + Anne, or Dudley, 64 + Sir Edward, Lord Dudley, 64 + +Swaldyve, 169, 233 + +Swanston, Benfield and Pollard _v._ Burbage, 70 + +Swillington, Richard, 209 + +Swynford, Sir John, 168 + Roger, 230 + + +Tachbrook, 123 + +Talbot, Sir Edmund, 234 + Martha, 154 + +Talbots, The, 160, 234 + +Tardebigg, 14 + +Taylor, Alice, 12 + Will, 233 + +Tayloure, Rev. John, Vicar of St. Brigyde, 177 + +Teery, Balsall, 10 + William, 133 + +Temple, Grafton, 10 + +Tetherton, William, 121 + +Thackeray, Emily, 154 + William Makepeace, 154, 155 + +Thickness, Edward, 145 + +Thomas, Dr. W., 11 + +Thompson, Marian Sophia, 155 + Thomas, 123 + +Thornbury, Dr., Bishop of Worcester, 100 + +Thorne, Nicholas, 210 + Robert, 210 + Thomas, 209 + +Thrale, George, 172 + +Throckmorton, Clement, 35 + Francis, 64 + George, Sir, 28, 178 + Job, 122 + John, Sir, 64 + Mary, 178 + Mrs., 100 + Nicholas, Sir, 95 + Robert, Sir, 27, 28, 29, 178, 184 + +Thurley, 172 + +Timbs, John, "Curiosities of London," 143 + +Timporley, 201, 234 + +"Titus Andronicus," 68 + +Toupe, Jane, 230 + +Townsend, Henry, 115 + +Tracy, Sir Paul, 94 + +Traffords, The, 195 + +Trapp, Mr. John, 100 + +Trussell, Alured, of Billesley, 28 + Dorothy, 28 + Thomas, 27, 28, 29, 30, 57, 58, 174 + Warine, Sir, 27 + William, Sir, 27, 174 + +Tucker, Mr. Stephen, Somerset Herald, 20 + +Turchil, 160, 165, 166, 167, 190, 191 + +Turner, George, 51 + +Twycroft, The, Rowington, 13 + +Twycross, John, 127 + +Tybotes, John, 125 + +Tyler, Richard, 58 + + +Underhill, Fulke, 67 + Hercules, 67 + William, 67 + +Underhills, The, 100 + +Upton, Cheshire, 200 + +Upton, Warwickshire, 231 + +Uva, or Huva, 164, 165 + + +Vale, John, 123 + Katharine, 123 + Raufe, 173 + +"Valor Ecclesiasticus," 12, 113 + +Vassal, Asser, 139 + +Vautrollier, Thomas, printer of London, 65 + +Veley, Charles Augustus, Archdeacon of Essex, 138, 139 + +Venables, Hugh de, 198 + Alice, 198 + +"Venus and Adonis," 65, 66, 222 + +Verney, Sir Greville, 102 + +Vernon, Margaret, 129 + Ralph de, 168 + Rose, 168 + +Verstegan's "Restitution of Decayed Intelligence," 1 + + +Wadley, Rev. J.P., 139 + +Waferer, Francis, 176, 177 + +Wagstaff, John, 30, 223 + +Waight, Mary, 151 + +Wake, Nicholas, 169 + Robert, 169 + Thomas, 169 + +Wale, Edward, 182 + +Wales, Prince of, as Earl of Chester, 200 + +Walker, Barbara, 107 + Sir Edward, 107 + Henry, 76 + William, 76, 80 + +Wall, William, 231 + +Walpole, H., 237 + Hon. Thomas, 237 + Lord, 237 + +Walton-on-Thames, 137, 138, 159 + +Wapenham, 170, 194 + +Ward, Simon, 194 + +Wardrobe, The tenement in, 80, 102 + +Warehorne, Kent, 141 + +Warenne, Sir Edward, 233 + +Warwick, 10, 14, 119, 122, 124, 130, 131, 164 + Castle, 117, 162, 166 + +Warwickshire, 19, 27, 31, 58, 87, 99, 118, 123, 131, 166, 173, 176, 178, + 231 + Countess of, 72 + Earls of, 31, 58, 72, 137, 162, 163, 166, 168, 169, 174 + Gentlemen of, 19, 93, 95, 130, 183 + +Washington, George, 195 + Laurence, 195 + Robert, 195 + +Wasteneys, Ellen, 199 + +Waterfield, Emma, 156 + +Watford, William of, 196, 197 + +Watford, 196, 197 + +Watts, Richard, 104 + +Waulkner, Mary, 236 + +Weale, John, 122 + +Webbe, Alexander, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 49 + Agnes (Mrs. Arden), 36, 49 + Margaret, 36, 37, 39, 49, 56 + Robert, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 49, 56, 114, 223 + Thomas, 42 + +Webberley, Edmund, 237 + +Wedgewood, Mary, 186 + William, 54 + +Weever family, 233 + +Wegeat, or Wigatus, 164 + +Welcombe, 78, 80 + +Welles, Thomas, 106 + +Wennington, 216 + +Wery, Gregory, 205 + +West, Edward, 51 + Sarah, 237 + +West's "Symboleography Concords," 42 + +Westmoreland, Earl of, 174, 177 + +Whalley's "Northampton," 168, 189, 196 + +Whateley, Anne, 63 + +Wheeler, John, 57, 58 + Mrs., 58 + Mr. R.B., 118, 226 + +Whitelock, James, 133 + +Whitmore, William, 88 + +Whitrefe, Joan, 115 + +Whittington, Thomas, 88 + +Whitefriars Theatre at the time of Shakespeare, 224 + +Wigatus, or Wegeat, 164 + +Wigod, or Wigotus, 165 + +William the Conqueror, 165 + the Lion, 192 + Rufus, 166 + +Williams, Agnes, 140 + +Willis, Edward, 54, 59 + +Wilmecote, 27, 36, 37, 38, 42, 49 + +Wilmer, Robert, 231 + William, 231 + +Wilmot, Leonard, 135 + +Wilson, Anne, 139 + Harry, 138 + Rev. Thomas, 96, 100 + +Wilson's, Robert, "Cobbler's Prophecy," 18 + +Wilton, 74, 75 + +Wilton, Samuel, 153 + +Wiltshire, James, Earl of, 170 + +Winch, William, 143 + +Winchester, 74 + +Windebanck, Sir Thomas, 145 + +Winworth, 167, 169 + +Wolferstan, Samuel Pipe, 184 + +"Women, History of," 85 + +Wood, William, 27, 29, 30, 173 + +Woodcock, William, 157 + +Woodham, Agnes, 12 + Richard, 12, 14, 126 + +Wood's "Athenæ Oxonienses," 15 + +Woodward, Isabel, 209 + Mrs., 96 + +Wooten Wawen, 189 + +Worcester, 63, 93 + Bishop of, 100 + Earl of, 174 + his Court, 77, 79, 122 + +Worcester, his register, 63, 93 + MS., 122 + Wills, 13, 14, 37, 38, 52, 93, 128 + +Worcestershire, 40, 100, 181 + +Wren, Christopher, 145 + +Wright, Sir Christopher, 205 + Mrs. Elizabeth, 219, 236 + Rev. Walter, 210 + William, 146 + +Wrottesley, Sir Hugh, 199, 200 + Isabel, 199 + +Wroxall, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 21, 113, 115, 124, 137 + +Wyckeham, Robert de, 169, 233 + Elizabeth, 169 + +Wylemyn, Nicholas, of Shrewley, 230 + + +Yate, or Yates, Anthony, 209 + Eleanor, 210 + Francis, 212 + John, 211, 234 + Simon, 207, 208 + Thomas, 208 + +Yates, Luke, 236 + +Yeatman's, Mr. "Gentle Shakespeare," 7, 12, 15, 113, 129 + +_Yorkshire Archæological Journal_, 234 + Visitation, 234 + +Yoxall, 27, 31, 32, 172, 176, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187 + + +Zouch, Lord, 160 + William de la, 194 + +Zupitza, 162 + + + +[Illustration] + +_Elliot Stock, Paternoster Row, London_ + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Shakespeare's Family, by Mrs. C. C. 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