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Parish Register of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
August 11,
1596

DR243/1: Burial register, folio 29 recto

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DR243/1: Burial register, folio 29 recto
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Reproduced by permission of Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

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The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has graciously contributed images under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommerical ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Visitors may download, link to and cite the images for personal research only. Any further use, including, but not limited to, unauthorized downloading or distribution of the images, commercial or third party use, is strictly prohibited. Visitors must contact the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to request additional use, at: images.scla@shakespeare.org.uk

Document-specific information
Creator: Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Title: Parish Register of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Date: 1558-1776
Repository: The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK
Call number and opening: DR243/1: Burial register, fol. 29r
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Item Creator
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Item Title
Parish Register of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Item Date
1558-1776, entry for August 11, 1596
Repository
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK
Call Number
DR243/1: Burial register, fol. 29r

DR243/1: Burial register, folio 29 recto, entry detail

View Image Assets
DR243/1: Burial register, folio 29 recto, entry detail
Click image to enlarge

Institution Rights and Document Citation

 

Reproduced by permission of Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Terms of use
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has graciously contributed images under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommerical ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Visitors may download, link to and cite the images for personal research only. Any further use, including, but not limited to, unauthorized downloading or distribution of the images, commercial or third party use, is strictly prohibited. Visitors must contact the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to request additional use, at: images.scla@shakespeare.org.uk

Document-specific information
Creator: Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Title: Parish Register of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Date: 1558-1776
Repository: The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK
Call number and opening: DR243/1: Burial register, fol. 29r
View online bibliographic record

Item Creator
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Item Title
Parish Register of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Item Date
1558-1776, entry for August 11, 1596
Repository
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK
Call Number
DR243/1: Burial register, fol. 29r

Institution Rights and Document Citation

 

Reproduced by permission of Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Terms of use
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has graciously contributed images under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommerical ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Visitors may download, link to and cite the images for personal research only. Any further use, including, but not limited to, unauthorized downloading or distribution of the images, commercial or third party use, is strictly prohibited. Visitors must contact the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to request additional use, at: images.scla@shakespeare.org.uk

Document-specific information
Creator: Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Title: Parish Register of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
Date: 1558-1776
Repository: The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK
Call number and opening: DR243/1: Burial register, fol. 29r
View online bibliographic record

Robert Bearman, "Parish register entry recording Hamnet Shakespeare’s burial," Shakespeare Documented, https://doi.org/10.37078/462.

Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, DR243/1: Burial register, folio 29 recto. See Shakespeare Documentedhttps://doi.org/10.37078/462.

Hamnet, William and Anne Shakespeare’s only son, was buried on August 11, 1596, according to the Holy Trinity Church parish register. Next to the entry, an “X” added by a later hand highlights its significance. He was eleven years old. His cause of death is unknown and there is no indication of an increase in the burial rate during this period.

Unless Shakespeare was in Stratford at the time, it is by no means certain that he would have attended the funeral. It was unusual, especially in the summer, for a funeral to be delayed beyond two or three days so it can be assumed that Hamnet died around August 9. Given that it would have taken at least two days for news to have reached Shakespeare in London, he could hardly have returned to Stratford within four days after Hamnet’s death. Moreover, his company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, may well have been on tour in Kent that summer. On the other hand, Shakespeare could have been sent for if his son had fallen dangerously ill some days before his death.

Shakespeare’s wife Anne was then about forty and therefore not beyond child-bearing age, but the Shakespeares had no more children.

Written by Robert Bearman

Last updated May 22, 2020