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Family, legal & property records

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An abundance of administrative documents provide important details of Shakespeare's economic and social status. Shakespeare divided his time between his theatrical career in London, and business and personal matters in Stratford-upon-Avon, the town where he was born, grew up, and raised three children with his wife Anne: Hamnet (who died when he was 11), Judith, and Susanna. Documents from Stratford-upon-Avon's corporate archives illustrate his Stratfordian connections and the constant balancing of debt and credit among its more prominent citizens. The parish register of Holy Trinity Church records the baptisms, marriages, and burials of members of his family. Paperwork created by various courts provide details relating to real estate transactions, taxes, legal cases, and his social network at the time of his death. Records preserved by the College of Arms chronicle his father's application for a coat of arms in 1596 and the subsequent debate over its validity. Various other legal and financial records which mention Shakespeare or his family reflect the work flows of a wide range of highly organized administrative bodies in early modern England. 

Shakespeare's personal papers do not survive, which is frustrating but not surprising. In general, personal papers only survive if they are absorbed into institutional archives or if they suffered from benign neglect in the muniment rooms of noble houses. Shakespeare's last direct descendant died in 1670, at which point his house, New Place, and its belongings, was sold. It wasn't until the 18th century that people began to value and romanticize the manuscripts of famous authors.

Legal and financial
Personal property
Shakespeare's family

All Documents

January 28, 1613
John Combe's last will and testament: registered copy
The registered copy of John Combe’s will, shown here, carries the date of January 28, 1612 [i.e. 1613] in a heading which may give the impression of concluding the preceding will.
April 23, 1613
Shakespeare purchases the Blackfriars Gatehouse: Enrollment of a bargain and sale conveying property from Henry Walker to Shakespeare
In March 1613 William Shakespeare and three associates agreed to purchase the Gatehouse of the former Dominican priory in London known as “Blackfriars” from Henry Walker for the sum of £140. The indenture of bargain and sale is dated March 10.
February 4, 1613
Parish register entry recording Richard Shakespeare's burial
Richard, William Shakespeare’s brother, was buried on February 4, 1613, according to the Holy Trinity Church parish register. Next to the entry, an “X” added by a later hand highlights its significance. He was nearly 39 years old.
January 28, 1613
John Combe's last will and testament: original copy
John Combe of Stratford-upon-Avon was a contemporary of William Shakespeare. Though Combe was from a far wealthier and more established family, by the second decade of the seventeenth century Shakespeare’s accumulated wealth placed the two men on an essentially equal footing.
January 22, 1613
A conveyance deed for a house in Henley Street describes William Shakespeare’s house (now the Birthplace) as adjoining it on the north-west
John Shakespeare’s property in Henley Street, inherited by his son William in 1601, and now known as the Birthplace, had a frontage of about 90 feet. When an urban property changed hands, its boundaries were often defined by reference to neighboring properties.
July 15, 1613
Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna Hall, sues John Lane, Jr.
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September 5, 1614
William Shakespeare’s holding of yardlands is included in a list made by Thomas Greene of freeholders’ lands in Old Stratford and Welcombe, appended to an earlier survey of leaseholders’ lands in the same area
In late August/early September 1614, it became generally known that plans were afoot to enclose some of the open fields at Welcombe, to the northeast of Stratford.
Summer of 1614
The Stratford Corporation’s chamberlain, in his annual account records the payment of 20 pence for a quart of sack and a quart of claret wine "geven to a precher at the newe place"
Stratford’s Corporation chamberlains presented their annual accounts, covering payments from the previous twelve months, in January each year. Although individual payments are usually undated, it can be assumed they were entered broadly in chronological order.
October 28, 1614
William Shakespeare reaches an agreement with William Replingham to safeguard his income as a leaseholder of the tithes in case of enclosure
Within two months of it becoming common knowledge that plans were afoot to enclose some of the open fields at Welcombe to the north-east of Stratford, Shakespeare took steps to ensure that his income as a leaseholder of half the tithes of Old Stratford, Bishopton and Welco
1613- 1614
Shakespeare purchases the Blackfriars Gatehouse: Index to Grantees
In March 1613 William Shakespeare and three associates agreed to purchase the Gatehouse of the former Dominican priory in London known as “Blackfriars” from Henry Walker for the sum of £140. The indenture of bargain and sale is dated March 10.

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