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The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is the world’s leading charity in promoting the works, life and times of William Shakespeare. The Trust offers a unique Shakespeare centered experience with outstanding archive and library collections, inspiring educational and literary event programs and five wonderful houses all directly relating to Shakespeare. As an independent charity the Trust receives no public subsidy or direct government funding. The Trust depends entirely on income generated through their supporters: their visitors, volunteers, donors and Friends.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s History
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was formed in 1847 following the purchase of Shakespeare’s Birthplace as a national memorial.

The role of the Trust grew with the purchase in 1876 of Shakespeare’s New Place estate, comprising the site of Shakespeare’s grand final home and Nash’s House (the home of Thomas Nash and Shakespeare’s grand-daughter Elizabeth).

The Trust purchased Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, the girlhood home of Shakespeare’s wife, in 1892 and Mary Arden’s House was purchased in 1930.

The last house to be acquired was Hall’s Croft, the home of Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna and her husband, physician Dr John Hall, in 1949.

In 1964 to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth the Trust threw open the doors of its new headquarters and study facility, the Shakespeare Centre.  This distinctive building provides a home for the Trust’s extensive Shakespeare Centre library and archive (including the RSC archive). The second part of this project, an extension including facilities for the Trust's educational and cultural work and a visitor centre for Shakespeare’s Birthplace, was added in 1981.

In addition to the Shakespeare Houses, the Trust cares for Harvard House on behalf of the Harvard House Memorial 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

Documents contributed by The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

February 1611
William Combe’s answer to the complaint of Richard Lane, William Shakespeare and Thomas Green that, as holding a leasehold interest in a portion of the Stratford tithes, he should contribute to an annual payment to Henry Barker
Late in 1610 Richard Lane, William Shakespeare and Thomas Greene had filed a complaint in Chancery seeking to ensure that all those with interests in property (principally the Stratford tithes) formerly belonging to the Stratford College should be required to contribute to
ca. late 1610 - early 1611
William Shakespeare joins Richard Lane and Thomas Greene in a suit against George Baron Carew, Sir Edward Conway, and others concerning the annual payment of a rent to Henry Barker for leasehold interests in parts of the Stratford tithes
This document is a draft of a bill of complaint to be submitted to the Court of Chancery regarding annuity payments on property relating to the 1544 lease of the Stratford tithes.
December 4, 1611
Judith Shakespeare, William Shakespeare’s daughter, witnesses "by mark" a deed of conveyance
On December 4, 1611, by the deed shown here, the wealthy widow, Elizabeth Quiney, and her eldest son, Adrian Quiney, sold a sizeable house in Wood Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, to William Mountford. The deed has three tags with seals attached (shown here in the first image).
February 3, 1612
Parish register entry recording Gilbert Shakespeare's burial
Gilbert, William Shakespeare’s brother, was buried on February 3, 1612, according to the Holy Trinity Church parish register. Next to the entry, an “X” added by a later hand highlights its significance. He was 45 years old.
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.

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