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Stratford-Upon-Avon and Shakespeare's Family Stratford-upon-Avon and Shakespeare’s Family Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon in the sixteenth century was a town of 1,500 to 2,000 people. It held several markets that attracted goods and craftsmen from miles around. In a book called Britannia written by William Camden in 1586, Stratford was described as “handsome” because of its broad streets that were lined with half-timbered houses, inns and shops, and its many orchards and elm trees. Stratford was surrounded by rich farmland, still farmed in strips as it was during the Middle Ages. Shakespeare’s Family Richard Shakespeare was William’s grandfather. He was a farmer who rented land as a tenant, on an estate at Snitterfield. The estate was owned by Robert Arden, who was distantly related to a distinguished Warwickshire family. (Warwick is the area, like a county, where Stratford was located.) Richard’s son, John, moved into Stratford to seek his fortune in business. He chose the glove trade, which was very profitable. Its stalls, where gloves were sold, were located in the center of town near the clock tower. Technically, John Shakespeare was a “whittawer,” who prepared and sold the best light-colored leather, although he probably also dealt in other commodities, such as lumber, barley, or wool. John became rich enough to purchase the western half of the house where he lived on Henley Street. Later he bought the other half and some other properties. Meanwhile, he was becoming more important as a leader in town, beginning in 1556 as an “ale taster” who controlled the price and quality of basic foodstuffs. Five years later he moved onto the town council as one of the fourteen burgesses. In 1557 John married Mary Arden, the daughter of his father’s old landlord. It was a good match; as her father Robert’s favorite, Mary had inherited quite a bit of money and some farmland in Wilmcote. Their first two children, both girls, died as babies. In April 1564, Mary gave birth to her third child, a son named William. The exact date of his birth, like so much else about his life, is disputed. He was certainly baptized at Holy Trinity Church on April 26; we know this because it is written in the parish register. Tradition says he was born on April 23, which, by a happy coincidence, is also the Day of St. George, the patron saint of England. In the 1564 burial register at the church there is an ominous note on July 11: “Here begins the plague.” Bubonic plague swept the country and killed many people; in this outbreak, 200 people died in Stratford before the end of the year. William was lucky to survive. Other children followed: Gilbert (who became a London haberdasher), Joan (the longest lived), Anne and Richard (who died young), and Edmund (who grew up to be a London actor like his brother.) There are no documents to tell us how William spent his childhood, but we can make some guesses. He probably had a fairly privileged life as the son of an important citizen. For a time, his father John continued to prosper. His career as a leader in town reached its height when he became high bailiff (or mayor) of Stratford. He applied to get a coat-of-arms at this time (to show gentleman status to the world) but his application was denied by the Herald’s College in London. In 1576, a sudden change came in John Shakespeare’s fortunes. Possibly he had some accident or illness that reduced his activity, or he may have suffered some religious persecution if he had returned to being a Catholic. He began to miss council meetings, although he was kindly treated by his fellows, and then he ran into debt, and sold some of his land to obtain cash. Because of John’s financial problems, Shakespeare may not have completed his schooling. The next reference to William Shakespeare concerns his apparently hasty marriage. In the summer of 1582, William, then aged 18, was going out with a local woman, 26-year-old Anne Hathaway, who came from a prosperous family living at Hewlands Farm (not preserved as Anne Hathaway’s Cottage) at Shottery, a mile across the fields from Henley Street. By August, Anne was pregnant. This may not have been as scandalous as it seems. The couple may have had a “pre-contract” or “troth-plight” which would have been carried out before witnesses, like a civil wedding in front of a justice of the peace during our time. For a church marriage, banns had to be posted three times before the actual ceremony be read between December 2 and January 13. William therefore had to apply to the Bishop of Worcester for a special license. Two farmer friends of Anne’s also signed a document to swear there was nothing unusual about the match. The marriage itself is not recorded, but was probably celebrated at Temple Grafton or Paddington where the bride had connections. Anne then moved into the spacious Henley Street house, where, in May 1583, she gave birth to a daughter, Susanna. The twins, Hamnet and Judith, named after some Stratford friends of William’s, were born in 1585. We know little more about Anne, except that she outlived her husband, dying in 1623. Stratford was where Shakespeare carefully invested his profits from the theater. His money restored the family fortunes after his father’s financial troubles. John Shakespeare’s application for the coat-of-arms of a gentleman was renewed, with his son’s support, and was granted in 1596. Yet Shakespeare’s efforts to rebuild family strength and pride received a setback when his only son, Hamnet, then 11 years old, died in August 1596. In 1597 William Shakespeare, as if to show his success to local people, bought New Place, the finest house in Stratford. It had a three-story front, and a spacious garden, containing orchards and barns, near Guild Chapel. The house had fallen into decay but Shakespeare “repaired and modeled it to his own mind.” Now, the only thing that survives of New Place is the garden area. February 1616, Judith married Thomas Quiney, a wine-shop keeper, whose family had long been friendly rivals of the Shakespeares. William made his will in 1616, revising it in March, after his daughter’s wedding. Although he describes himself as “in perfect health and memory,” he was probably fatally ill. Shakespeare died, aged 52, on April 23, 1616, and was buried two days later in Holy Trinity Church. His grave is said to be 17 feet deep. On the slab that covers it is a warning verse, written perhaps by the poet himself: Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here; Blessed be the man that spares these stones And cursed be he that move my bones. Questions: 1. What did William’s grandfather do for a living? 2. What did William’s father do for a living? 3. Who were William’s wife and children? 4. What things did William get for his father, and for his family, to improve their financial standing in the community? .
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