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.