CONTEMPORARY WARWICKSHIRE SHAKESPEARES
Outside the immediate family of the poet there were many contemporaries
in Warwickshire, who may have been connected in some far-off degree.
There was the John Shakespeare, shoemaker, who came to Stratford about
1580, probably as apprentice or journeyman of Roberts, the shoemaker, in
whose house he dwelt till 1594, and whose daughter Margery he
married.[231] He became Member of the Company of Shoemakers and
Saddlers, paying £3, in 1580, and Master of the Shoemakers' Company, and
was elected Ale-taster for the town in 1585. He paid 30s. for his
freedom January 19, 1585-86, and became Constable in the autumn of 1586.
His wife was buried on October 29, 1587, but he must shortly afterwards
have married again, as he had three children christened[232] in the
parish church. On February 17, 1587, he was in receipt of Thomas Oken's
money, and in 1588 became guardian to Thomas Roberts's sons. The poet's
father, after 1570, was always mentioned as Mr. John Shakespeare; this
other appears simply as John, or John the Shoemaker, or Corvizer, or
some other epithet (see Records of Stratford-on-Avon). Hunter thinks
that he was the third son of Thomas Shakespeare, a shoemaker, of
Warwick, who held land under the manor of Balsall, and mentioned in his
will, 1557, four children--William, Thomas, John and Joan, ux. Francis
Ley, mentioned in Warwick registers.
This John of Stratford seems to have left the town before 1595, as his
house was inhabited by others then, and no further mention appears of
him in record or register.
Beside John Shakespeare's _double_ of Stratford-on-Avon, there was a
John Shakespeare of Clifford Chambers, a village a mile or two out of
Stratford, who has also been confused with him. He married there, on
October 15, 1560, Julian Hobbyns, widow. He sued William Smith, of
Stratford, for debt, in 1572; and in the will of John Ashwell, of
Stratford, 1583, it is stated that "John Shakespeare, of Clifford
Chambers, was in his debt." It is quite probable he was the John often
in debt, who had "no goods to seize," in Stratford-on-Avon, generally
supposed to be the poet's father.
Other notices of the name, besides the Henry and Antonio
above-mentioned, appear in the Clifford Registers. Charles Malary and
Alice Shakespeare were married in 1579. Katharine Morris, servant to
John Shakespeare, was buried in 1587; Julian Shakespere buried July 22,
1608; John Shakespere buried October 20, 1610. His will was proved at
Gloucester in 1611. These latter dates set the question of identity at
rest.
An agricultural John was in occupation of Ingon in 1570.[233] I believe
him to be our John, the brother and surety of Henry. We must not forget
that as Ingon was so near Snitterfield, John of Ingon _may_ be the John
Shakespeare, _Agricola_, of Snitterfield, who administered Richard's
goods, and was fined, October 1, 1561, at the Snitterfield Court. And
there are many Johns of Rowington, fully entered in Mr. Rylands'
"Records of Rowington."
Just as his father had _doubles_, so had William. There was a William
Shakespeare drowned in the Avon, and buried at St. Nicholas, Warwick,
July 6, 1579.[234] The world would not have known what it had lost had
this fate overtaken "our Will," but it makes us shiver now as we think
of it, even as a past possibility. It has been thought that this youth
was the son of Thomas Shakespeare, shoemaker, of Warwick, and brother of
John the shoemaker of Stratford. But he seems rather young for that
relationship.
Another contemporary William seems to have been in a small way of
business as a farmers' agent, sometimes as a lender, and sometimes as a
borrower. Among the Shakespeare manuscripts at Warwick Castle are
preserved bonds for 2s. 6d. for a quarter of a year's use of £5 by
William Shakespeare in 1620, 1624, and 1626. Another of "three quarters
of oats to Will Shakespeare for a quarter's use of £5 due upon the 10th
of May last, 1621," and some for the sale of malt.[235]
It has seemed to me much more than probable that this was the William
who sued Philip Rogers in the Court of Record at Stratford-on-Avon,[236]
in 1604 for the price of a strike of malt sold and other money due. "The
declaration filed by William Shexspere" in the Court has been accepted
by Halliwell-Phillipps and all the Baconians as concerning the poet.
But, in the first place, any such declaration at that date would then
have designated our Shakespeare "gent."; in the second, he would have
employed his cousin, Thomas Greene, as his attorney, and not William
Tetherton, and Thomas Greene would have spelt his name otherwise than it
is written. In the third place, there is no corroborative testimony that
the poet ever sold malt, and there is concerning this contemporary
William.
The early registers of Rowington are lost, but we have shown from the
wills that there were Shakespeares there bearing this Christian name.
The Richard of Rowington who died in 1561 mentions a son William in his
will. The second Richard of that place had a son William mentioned in
the will of 1591. The third Richard and his wife Elizabeth had four
sons--William, Richard, Thomas, John, and a daughter Joan. William had
worked as a labourer without wages on his father's property, with
expectation of succeeding to it. But some years before his father's
death he went, with his father's permission, out to service, and married
a certain Mrs. Margery. His father was incensed against him, and left
the little property to his youngest son, John, November 13, 1613, proved
in 1614.[237] Legal proceedings were commenced in 1614 at Worcester by
William about the property of his mother, Elizabeth. A Chancery suit
between the brothers was instituted in the Star Chamber,[238] and the
case was heard at Warwick, in 1616, before four Commissioners, one of
whom was Francis Collins, gent., the overseer of the will of the poet.
William the plaintiff was then about forty years old. This is probably
the same man who felt injured by his family while supported by his
wife's money in his lawsuits. The mark of a William Shakespeare is found
on a roll of the Customs of the Manor of Rowington, confirmed by the
jury in 1614. Was he the same? And if not, which of these was the
William Shakespeare whose name appears in the list of the trained
soldiers of Rowington,[239] taken before Sir Fulke Greville at Alcester,
September 23, 1605, erroneously by some believed to be the poet?[240]
There is preserved a petition of William Shaxsper, Richard Shuter, and
others of Rowington, co. Warwick, to the Committee for the Safety of
Coventry and Warwick. About St. Andrew's Day they had some sea-coal
which lay at Barford, near Warwick, which they had sold to Lady Lucy,
but the soldiers of the city finding fuel scarce, had burnt £5 10s.
worth of it. They pray satisfaction for their coals. Underwritten by Mr.
Basnet is an order to pay this sum, April, 1646.[241]
A William Shakespeare, of Hatton, married Barbara Stiffe in 1589; styled
"gent." at baptism of his daughter _Susannah_, 1596. John Weale granted
to Job Throgmorton the cottage in which William Shakespeare dwelt at
Haseley, March 4, 1597.[242]
In the Star Chamber proceedings is the notice of a fine levied "inter
Willielmum Shackespeare et Georgium Shackespeare, quer. et Thomam
Spencer, arm. Christopherum Flecknoe et Thomam Thompson deforc. de octo
acris pasturæ cum pertinentiis in Claverdon, alias Claredon, 12 Jac. I.
(1615)."[243]
I have collected these illustrations in order to show that the name
William was not by any means rare in the Shakespeare family, and to
account for some of the errors made concerning descents.
In 1589, also in the Star Chamber proceedings, we find there is a case
brought by "Mary Ruswell against John Vale and Katharine his wife, and
Aylese Shackspire." This Alice Shakespeare was John Vale's mother-in-law
and a widow. Is it not possible she might be the sister "Alice
Shakespeare" referred to in the Griffin will?
In most of the Warwickshire districts where the name is found in the
earlier half of the sixteenth century it is found in the latter half,
and also in the seventeenth century, though sometimes branches migrated
to new neighbouring localities. It would be impossible to work out every
family in detail in a work such as this.
And yet some notices are necessary to complete the rapid survey. The
Shakespeares appear in two groups, one north and east of
Stratford-on-Avon, as at Ingon and Snitterfield. One family had settled
at Tachbrook, nine miles north-east by east from Stratford. There was
baptized "Roger, son of Robert Shakespeare, 21 April, 1557." Robert was
a weaver, and was probably son of Richard Shakespeare, of Haseley,
weaver, in the reign of Henry VIII. He had also a son John, born 1574; a
daughter, Alice, buried 1559; another, Isabel, baptized 1560.
Roger married Isabel Parkins in 1592, and Alice Higgins in 1595, and
seems to have had a son, John, not in the register. But on April 22,
1628, Elizabeth Shakespeare, the daughter of John and Christian his
wife, was baptized, and on April 4, 1630, Judith Shakespeare, the
daughter of John and Christian Shakespeare. Later generations of the
families of Roger, John, and Walter are recorded there.[244]
A few Shakespeares have been found in Alcester. But the older centre lay
further north. By far the greatest number of names are found in the
villages to the west of a line drawn between Coventry and Warwick,
including Meriden, Hampton-in-Arden, Berkswell, Knowle, Balsall,
Kenilworth, Packwood, Lapworth, Baddesley Clinton, Wroxall, Haseley,
Hatton, Rowington, and Budbrooke.
The early parish registers of Wroxall are lost, and only begin with
1586.
On Dec. 9, 1588, Fraunces Shaxper ... was buried.
May 29, 1592, Nicholas Shaxper and Alice Edmunds m.
March 25, 1593, Peter, fil. Nicolas and Alice Shaxper, bap.
Nov. 17, 1594, Susannah, daugh. of Nicolas and Alice Shaxper, bap.
Sep. 17, 1595, Elizabeth, ux. William Shaxper, buried.
Sep. 10, 1596, Cornelius, fil. Nic. and Alice Shaxper, bap.
Feb. 3, 1599, Annah, dau. of Nic. and Alice Shaxper, bapt.
April 9th, 1600, Annah, dau. of Nic. and Alice Shaxper, buried.
June 15th, 1603, Hester, dau. of Nic. and Alice Shaxper, bapt.
(No Registers from 1604 to 1641.)
1641, Peter Shakspeare buried.
May 17th, 1642, William Smith and Catherine Shakspere, m.
Sept. 25, 1645, Nicolas Shakspere buried.
May 16th, 1665, Ralf Stokes and Margaret Shakspeare m.
Jan. 26, 1670, Robert Shakespeare and Ann Averne m.
Oct. 4, 1678, Jane, dau. of Robert Shakespeare the elder, buried.
March 29, 1681, Robert, fil. Richard Shakespeare and his wife, bapt.
May 30, 1714, Ann, ux. Robert Shakespeare, buried.
May 13, 1719, Robert Shakespeare buried.
From the Hatton and Haseley Registers, which recorded the death of Roger
Shakespeere, 1558, and of Domina Jane, 1571, we also find:
Isabel, uxor Thomas Shakspere, formerly wife of John Tybotes,
buried April 4, 1570.
Nov. 5, 1570, Katharine Shakespere, filia Nicolas Shakespere, bapt.
Jan. 6th, 1579, Elizabeth, dau. of Nicolas Shakespere, bapt.
Jan. 6th, 1589, William Shakespere and Barbara Stiffe, married.
March 25, 1593, Peter, son of Nicolas and Alice Shakespeare, bapt.
Sept. 8, 1593, Thomas, son of Nicholas and Elizabeth Shakspere, bapt.
March 14, 1596, Susannah, dau. of Wm. Shakspere, gentleman, and
Barbara, bapt. (March 6th, 1597. This child was buried.)
July 23rd, 1598, Katherine, dau. of Wm. and Barbara Shakspere,
baptised.
Sep. 21, 1606, Thomas Shaxper buried.
Dec. 26, 1607, Nicholas Shaksper of Busall buried.
Jan. 26, 1607, Elizabeth Shaksper of Busall buried.
Aug. 28, 1608, Marie, daughter of Thomas Shaxsper, bapt.
Feb.--, 1610, Barbara, wife of Mr. William Shakspere, buried.
Jan. 20, 1612, John Hastings and Susanna Shaxper, married.
The parish registers of Haseley and of Hatton are mixed.
There are many Shakespeare wills preserved in Lichfield. Christopher
Shakespere of Packwood, August 31, 1551, proved August 15, 1558,
mentions a wife Isabel, and sons, Richard, William, Roger, Christopher,
and John, and daughters Alice and Agnes; Elizabeth Shakspere of St.
Werbergs, Derby, 1558; Roger Shakspere of Tachbrook, August 2, 1605;
wife Alice and son John; William Shakespeare of Coventry, shoemaker,
March 18, 1605-6; Administration of John Shakespeare's goods, 1606;
Thomas Shakespeare of Packington Parva, April 28, 1610, had a wife,
Phillip, and sons, George (who was to have Coleshill lands), Thomas,
Andrew, and a daughter, Alice Croft; Anne Shakespeare of Knowle's will,
1743.
There has been a group entered in the Calendar in relation to the
Shakespeare and Ensor connection (Nichols's "Herald and Genealogist,"
vol. ii., p. 297):
Thomas Shakespeare of Coventry, admin. 1693.
George Shakespeare of Fillongley, will 1700.
Sara Shakespeare of Pen, admin. 1712.
Thomas Shakespeare of Arley, " 1720.
William Shakespear of Coventry, " 1724.
William Shakespear of Arley, " 1729.
George Shakespear of Coleshill, " 1734.
Anne Shakespeare of Coventry, " 1751.
George Shakespeare of Fillongley, " 1754.
Mary Shakespeare of Aston, " 1768.
There was an administration granted to Elizabeth Shakespeare, widow, of
the estate of Roger Shakespeare, of Chesset Wood, in the parish of
Hampton-in-Arden, April 15, 1597.
John Shakespeare, of Knowle, Warwickshire, left to his eldest son,
Henry, £5, and to each of his children £5--John, Elizabeth, Henry,
Thomas; to his granddaughter, daughter of John, £5; his property he left
to his youngest son, John, 33 Charles II., September 30, 1681.[245] A
William Shakespeare,[246] of Knowle, is mentioned in 12 George II., as
"tenant to the precipe."
The will of Robert Shakespeare, of Wroxall, March 19, 1565, shows that
he had a son Nicolas, that another Nicolas owed him money, and that his
goods were prised by a William Shakespeare. John Shaksper, of Wroxall,
labourer, leaves his goods between his son Edward and his wife; mentions
his sister Alice, his brother Woodam's children, his cousin, Laurence
Shaxper, of Balsal, or Beausal, his brothers, William and Nicolas, and
his daughter, Alice Windmiles, December 15, 1574.
William Shakespeare, of Wroxall, husbandman, in his will, dated November
17, 1609, left legacies to brothers and sisters not named.
John Shakespere of Budbrooke, left his best suit to Nicolas Shakespeare;
to his father-in-law, Thomas Burbidge, his best boots; to Mary
Shakespeare, two shillings; to Isabel Poole, late servant to Nicolas
Shakespeare, ten shillings. Anne Burbage, now the wife of William
Shotteswell, sole executrix, December 28, 1642.[247] He was buried
December 30, 1642.[248]
Nicolas Shakespeare,[249] of Budbrooke,[250] being aged and weak, leaves
£4 to the poor; £10 to his mother-in-law, Penelope Parkes; £40 to his
brother-in-law, Richard Parkes; £10 to his cousin, Richard Naso; £10 to
William Sattlewell, of Packwood. Residue to his dear wife Marie, sole
executrix, October 23, 1655.
John Shakespeare,[251] yeoman, of Lapworth, made his will October 30,
1637; proved by his wife Dorothy 1638. He had no children, and his
nephew, John Twycross, came in for most of his possessions. He left his
brother Christopher sixpence a week. Christopher's son John, and his two
grandsons, John and Thomas, had each twenty shillings. There was another
brother not named, whose three sons, Edward, William and Thomas, and
three daughters were to have £3 6s. 8d. each. Edward's two sons had also
legacies. The testator also mentions his sister, Catharine Shotteswell,
Catharine, Elizabeth, Winifred, Humphrey, Thomas, and John Shakespeare.
Overseers, John Fetherston, of Packwood, Esq., and John Shaxpere, of
Ringwood. Dorothy Shakespeare left no will. Letters of administration
were granted to her nephew, Antony Robbins, July 13, 1655.[252] In the
table of benefactions in Lapworth Church (near Knowle) it is recorded
that John Shakespeare and John Twycross gave each two shillings a year
to the poor of Lapworth and Packwood. "Humphrey Shakespeare gave twenty
shillings to the poor of this parish, and the like to the poor of
Rowington, 1794."
Thomas Shakespeare, of Lapworth, fuller, February 21, 1655, desires to
be buried in Rowington. He leaves to his kinsman, Richard Shakespeare,
of Kenilworth, his implements and £5; to his kinsman, Thomas
Shakespeare, of Lapworth, £5; to his kinsman and godson, Thomas
Shakespeare, of Rowington, £5; to his kinsman, Richard Shakespeare, £6
13s. 4d.; to his kinswoman, Mary Shakespeare, £5; to his kinsman, John
Shakespeare, £5; to his brother William's son's daughter Elizabeth,
sixpence, if demanded; to the poor of Rowington, forty shillings. The
executrix was his kinswoman, Elizabeth Shakespeare, and the overseers,
Thomas Sly, of Lapworth, and his kinsman, Thomas Shakespeare, of
Whittlygate in Rowington; proved May 18, 1658.[253]
It may be seen that Rowington was the central source of most of these
Shakespeares. Besides those already mentioned, we may note that there
was a case of John Shakesper _versus_ William Skinner, farmer, of the
Church of Rowington; an answer of William Skinner to the Bill of
Complaint; a document relating to Thomas Shakespeare, of Rowington,
1571, marked "Skinner"; and another concerning John Shakespeare. John
Shaxper of Rowington's will was drawn up in 1574.[254] He left his
property called Madywattons, at Shrawley, to his son George, with
remainder to his daughter Annis, and £20 to his son Thomas. He left
legacies to his brothers Nicolas and Thomas and his Aunt Ley, the
midwife. His wife's name was Eleanor. His goods were prised at £8 6s.
8d. by Thomas and William Shaxper, among others. The will of Richard
Shakespere, of Rowington, November 13, 1613, which caused so much
heartburning, showed that his son William had a son John, and that his
son Richard had four sons (Thomas, William, Richard and John). Thomas
and John's children are not mentioned. Another will[255] in the same
year of Thomas Shakespeare, of Mowsly and Rowington, October 13, 1613,
mentions sons--John, Thomas and Richard; and daughters--Eleanor, Joan
and Annis. John had two sons--William and John. John Shakespeare de le
Hill, Rowington, made his will January 20, 1652; his wife was Mary; his
children, William, John, and Margaret Vernon.
The Shakespeares from the Register of Rowington, printed by Mr. Rylands,
are given in the notes.
In 1593 Thomas Shakespeare and Florence, his wife, with her sister,
Alice Grace, sued Thomas Grace[256] and John Harding for certain lands
not specified, settled by their father on them. Thomas Shackspeare, of
Rowington, was assessed for the subsidy of 1597.[257] Thomas Shaxper,
senior, of the same place, in 7 Jac. I., 1610. A survey of Crown lands
in Warwickshire, 4 Jac. I., 1607, in the Land Revenue Office shows
Thomas, George, Richard and John as holding property there. A Thomas
Shakespeare was presented in 1632.[258]
Thomas Shakespeare, of Rowington, _temp._ John Pickering, Lord Keeper,
and Maria, his wife, daughter and heir of William Mathews, deceased,
filed a bill in Chancery concerning various tenements in Hatton,
Shrawley, Rowington, Pinley and Clendon.[259] Hil., 16 Elizabeth, Hugo
Walford, Quer., and Thomas Shakspere and Marie, his wife, defendants,
concerning cottage and 5 acres of land in Norton Curlew. Easter, 20
James I., Thomas Shakespere, Quer., and John Hall and Joyce, his wife,
defendants, of 12 acres of land in Rowington, which were sold to the
said Thomas Shakespeare, 41 Elizabeth.[260] There was a license granted
to a Thomas Shakespeare, aged twenty-three, to pass beyond the sea, June
13, 1632, to the Low Countries, to serve as a soldier.[261] At a court
of the Queen's Majesty, Henrietta Maria, Thomas Shakespere paid a fine
of 6s. 8d. for admission to lands surrendered by himself, to himself and
others, 1647.
Among the manuscripts of the Free Library at Birmingham there remains a
fine, 7 Charles I., between Adrian Shakspere, Quer., and Thomas Green
and Anna, his wife, about land in old Fillongley; a bond for £40 of
Adrian Shakespere, of Meriden, yeoman; and another fine, Easter, 26
Charles II., between Thomas Brearley, gent., and Thomas Shakspeare,
gent.
There were Shakespeares also still at Baddesley Clinton. In the Diary of
Henry Ferrers of that place, we find him speak of "napkins received from
Henry Shakespeare, Nov. 4th, 1620"; of "Peeter Shakespeare, Nov. 5." "I
ow Shakespeare none, Nov. 6th." "Henry Shakespeare sent his boy for a
mark for his napkin. Nov. 12th, 1628-9." "Shakespeare of Kingswood, Feb.
4th." "Shakespeare of Rowth(?), Feb. 18." "John Shakespeare came hither
about his court."[262] This is the Henry Ferrers who wrote the Catalogue
of all the Noblemen and Gentlemen resident in Warwick in 1577-78.[263]
There is a tombstone on the walls of Rowington Church:
"In memory of John Shakespeare, of Baddesley Clinton, and
Mary his wife, who died, he, August 26, 1722, 61; she,
September 3, 1722, 56.
"They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their
deaths they were not divided."
There seems to have been a large number of Shakespeares in the town of
Warwick.
A John Shakespeare was assessed 1d. a week for relief of the poor, 1582,
in Market Place Ward, and a Thomas Shakespeare at the same time in West
Street Ward.[264]
In the inquisitions post-mortem of Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, 32
Elizabeth, a Thomas Shackspere was one of the witnesses.
A Thomas Shakespeare had a grant from Mr. Henry Ferrers of two
messuages, one orchard, four gardens, and four acres of pasture in
Warwick for £80, Michaelmas, 39 Elizabeth, 1597.
There was a Thomas Shakespeare--probably the same--who married on June
21, 1598, Elizabeth Letherbarrow, daughter of the Mayor of Coventry. He
became Bailiff of Warwick November 1, 10 Jac. I., 1613. The only notice
of the name in the "Visitation of Warwickshire" in 1619 is that of
"Thomas Shakespeere, gent., one of the principal Aldermen of Warwick."
It is not clear whether or not he was the son of Thomas Shakespeare, the
shoemaker, who held land of the manor of Wroxall, and died in 1557,
leaving William, Thomas, John, and Joan, ux. Francis Ley.[265]
In Birmingham Registers there was a William, 1637, and an Anne
Shakespeare of Knowle, 1743.
More might be said of the Shakespeares of Coventry and Fillongley. There
is a tablet recording Shakespeare benefactions in Fillongley Church, and
many still bear the name among the neighbouring peasantry. But to
complete the pedigrees of the Warwickshire families, we must follow them
to other abodes.
FOOTNOTES:
[231] November 25, 1584, Stratford-on-Avon Register. Mr. R. B. Wheeler,
writing in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, September, 1816, takes for
granted the poet's father had three wives; a belief which Rowe also
held. See Reed's ed., vol. i., p. 136.
[232] "Ursula, daughter of John Shakespeare, bapt. March 11, 1588-89;
Humphrey, son of John Shakespeare, bapt. May 24, 1590; Philip, son of
John Shakespeare, bapt. September 21, 1591."--Stratford-on-Avon
Register.
"This Humphrey was ancestor to the George Shakespeare living in
Henley-in-Arden in 1864, and since in Wolverhampton." See French's
"Shakespeareana Genealogica."
[233] See "Rot. Claus.," 23 Elizabeth.
[234] See St. Nicholas' Churchwardens' Accounts, transcribed and printed
by Mr. Richard Savage, of Stratford-on-Avon. The register states: "1579.
July Sexto die huius mensis, sepultus fuit Gulielmus Shaxper, qui
demersus fuit in Rivulo aquæ, qui vel vocatur Avona."
[235] A collection of thirty-five MSS. containing the name of
Shakespeare. Besides these of William, there are papers of Thomas
Shakespeare of Tamworth, 1679; Edward Shakespeare in the Manor of
Solihull, October 2, 1688, and in 1690; John Shakespeare, 1707, 1709,
1710, 1711, 1712; Widow Shakespeare, 1712-1714; Benjamin Shakespeare,
1713; Benjamin Shakespeare's Barne, 1714.
[236] Stratford-on-Avon Records.
[237] _Notes and Queries_, Third Series, xii., pp. 81 and 161, August 3,
1867, contains all the papers. A draft bill of their Chancery suit is
preserved among the miscellaneous documents of Stratford-on-Avon.
[238] See "MS. Episc., Worcester," and Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines,"
ii. 256.
[239] Dom. Ser., State Papers, James I., xv. 65, September 23, 1605.
[240] "Mr. Collier says we have intelligence regarding no other William
Shakespeare than the poet at that date" (French, "Shakespeareana
Genealogica," p. 526).
[241] Dom. Ser., State Papers, Car. I., Dxiv. II.
[242] "Hist. MS. Com. Rep.," Appendix II., Davenport MSS.
[243] French, "Shakespeareana Genealogica," p. 540.
[244] Communicated in full by the Rev. E. T. Codd to _Notes and
Queries_, Third Series, vol. viii., December, 1865, p. 185.
[245] Somerset House, 88 Drax, proved July, 1683.
[246] _Notes and Queries_, First Series, vol. xii., p. 123, August 18,
1855.
[247] Somerset House, 131 Fines.
[248] Budbrooke Registers.
[249] 7 St. John, and 168 Aylett, Somerset House.
[250] The name of Nicolas Shakespeare of Budbrooke appears in a Recusant
Roll of 16 Charles I.
[251] Somerset House, 51 Lee.
[252] Admin. 1654, f. 127, July 13.
[253] Lib. 7, 318, Wotten, Somerset House.
[254] Worcester Wills.
[255] Worcester Wills.
[256] Chancery Cases, S.s. 25.
[257] Subsidy Rolls, Warwick, 35 Elizabeth, 193/235, and 39 Elizabeth,
193/247, P.R.O.
[258] See Rowington Court Rolls, 65.
[259] Mr. Yeatman's "Gentle Shakespere," p. 146.
[260] Chancery Cases, S.s. II.
[261] Exchequer Q.R. licenses to Pass Beyond Seas, No. 17, June 13,
1632.
[262] Dr. Macray's Transcript, _Notes and Queries_, Seventh Series, v.,
190.
[263] Published in Nichols's "Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica,"
vol. viii., p. 298.
[264] See "Book of John Fisher," p. 81.
[265] A Jone Ley was buried in St. Nicholas, Warwick, the same year. The
administration of the goods of Mary Shakespeare, Warwick, was granted
1723.