Shakespeare's family
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 L76 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 L6 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 L13 worth in kind, along with her interest in Snitterfield and
what goods "she had of her own." The others would have about L5 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 L3; fivescore pigs L13 4s.," etc. The sum
total was L45. 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 bona 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 L40, 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 L40 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 L40 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 L4, 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 L4 the
earnest money, and the "final concord" for L40 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