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{{short description|mother of William Shakespeare}}
{{short description|mother of William Shakespeare}}
'''Mary Shakespeare,''' [[Birth name|née]] '''Arden''', (c. 1537–1608) was the mother of [[William Shakespeare]]. She was the daughter of [[Wilmcote]] gentleman farmer Robert Arden, a [[cadet branch|cadet]] of the [[Arden family]]<ref>''Burke's Landed Gentry'', 18th ed., vol. 2, 1969, ed. Peter Townend, 'Arden formerly of Longcroft' pedigree</ref><ref>''Shakespeare'', Anthony Burgess, Vintage Books, chapter 1, 'Home'</ref> prominent in [[Warwickshire]] since before the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Conquest]]. She was the youngest of eight daughters, and when her father died in 1556 she inherited land at [[Snitterfield]] and Wilmcote from her father as a [[dowry]]. The house was left to her stepmother Agnes Hill.
'''Mary Shakespeare,''' [[Birth name|née]] '''Arden''', (c. 1537–1608) was the mother of [[William Shakespeare]]. She was the daughter of [[Wilmcote]] gentleman farmer Robert Arden, a [[cadet branch|cadet]] of the [[Arden family]]<ref>''Burke's Landed Gentry'', 18th ed., vol. 2, 1969, ed. Peter Townend, 'Arden formerly of Longcroft' pedigree</ref><ref>''Shakespeare'', Anthony Burgess, Vintage Books, chapter 1, 'Home'</ref> prominent in [[Warwickshire]]. She was the youngest of eight daughters, and when her father died in 1556 she inherited land at [[Snitterfield]] and Wilmcote from her father as a [[dowry]]. The house was left to her stepmother Agnes Hill.
[[Richard Shakespeare]], the father of [[John Shakespeare]], was a tenant farmer on land owned by her father in Snitterfield. As the daughter of Richard's landlord, she may have known John since childhood.<ref name="auto">Wood, Michael. ''Shakespeare''. New York: Basic, 2003. Print.</ref> Mary married John Shakespeare in 1557, when she was 20 years old.<ref name="auto"/> She bore eight children: Joan (1558), Margaret (1562–1563), [[William Shakespeare|William]] (1564–1616), [[Gilbert Shakespeare|Gilbert]] (1566–1612), [[Joan Shakespeare|Joan]] (1569–1646), Anne (1571–1579), Richard (1574–1613), and [[Edmund Shakespeare|Edmund]] (1580–1607).<ref>[http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/timeline/genealogy.htm A Shakespeare Genealogy] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070329205405/http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/timeline/genealogy.htm |date=March 29, 2007 }}</ref> Though Mary gave birth to many children, several of them died young. Their first daughter, Joan, born 1558 died; the name being used again for their third daughter. Their second daughter, Margaret, also died in infancy.<ref name="auto"/> Some members of the wider Arden family were of the Catholic faith.<ref name="auto"/>
[[Richard Shakespeare]], the father of [[John Shakespeare]], was a tenant farmer on land owned by her father in Snitterfield. As the daughter of Richard's landlord, she may have known John since childhood.<ref name="auto">Wood, Michael. ''Shakespeare''. New York: Basic, 2003. Print.</ref> Mary married John Shakespeare in 1557, when she was 20 years old.<ref name="auto"/> She bore eight children: Joan (1558), Margaret (1562–1563), [[William Shakespeare|William]] (1564–1616), [[Gilbert Shakespeare|Gilbert]] (1566–1612), [[Joan Shakespeare|Joan]] (1569–1646), Anne (1571–1579), Richard (1574–1613), and [[Edmund Shakespeare|Edmund]] (1580–1607).<ref>[http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/timeline/genealogy.htm A Shakespeare Genealogy] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070329205405/http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/timeline/genealogy.htm |date=March 29, 2007 }}</ref> Though Mary gave birth to many children, several of them died young. Their first daughter, Joan, born 1558 died; the name being used again for their third daughter. Their second daughter, Margaret, also died in infancy.<ref name="auto"/> Some members of the wider Arden family were of the Catholic faith.<ref name="auto"/>


Revision as of 15:51, 3 October 2020

Mary Shakespeare, née Arden, (c. 1537–1608) was the mother of William Shakespeare. She was the daughter of Wilmcote gentleman farmer Robert Arden, a cadet of the Arden family[1][2] prominent in Warwickshire. She was the youngest of eight daughters, and when her father died in 1556 she inherited land at Snitterfield and Wilmcote from her father as a dowry. The house was left to her stepmother Agnes Hill. Richard Shakespeare, the father of John Shakespeare, was a tenant farmer on land owned by her father in Snitterfield. As the daughter of Richard's landlord, she may have known John since childhood.[3] Mary married John Shakespeare in 1557, when she was 20 years old.[3] She bore eight children: Joan (1558), Margaret (1562–1563), William (1564–1616), Gilbert (1566–1612), Joan (1569–1646), Anne (1571–1579), Richard (1574–1613), and Edmund (1580–1607).[4] Though Mary gave birth to many children, several of them died young. Their first daughter, Joan, born 1558 died; the name being used again for their third daughter. Their second daughter, Margaret, also died in infancy.[3] Some members of the wider Arden family were of the Catholic faith.[3]

Mary was from a family of status and her ancestors – such as Thomas Arden, who fought in the thirteenth-century civil war for the Barons and Simon de Montfort; Robert Arden who fought in the War of Roses; John Arden who served on the court of Henry VII – were well-connected in society.[3]

Palmer's Farm (rear)

Mary Arden's House in Wilmcote has been maintained in good condition because it had been a working farmhouse over the centuries. It was bought by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1930 and refurnished in the Tudor period style.[5] In 2000 it was discovered that the building preserved as Mary Arden's house had belonged to a friend and neighbour, Adam Palmer, and the house was accordingly renamed Palmer's Farm. The house that had belonged to the Arden family – which was near to Palmer's Farm – had been acquired by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1968 for preservation as part of a farmyard, without knowing its true provenance.[6] The house and farm are open as a historic museum displaying 16th-century life.

References

  1. ^ Burke's Landed Gentry, 18th ed., vol. 2, 1969, ed. Peter Townend, 'Arden formerly of Longcroft' pedigree
  2. ^ Shakespeare, Anthony Burgess, Vintage Books, chapter 1, 'Home'
  3. ^ a b c d e Wood, Michael. Shakespeare. New York: Basic, 2003. Print.
  4. ^ A Shakespeare Genealogy Archived March 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Mary Arden's House (the mother of William Shakespeare)". Online Shakespeare.
  6. ^ The Shakespeare Houses – The Official Guide, Revised 2008, ISBN 978-0-7117-2949-0
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