Description

Learn about the parents of Britain's famous bard and play writer, William Shakespeare.

Transcript

Learn About the William Shakespeare's Parents Mary Arden’s house as it's always been very fondly known in Featherbed Lane has become a veritable Mecca for Shakespeare pilgrims. But it's in fact the house next door Glebe farm that is today recognized as being where she actually lived. Both houses are open to the public and part of a superb countryside museum complex which is well-worth a visit. Visible so a falconry center on the site with a wide ranged of species in residence appearing in regular flying displays. The Arden’s were a prosperous Warwickshire farming family. Mary being the youngest of eight daughters and her choice of John Shakespeare is an interesting one. John Shakespeare was the son of one of the Arden’s tenants and the family had to say the least a colorful reputation. John was working in Stratford as a glove maker. However, this early documentation of his wayward behavior as on the 29th April 1552, he was fined one shilling for making a mitten more accurately a dung heap outside of the house of his neighbor in Henley Street who complained vociferously. Without the benefits of flushing toilets or effective plumbing of any description to the streets were very smelly; and each road had an allocated communal mock hill. Anyone too lazy to deposit their waste appropriately was fined heavily especially when the offending pile was left to fester outside someone else’s house. A part from being extremely antisocial, it was a terrible health hazard and a time when plague was rife and life expectancy, minimum. It was said that the Shakespeare family was famous from never paying a debt until severely pressed to do so. But in this instance, John Shakespeare broke with tradition and paid his fine promptly evidently with the view to social advancement despite his rather messy indiscretion. His choice of Mary Arden as a bride was also too his civic advantage, she being much above his station in life and the two were married towards the end of 1557. It's most likely that the wedding took place here in the parish church of Saint John the Baptist, Aston Cantlow where Mary would probably have been christened many years earlier. Unfortunately, no register was kept at that time. Although parish records did begin just a few years alter so there is no absolute proof or precise dates for this event.