Online Shakespeare

Contents  The Life and Times of William Shakespeare

Marriage and Family Life

On 27 November 1582 Shakespeare received a marriage licence to marry Anne Hathaway an orphan, from the neighbouring village of Shottery, just 1.6 km from Stratford. The marriage took place the following day and was conducted by the Bishop of Worcester. The marriage certificate was issued to "William Shagspere" and "Ann Hathwey of Stratford." Anne's father Richard did not specify a daughter by the name of Anne in his will, but names her Agnes, a name used interchangeably with Anne in the sixteenth century. Richard Hathaway was an affluent Warwickshire farmer with a large country residence and land.

Anne was twenty-six and pregnant at the time of the marriage and William just eighteen. The marriage produced three children. Susanna was their first child, baptised on 26 May 1583 and later followed by twins, Hamnet and Judith (apparently named after Hamnet and Judith Sadler: lifelong friends of William). Reciprocally, the Sadlers named their own son William, born in 1598. Hamnet, Shakespeare's son, died in 1596. In 1607, his daughter Susanna married. Shakespeare's other daughter, Judith, got married in 1616. Susanna resided at Hall's Croft in the old town of Stratford.

The only mention that Shakespeare made to his wife Anne in his will is the famous bequest of his "second best bed". Whether as a fond remembrance or as a bitter slight it is not known (see Death).

He is supposed to have left Stratford after he was caught poaching in the deer park of Sir Thomas Lucy, a local justice of the peace. He apparently arrived in London about 1588.

It is believed that while in London, Shakespeare's wife and children remained at home in Stratford. In order to visit them he must have had to travel backwards and forwards between the two towns, trips that would have taken about 4 days on foot or 2 days on horseback. In August 1596 the only son of William and his wife, Hamnet died. It is believed  that the poignant lines from King John refer to this sad event:

Grief fills the room up of my absent child,
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me,
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words,
Remembers me of all his gracious parts,
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form.
Then have I reason to be fond of grief.

The same year the College of Heralds granted William's father a coat of arms. The application may have been paid for by the playwright for both his own and his father's benefit. The motto was Non Sanz Droict - 'not without right' - but seems never to have been used. It does not appear within the crest on the monument to Shakespeare in Stratford church nor anywhere else. In May 1597 Shakespeare purchased New Place, the second largest house in Stratford, along with barns, orchards and gardens. By his artistic efforts and business acumen, and by pure good fortune, Shakespeare had grown prosperous. From this foundation of financial security, his next few years were unprecedented for creativity in the life of any artist.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Although away from home in London for much of the time, Shakespeare continued in the early part of the seventeenth century investing in Stratford real estate. In May 1602 he paid £320 for 127 acres in Old Stratford - a suburb of Stratford proper. Later that year he bought a cottage opposite his great house New Place. In 1605 he invested £440 in a lease of tithes - an agricultural commodities investment - around Stratford. Not only a great artist it would seem, but also an astute businessman who looked after his own and his family's financial interests.

His wife Anne died on 6 August 1623. Shakespeare's last descendant, Elizabeth Hall Nash died on 17 February 1670. 

Major Dates in Shakespeare's Life

Modern scholars don't know all the details of Shakespeare's life, but they have some facts and have made some educated guesses (see The Works). Approximate or estimated dates are marked with an asterisk (*):

* Not proved, but children of this period were often baptised three days after birth

Shakespeare's Family Tree

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