Shakespeare's environment

by C. C. Stopes

FOOTNOTES:

[16] See Heath, f. 37 a.

[17] Reg. 32 and 62 b, Fletcher.

[18] I was told by the Vicar that the family of Hemmings claims to have been Parish Clerks for 500 years. The last one died in 1885.

XI
SHAKESPEARE AND THE WELCOMBE ENCLOSURES
A NEW DETAIL IN HIS LIFE

Among the many direct references to Shakespeare contained in the records of Stratford-on-Avon, perhaps none has been discussed more frequently than his relation to the enclosures which his high-handed neighbour William Combe wished to make at Welcombe. But the discussion has not always led to a study of all the papers concerning it. Those who try to belittle Shakespeare assert that he secured himself from loss by making conditions with Mainwaring and Replingham (who were acting for Combe), and then let the poor of Stratford bear the loss of their ancient common as they might. But there are a great many facts to be known concerning these enclosures which are not reckoned with by the general readers of Shakespeare’s so-called “Lives.” A few of these must now be noted to lead up to the point I wish to record.

On 7th September, 1544, Anthony Barker, steward of the dissolved College of Stratford-on-Avon, granted to William Barker, gent., certain messuages, lands, and tithes of Stratford, hitherto belonging to the College, for a period of ninety-two years. This may or may not have been legal, but the transfer has never been questioned. In time this grant was inherited by John Barker, who in 22 Eliz. sold the bulk of his estate to Sir John Huband, reserving to himself a yearly rent of £27 13s. 4d., with the condition that if any part of that rent were left unpaid for forty days, he could enter and retake possession of all until the end of his term.

The charter granted by Edward VI to the Corporation of Stratford-on-Avon settled on it the tithes for the support of the refounded school and almshouses, and I have not at present time to discuss the complex relations between the town and Barker’s lease. Dr. Ingleby is entirely wrong in his account of the tithes, which were not owned only by Shakespeare and Greene. They were sold by Sir John Huband in 1605, either directly or indirectly, to a large number of holders, among whom was Shakespeare, who was said to hold a “moietie”; but this by no means represented a half, as we might be inclined to read it, even of the tithes, and the “property” consisted, beyond the tithes, of houses, cottages, and fields. It may help the consideration of the question to note the chief holders.

Richard Lane had a proportion worth £80 a year in the tithes of Old Stratford; Shakespeare’s share was worth £60 a year; Thomas Greene’s, £3, and 20 marks in the tithes of Drayton; Sir Edward Greville’s, 40s.; Sir Edward Conway’s, £30; Mary Combe, widow, an estate for six years to come, worth £10; John Lane, £8; Anthony Nash and William Combe, £5; Daniel Baker, £20; John Smith, £8; Francis Smith, £12; William Walford, 40s.; William Court, £3; John Brown, £4; Thomas Jakeman, £10; Richard Kempson and Stephen Burman, £15; Thomas Burman, £3; “Thomas Horneby, an estate of the messuage in which he now dwelleth, of the yearely value of £3”; and eighteen others had similar shares, most of the smaller holdings being in land or houses, and the larger in tithes.

Shortly after the poet’s purchase, he discovered that, though he was careful to pay his share of Barker’s reserved rent of £27 13s. 4d. to Henry Barker, then lessee, many of the other tenants were not paying theirs, and he ran the risk of losing his property through the fault of others. So he co-operated with Richard Lane and his lawyer cousin Thomas Greene to file a complaint in Chancery against those other tenants who did not pay their due share of the reserved rent. The complainants acknowledged that some of the tenants were willing to pay, but refused for fear of the others; some made light of the claim; and the complainants, for the preservation of their estates from forfeiture, have had much loss and trouble. They prayed that subpœnas be sent to the chief defaulters to appear and make answer. The case was entered as “Lane, Greene, Shakespeare, and others, con. W. Combe and others.” See Misc. Doc., ii, 2. The suit appears to have been successful, or at least some settlement was come to, for the possession of the tithes was not lost by Shakespeare or his family. (Their shares were sold later by Dr. Hall.)[19] That is the story of the tithes.

The enclosures began in 1614, about the time of “the Great Fire.” There died in July that year John Combe the moneylender, who had bought the old College in 1596, and he left much of his property between his nephews William and Thomas Combe. William apparently went to live at the College, and shortly after took it into his head to enclose, not “the Common,” but the “Common Fields” of Welcombe, i.e., arable land, liable to tithes. His agents inquired who were likely to be most concerned. Probably for them Thomas Greene had drawn up the list of “Auncient freeholders in Old Stratford and Welcombe.” The poet heads the list:

Mr. Shakspeare, 4 yard land, noe common nor ground beyond Gospel Bush, noe ground in Sandfield, nor none in Slow Hillfield beyond Bishopton, nor none in the enclosure beyond Bishopton. Sept. 5th, 1614.

William Combe was well aware of the purchase made by Shakespeare, from his uncle and himself, of 107 acres of arable land and 20 acres of pasture, not long before, recorded in the Feet of Fines, P.R.O. It would only be through the tithes that Shakespeare might suffer, so he sent to him Mr. Mainwaring, steward of Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, and Mr. Replingham, who seem to have been acting both for Ellesmere and Combe, to guarantee that no one should lose by the enclosures, as he was willing to make up all losses, and was willing to make a deed in that respect, to protect Shakespeare and his heirs. The poet seems to have allowed them to do this, and one touch of his personal affection for Thomas Greene incidentally appears in his insisting that the security should include his cousin Greene. These “articles” were drawn up between William Shakespeare and William Replingham on 28 October 1614. It is one thing to allow any one to make an agreement that he should not lose by an arrangement if it should be settled, and quite another thing to approve of it, or to help it forward.

Thomas Greene, feeling that the question was now becoming important, commenced a series of “Mems. about the Inclosure,” still preserved at Stratford-on-Avon, which throw light on Shakespeare’s position. He took it easily, because he did not think anything would be done. Greene says:

Jovis 17 Nov. [1614.] My cosen Shakspeare commyng yesterday to towne, I went to see him howe he did; he told me that they assured him they ment to enclose noe further then to gospell bushe, and so upp straight (leavyng out part of the dyngles to the field) to the gate in Clopton Hedge and take in Salisbury’s peece; and that they meane in Aprill to servey the Land, and then to gyve satisfaction and not before, and he and Mr. Hall say they think there will be nothyng done at all.

This is one of the very rare examples of Shakespeare’s conversation having been preserved, even indirectly.

The next entry is also interesting. Greene, the Town Clerk, records:

23rd Dec., 1614. A Hall. Letters wrytten, one to Mr. Manneryng, another to Mr. Shakspeare, with almost all the Companyes hands to either: I alsoe wrytte of myself to my Cosen Shakespeare the coppyes of all our oathes made then, also a note of the inconveniences wold grow by the Inclosure.

Both of the letters to Shakespeare have disappeared; that to Mainwaring has been preserved.

For the corporation did not take the proposal easily. Even in the present they would lose, and in the future, when Barker’s lease fell in, they would lose very much more, for the composition made with the leaseholders was personal, and would not descend to them. In the midst of the heavy losses caused by the recent fires, the danger assumed large proportions in the eyes of those who had sworn to do their best in trust for the town. They resisted it determinedly, and were finally successful. Thomas Greene, their clerk, proved a faithful and energetic official, yet he too was tempted. He did not seem to have been told at the time, but he records in his Diary:

9 Ja: [1614.] Mr. Replyngham 28th October, articled with Mr. Shakspeare, and then I was put in by T. Lucas,

who drew up the articles.

On Wednesday, being the 11th day [January.] At night Mr. Replingham supped with me, and Mr. W. Barnes was to beare him company, where he assured me before Mr. Barnes that I should be well dealt withall, confessyng former promisses by himself, Mr. Manyryng, and his agreement for me with my Cosen Shakspeare.

Yet during the whole of the struggle Thomas Greene honestly threw himself into the duties of defending the rights of the town which had reposed trust in him, “and was much excepted to for his opposition” by the other side. It is probable that Shakespeare was in the same position.

Now we come to the last entry of his name. It is known to all Shakespeareans that Dr. C. M. Ingleby was so interested in this that he had a photographic facsimile made of Greene’s Diary; had it transcribed by Dr. Edward Scott, wrote an Introduction and Appendix himself, and published these in a thin folio.

I referred to the copy at the British Museum to save going down to Stratford to check my former notes made at the Record Office there. After a great deal of time spent through an unexpected confusion I found in it, I was forced to make a careful comparison, line by line, between the facsimile and the transcript. At first this did not clear up my difficulty; but, on my going through a second time, referring to the dates alone, the cause of the confusion flashed on me: one of the pages of Greene’s Diary had been placed out of order in the facsimile, and Dr. Scott, who was supposed to have worked from the original, must have followed the facsimile. I went down to check the original last month, and to see if there was anything to account for the mistake. But there was nothing. The four leaves are written down one side and up another, making in all eight pages. It could only be the photographer’s blunder by misnumbering the pages. Page seven should be read as page six, and the dates then read consecutively. My difficulty had lain in the fact that the year 1615 was made to have had two springs. My re-arrangement, which has been noted and initialed by Mr. Barwick in the Museum copy, restores order. But this late correction does not put right the blunder based on it by Dr. Ingleby, who says (p. vi, Introduction) that this entry “records, five months after the death of Shakespeare, the statement of Shakespeare himself.” Now this statement was not recorded five months after, but seven months before, the poet’s death.

Two other important points must be noted concerning this entry: first, that though it was somewhat crowded in, it was intended to be read straight on; and second, that the memorandum of a man’s death was associated with it, and has some relation to it. As it is written, it should be read:

14 Aug. 1615. Mr. Barker [?] died.

Sept. W. Shakspeares tellyng J. Greene that I was not able to beare the encloseinge of Welcombe.

5 Sept. his sendyng James for the executours of Mr. Barker [?] to agree as ys said with them for Mr. Barker’s [?] interest.

The subject of the old and only discussion about this was, Did the “I” refer to Shakespeare or to Greene? It is unlike the other letters of the first person generally used by Greene, but he does occasionally use that form as a capital. It could not be a mistake for “he” in writing; but it might be so in thought and word, as Greene’s style is very elliptical and careless in the Diary. The argument put forward by Dr. Ingleby was, Why should Shakespeare tell one brother what another said, as he was likely to know it, and why think this fact important enough to be recorded, unless it was a report that Shakespeare could not bear the enclosing of Welcombe? This is perfectly reasonable, but it may have been that gossip had said that Thomas Greene served the corporation when he gave them advice and wrote their letters, but that he naturally was friendly with the enclosers, and likely to benefit by the enclosure. It might be but a note of pleased surprise of Thomas Greene’s to find that the poet had read his honest heart better than his more worldly-minded brother had done.

But the new point I wish to add is that on 14th August there is the record of the death of an inhabitant, and the note for 5th September clearly carries on Shakespeare as the subject, and shows that he it was who sent for the executors to agree with them for the interest of the defunct. I wish I could accept Dr. Scott’s rendering, and read it as “Mr. Barker,” for the meaning would then be straight and clear—that, seeing Shakespeare had had so much trouble over that reserved rent of Mr. Barker for £27 13s. 4d. on the lease of the tithes, etc., he was about to buy this up and set his estate free from any future danger. But alas! on referring to the Stratford Burial Register I find the entry on the day after, 15 August 1615: “Burial. Mr. Thomas Barbor, gent.” I have had the entry tested by an expert, who assures me there can be no mistake there.

I referred to the baptisms, and found there were two children born to “Thomas Barbor, gent., of Shottery,” within a year or two before; and that five days before the burial of Thomas Barbor was entered the “Burial of Joane, wife of Thomas Barbor, gent.” So I am driven back to the earlier pages of original, and there I find, on

7th April, 1615, being Goodfryday, Mr. Barber commyng to Colledge to Mr. T. Combe about a debt he stood surety for Mris Quyney, W. Combe willed his brother to shew Mr. Barber noe favour, and threatned him that he should be served upp to London within a fortnight (and so yt fell out).

This is also rendered in the transcript as “Barker,” but is clearly “Barber” in the original, and it seems to me that the action here recorded broke Mr. Barber’s fortunes and health, his wife died, and he followed, and that William Shakespeare, still willing to invest in “an odd yard land at Shottery,” sent for the executors, to do what he could for the deceased and his children as well as for Mrs. Quyney, whose unlucky debt was the cause of Mr. Barber’s distress and ruin. Coming back from the registers and miscellaneous documents of Stratford-on-Avon, we must therefore read the name as “Barber,” and not as “Barker,” however like it may be. Mr. Barber had done some important work for the corporation previously, and may have been an attorney.[20]

It had always been a matter of surprise to me that Thomas Greene, who mentioned the death of Mr. Barber, did not mention the death of Shakespeare. Perhaps there was no need for him to make a memorandum of an event so important to the town and himself. He goes on in his dates regularly till he comes to the spring of 1616. Then he notes:

At Warwick Assises in Lent 1615-1616 my Lord Chief Justice willed him [i.e., W. Combe] to sett his heart at rest he should neyther enclose nor lay downe any earrable, nor plowe any auncient greensward.

And the last words which fell on Shakespeare’s ears were the news that his judgment was right, and “that nothing should be done.”

The Diary leaps on then till 4th September 1616, and says little more of interest, but sufficient to show that Mr. W. Combe was determined to defy the Lord Chief Justice as well as the corporation, and go on with the enclosures after Shakespeare’s death. Indeed, the details[21] of the struggles during the next two years, as gleaned from the corporation records, give the romantic tale how Stratford then

The little tyrant of its fields withstood.

The Combes raged at the corporation, defied their arguments, and threatened them with dire consequences for defending the rights they had sworn to hand down to their successors; the aldermen complained in every Court, and went in their own persons, rather than risk sending messengers, to throw down the fences and fill up the ditches made by Combe’s servants, and some were wounded in the free fight which ensued. William Combe was High Sheriff of the county for one year during the struggle, and was Justice of the Peace during its course, though he seemed to hold himself above law and successive legal decisions.

Finally, however, he was summoned for contumacy before the Privy Council, and, after he was brought to his knees, was granted “absolution” in 1618-19, So Shakespeare’s legal acumen was proved when in 1614 he said “he thought nothing would be done”; but it took a long time to prove it.

“Athenæum,” 27th September 1913.