Picture of Arden Forest
owned by the family of Mary Arden
Mary Arden - The Mother of William
Shakespeare
THE EARLY YEARS OF MARY ARDEN
Mary Arden Shakespeare
was the mother of William Shakespeare the Great Bard
She lived between
1540 - 1608
Mary's father,
Robert Arden, was a member of the noble Catholic family of
the Ardens of Park Hall whose family forebears had been
given land by William the Conqueror
Mary Arden was
the youngest of eight daughters
Mary's wealthy
family home was called Glebe Farm, a two-storey Wilmecote
farmstead ( Wilmecote was situated about 8 miles from
Stratford-upon-Avon )
Mary Arden, the
heiress, and John Shakespeare, the Yeoman, married in 1557
presumably in the parish church of St John the Baptist,
Aston Cantlow
Mary was 17 and
John was 26 years old at the time of their marriage
Mary Arden's
father left her his most valuable possession - the Arden
estate in Wilmcote, which was called Asbies, so she was
quite a catch for John Shakespeare
Mary was
illiterate - she used a running horse as her signature!
As soon as she
married Mary moved to the house owned by her husband John in
Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon. The village of
Stratford had a population of 1500 people, and only 200
houses at this time
Her husband was
extremely ambitious and traded in wool and other farm
produce and also as a Glover and Whittawer (making saddles, harnesses and fine leather
gloves)
Mary's husband
was also a money lender! He made enough
money to purchase another house in Greenhill Street,
Stratford in 1552
THE CHILDREN OF MARY ARDEN
SHAKESPEARE
The exact Birthdays of the children are unknown as births were not
registered, however, children were generally baptised 3 days after their
birth
Mary
Arden Shakespeare had eight children over a period of twenty
years between 1558 - 1580 (four sons and four daughters)
On
September 15 1558 the first child of John and Mary was
baptised but she only survived for two months and died
of the Bubonic Plague
On December 2
1562 Margaret was baptised - she died one year later. The
cause of death was unknown but it is probable that she also
died of the Bubonic Plague
1564 April 26
William was baptised (he died in 1616 aged 52 )
1566 October 13
Gilbert was baptised (he died 1612 aged 46)
1569 Another
daughter, also called Joan was born (she died in 1646
aged 77)
1571 September
28 Anne was baptised (1579 she died aged 7 another victim of
the plague)
1574 March 11
Richard was baptised (he died 1613 aged 39)
1580 May 3
Edmund was baptised (he died in London in 1607 aged 27)
THE LIFE OF MARY ARDEN
SHAKESPEARE
The life of Mary Arden was determined by the success or failure of
her husband John. Mary Arden's role was to bring up the Shakespeare
family.
Between
1557 and 1570 her husband was extremely successful, building
his businesses and increasing the wealth of the family
John assumed
civic duties in Stratford and Mary Arden Shakespeare's
standing in the community of Stratford-upon-Avon would have
increased accordingly
In 1570 problems
arose and the Shakespeare's application to bear a Coat-of-Arms fails.
It is not known why the fortunes of the family plunged but
is possible that this was associated with the Catholic
relious beliefs of the family when the Protestant religion
was favoured
In 1578 John
became behind with his taxes
In 1579 John was forced to mortgage Mary's estate, Asbies
1582 William
marries Anne Hathaway and six months later on May 26 1583
John and Mary Arden Shakespeare become grandparents to
Susanna Shakespeare. A scandal for Mary to cope with as Anne
was pregnant when she married. The newlyweds and the new
addition lived in Mary's house in Henley Street,
Stratford-upon-Avon
In 1583 Edward
Arden, the head of the Catholic Arden Family was executed
for his beliefs and for plotting against the life of the
Queen. Edward Arden's son-in-law, John Somerville, was also
arrested, tortured on the rack and died in the Tower of
London. Supporters of the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots
1585 February 2
and two more grandchildren when William's twins, Hamnet and
Judith Shakespeare, were baptised
In 1586 John
Shakespeare was removed from the Board of Aldermen and by 1590 John
and Mary Arden Shakespeare's only possession was the house on Henley Street
By 1592 Mary
Arden's
son, William Shakespeare, was mixing with nobles and
courtiers
In 1594 William
Shakespeare would play before Queen Elizabeth. The name of
Shakespeare was again accepted
1596 August 11,
Hamnet died, possibly from the plague, at the age of eleven.
Another tragic event in Mary Arden Shakespeare's life
Mary Arden
Shakespeare's thankfully fortunes
rose, with those of her son William, and on October 20, 1596
the family was
granted permission to display a Coat-of-Arms
On May 4th 1597
William Shakespeare purchased New Place in
Stratford-upon-Avon and Anne Hathaway Shakespeare moved from
the home of Mary and John Shakespeare after living with her
in-laws for 15 years
By 1599 John
Shakespeare was reinstated on the Town Council at
Stratford-upon-Avon and Mary's high position in the
Stratford-upon-Avon community was re-established
In 1601
Mary's husband John Shakespeare dies
1607 June 5, the
marriage of Mary Arden's granddaughter Susanna to Dr. John
Hall
1608 February
21, The baptism of Elizabeth Hall - Mary Arden Shakespeare's
great-granddaughter
1608
Shakespeare's mother Mary Arden Shakespeare dies - the cause
is unknown but she achieved a good age of 68 years old
September 9,
1608 Burial of Mary Shakespeare - Shakespeare buried his
mother at Holy Trinity Church
