Picture of house in
Henley Street Stratford-upon-Avon
The Parents of William Shakespeare
THE BACKGROUNDS OF HIS PARENTS
John Shakespeare,
a Yeoman, and Mary Arden, an heiress, were the parents of William
Shakespeare
Mary Arden lived between
1540 - 1608
John Shakespeare
lived between 1531 - 1601
John's father,
Richard Shakespeare, was a tenant farmer of Robert Arden of Wilmecote
Mary Arden was
the youngest and favourite of the eight daughters of Robert
Arden who 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
John's father,
Richard was a tenant farmer of Mary's father Robert Arden of Wilmecote
Mary Arden
married beneath her class at the age of 17 and brought with
her a dowry
Mary and John
married in 1557 a year after the death of Mary Arden's
father and it is likely that he would not have approved of
the marriage
Both Mary and
John were Catholics and were married when the staunch
Catholic Queen Mary ( Bloody Mary) was the ruling monarch of
England - At least both of the families would have
approved of their religion
THE WEDDING OF SHAKESPEARE'S
PARENTS
There are no specific details about the marriage of Shakespeare' parents
but there are details available about traditional weddings of the era. The
following information provides the 'flavour' of a typical wedding
Many people
married in June because they took their yearly bath in May
as the weather became warmer!
Wedding
invitations were not issued
The bride did
not wear white, this was a later tradition, but she would
have had a new gown
The groom would
have worn his best clothes
Fresh flowers
were central to the celebrations, Flowers would adorn the
bride's gown and she would carry a bouquet
The wedding
would have been a festive event and guests would meet at the
house and the procession would be accompanied by musicians
The Catholic
church ceremony was a solemn one. Everyone would stand -
there were no seats or pews in churches at this time
After the
wedding ceremony the families of the couple would sometimes
enjoy a wedding feast
THE HOME OF THE SHAKESPEARE
FAMILY IN STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
William's father moved to
Stratford-upon-Avon in 1551 to set up business trading in
animals, wool, malt and corn
He bought a
house in Henley Street, Stratford , which was conveniently
near the market
The house in
Henley Street is pictured above
Houses had
thatched roofs consisting of thick straw, piled high, with
no wood rafters
Tudor houses
were generally timber-framed - the oak timbers
were occasionally tarred black to
render them weatherproof
Passages were
not part of the design and one room opened directly into the
next ( hence the drapes on the four-poster beds)
This meant that
privacy was practically unknown in a Tudor house
Straw mattresses
were being replaced with feather mattresses
There were few
chairs instead stools or chests were used
Most houses had a
garden growing vegetables, herbs and flowers
Mealtimes were
at breakfast around 7 o'clock, 12 noon and 6 o'clock
Food was
generally cooked over open fires and often consisted of
vegetable stews in a copper pot
Baking,
especially bread, was done in brick ovens set into the side
of the fireplace
Food was eaten
off wooden plates called trenchers ( wealthy households had
pewter )
Hygiene was
extremely poor and drinking water unclean. It was therefore
customary for people to drink ale ( wealthy households
would also drink wine )
The floors were
dirt covered with rushes ( wealthy households had slate
floors )
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE
PARENTS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE!
