Picture of an approximation of William Shakespeare's New Place
William Shakespeare and Stratford-upon-Avon
THE SUCCESS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
By 1596 William Shakespeare was a real success
He had found a Patron in the Henry Wriothesley who was the Third Earl of Southampton
He had had his poems published by his Stratford friend Richard Field - Venus and Adonis was published in 1593 to critical acclaim and financial reward
He was mingling with the Literary elite. He belonged to the Friday Street Club and met with the most famous authors, playwrights and poets of the era including Ben Jonson, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher. John Donne, Robert Herrick, John Selden and Sir Walter Raleigh
He belonged to the most important acting troupe in England, the Chamberlain's men
His stake in the Globe Theatre earned him 10% of the profits - given the number of productions and audience size this was a large amount of money
He acted in the presence of Queen Elizabeth I
William Shakespeare had been granted permission to display a coat-of-arms and was entitled to put "gentleman" after his name
He worked as an actor, a playwright and a poet - he had become rich and successful!
He was going to invest in his home town of Stratford-upon-Avon and look after his family
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE PURCHASES NEW PLACE IN STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
In 1597 on May 4th William Shakespeare purchased New Place, the second largest house in Stratford for the sum of £60
He also purchased two cottages and two barns in Stratford-upon-Avon
New Place was an impressive building, made of brick, with a courtyard at the front, and barns, spacious gardens and orchards at the rear
The property was such a size that he would have certainly had servants including a gardener. The household was run by his wife Anne
The picture at the top of the page is an approximation of what New Place would have looked like
In 1598 William is mentioned as among the chief holders of corn and malt in Stratford so we know that despite his career in London he was still clearly a man of some importance in Stratford
Shakespeare and other members of the acting company financed the building of the Globe Theatreand became entitled to a 'cut' of the profits
In 1602 Shakespeare bought land and an estate in Stratford for £320 - it consisted of 107 acres in the open fields of Old Stratford, together with a farm-house, garden and orchard, and 20 acres of pasture
