Richard Shakespeare facts for kids

Richard Shakespeare (born 1490 – died before 10 February 1561) was a farmer, also known as a husbandman. He lived in a village called Snitterfield in Warwickshire, England. This village was about four miles (6.5 km) from Stratford-upon-Avon. Richard Shakespeare was the father of John Shakespeare and the grandfather of the famous writer William Shakespeare.

Richard Shakespeare's Life as a Farmer

Richard Shakespeare was born in the Wroxall area of Warwickshire. This was about seven miles north of Snitterfield. At some point before 1529, he moved to Snitterfield.

In Snitterfield, Richard became a tenant farmer. This means he rented land to farm from someone else. The land he farmed belonged to Robert Arden. Robert Arden was the father of Mary Arden, who later married Richard's son, John Shakespeare. This means Richard's landlord was also the grandfather of William Shakespeare! Richard continued to farm this land until he died.

Richard Shakespeare was known as a successful farmer. Records show he had many farm animals, or livestock. A wealthy merchant named Thomas Atwood alias Taylor even gave him a team of four oxen to keep.

Like many people at the time, Richard sometimes had to pay small fines. For example, he was fined a small amount in 1529 for not attending a meeting at the local manor court. He was also fined for letting his cattle graze too much on the commons. The commons was a shared area of land where villagers could let their animals feed. He also had to pay a fine for not putting a yoke (a special collar) on his pigs to stop them from wandering.

When Richard Shakespeare died, he was renting about 80 acres of farmland. His house was on this land, located near what is now Bell Lane. His farm was quite valuable for the time. It was worth about £38 17s, which was a good amount of money back then.

See also

• The Shakespeare baronets, who are said to be related to Richard Shakespeare.