Much of William Shakespeare’s life is shrouded in mystery – but a key riddle has just been solved, thanks to a newly discovered floorplan.
A historical document found in the London Archives reveals the precise location of The Bard’s only property in the capital.
It can now be pinpointed to 5 St Andrew’s Hill – a quiet Blackfriars street close to his workplace at the nearby theatre and within stumbling distance of a pub.
The discovery, made by Shakespeare expert Professor Lucy Munro, also reveals the layout and the size of the property, which was bought by the playwright in 1613.
It was a ‘relatively substantial dwelling’, she explained, and was big enough to later be divided into two houses.
The discovery also paints a different picture of where Shakespeare may have spent some of his final years, which many believed to be back in his hometown of Stratford–Upon–Avon.
‘This discovery throws into question the narrative that Shakespeare simply retired to Stratford and spent no more time in the city,’ Professor Munro, from King’s College London, said.
‘It encourages us to rethink our assumptions about Shakespeare’s relationship with London in the later part of his life.’
The finding sheds light on a mystery that has puzzled academics since the 18th century.
It has long been known that in his later years, Shakespeare owned a property in Blackfriars. It was thought to be part of what was known as ‘the Great Gate’ over the entrance to the Blackfriars precinct, a major 13th–century Dominican friary.
A dark blue City of London plaque on a building in the area reads: ‘On 10th March 1613 William Shakespeare purchased lodgings in the Blackfriars Gatehouse located near this site.’
As the phrase ‘near this site’ suggests, so far it has been impossible to locate the exact whereabouts of Shakespeare’s lodgings.
Professor Munro has been able to shed new light on the property by uncovering three documents – two from The London Archives and one from The National Archives.
One of the documents in The London Archives is a plan of part of the Blackfriars precinct, drawn up in 1668 after the Great Fire of London.
Records show that the man whose name overlies the property, William Iles, was a tenant of the person that Shakespeare’s granddaughter sold the house to.
It can now be said with confidence that the location of the blue plaque – on 5 St Andrew’s Hill – is actually on the precise spot of his London home.
For the first time, Professor Munro’s research paints a clear picture of exactly where this property was, how it was laid out and the buildings surrounding it.
Perhaps Shakespeare would have had a drink in the neighbouring tavern at the ‘Sign of the Cock’ or viewed the converted friary buildings from a window, she said.
The map doesn’t indicate the property’s internal layout or rooms, but given its size and location in a relatively prestigious area it would have been ‘above average’ in value for a house that size in London, Professor Munro said.
‘It’s less than five minutes’ walk from the second Blackfriars playhouse, where Shakespeare’s plays were being performed in 1613,’ she told the Daily Mail.
‘The plan shows a tennis court to the north–west of the house, and we know that there were also bowling alleys and other entertainment venues in the Blackfriars district.’
She explained that Shakespeare co–authored ‘Two Noble Kinsmen’ with John Fletcher late in 1613.
‘It is not inconceivable that some of it may have been written in this very property,’ she said.
‘We also know that Shakespeare was visiting London in November 1614 – is it not likely that he stayed in his own house?’
She added: ‘He obviously didn’t know that he was going to die in 1616 when he bought the house in March 1613.
‘Together with his activities as a playwright that year, during which he wrote two plays with John Fletcher, the purchase suggests that he had an ongoing financial and professional investment in London.’
The two other documents she unearthed confirmed the house was sold by Shakespeare’s granddaughter in 1665. One year later, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
Over the past century, occupants of the buildings on the site of Shakespeare’s house have included printing companies, manufacturers of printing inks, the National Book Association, a firm of builders, carpet wholesalers and, more recently, chartered surveyors, investment managers and residents of apartment conversions.
Dr Will Tosh, Director of Education at Shakespeare’s Globe, said: ‘Professor Munro’s fantastic discovery proves there’s no replacement for human graft in the archive, and our reward for her hard work is a dazzling new sense of Shakespeare the London writer.
‘She’s helped us to understand how much the city meant to our greatest ever dramatist, as a professional and personal home.’
In light of the findings, Professor Munro said it ‘would be nice’ to bring the blue plaque up to date.
William Shakespeare: The playwright, poet and actor whose reputation transcends all other writers
William Shakespeare (baptised April 26, 1564 – died April 23, 1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor who is widely believed to have been the greatest dramatist of all time.
The playwright continues to occupy a position unique in world literature as someone whose reputation transcends that of all other popular writers.
He is credited with producing 39 plays, 154 sonnets and three long poems.
His plays, the most famous of which include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Othello, have been translated into every major language.
They are performed thousands of times a year by actors all across the world and are studied by millions of students across the UK and elsewhere.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.
He married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18 and had three children with her: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith.
At some point between 1585 and 1592, Shakespeare began a career in London as an actor and writer.
He was the part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, who later became known as the King’s Men.
They built the Globe Theatre, in Southwark, South London, at which they performed many of Shakespeare’s plays.
The theatre was destroyed by fire in 1613 but rebuilt the following year before being closed in 1642 and then pulled down.
A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named ‘Shakespeare’s Globe’, was built less than 800 feet from the site of the original theatre and opened in 1997.
At the age of 49, Shakespeare is believed to have retired back to Stratford, before he died three years later.
However, there are scant records of his private life and considerable speculation continues about his exact physical appearance.
Some questions have also been raised about whether all the works attributed to him were in fact written by others.
