Guild Book of Knowle

Description:The Register of the Guild of St Anne of Knowle is almost the sole survivor of the Staunton Collection of Warwickshire antiquarian papers, the remainder of which were destroyed in the Library fire of January 1879.

The entries from 1526 include Shakespeares from Rowington and Packwood, among them , a Richard Shakespeare who was probably the poet's grandfather. In the 1520's he leased an 80 acre plot on the corner of Bell Lane, Snitterfield, which he farmed for 35 years. William Shakespeare's father , John, and his uncle, Henry were born there. John was probably later apprenticed to a glover in Stratford.

MS 3000