Conveyance to Bartholomew Hathaway, William Shakespeare’s brother-in-law, of the Hathaway estate at Shottery, including Anne Hathaway’s Cottage

The Hathaway family of Shottery can be traced back to the late fifteenth century. The extent of their land holdings is first documented in a survey of 1556 which records that John Hathaway held them of the lord of the manor by copy of court roll, dated April 20, 1543, for an annual rent of 33s. 4d. (For more information on this form of tenure, see Shakespeare’s Chapel Lane purchase in 1602.) At that point, the lands were said to comprise a messuage (or dwelling house) and half a virgate (around 15 acres) of land called Hewland, another messuage and virgate in the tenure of Thomas Perkins, and a toft (site of a house) and half a virgate called Hewlyns. In 1590, Joan Hathaway, the widow of Richard Hathaway (probably the son of John) was recorded as paying the same annual rent for one messuage and 2½ virgates in Shottery, almost certainly the same property, though described slightly differently.

Ambrose earl of Warwick, the lord of the manor of Old Stratford from whom the Hathaways held these copyhold lands, died without issue in 1590. His extensive estates then passed to the crown, to be sold off piecemeal. On March 22, 1610 the freehold of the earl’s lands in Shottery came into the hands of two speculators, William Whitmore and John Randle, who then proceeded to sell off individual parcels. One parcel comprised the Hathaway family holdings and on April 1, 1610, as shown here, the freehold of this was conveyed, for £200, to Bartholomew Hathaway (Anne Hathaway’s brother, son or stepson of Joan Hathaway and probably grandson of John Hathaway), thereby converting his tenure from copyhold to freehold.

In this deed of conveyance, the property is described as a house and yardland (around 30 acres) late in the tenure of Thomas Perkins, a messuage and another yardland called Hewlands, and a toft and half yardland called Hewlyns. All three properties were described as in Bartholomew’s tenure, together with three closes (or hedged or fenced fields) called Hewland Close, Hewlyns Close and Palmers Close. Bartholomew, and his heirs and assigns were still required to pay the 33s. 4d. customary rent to Whitmore and Randle, but had the freedom to dispose of the property as and when they wished. The deed was signed by the vendors and witnessed, amongst others, by the solicitor, Francis Collins, who was probably acting for Bartholomew.

Bartholomew’s direct descendants lived on in Shottery for more than 200 years. The estate began to break up soon after 1700 but it was not until 1838 that its last remaining component, now known as Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, was sold to a local farmer.