A conveyance deed for a house in Henley Street describes William Shakespeare’s house (now the Birthplace) as adjoining it on the north-west

John Shakespeare’s property in Henley Street, inherited by his son William in 1601, and now known as the Birthplace, had a frontage of about 90 feet. When an urban property changed hands, its boundaries were often defined by reference to neighboring properties. This is the second occasion (the first was in 1608) on which a conveyance of the building to the east of the Shakespeare family’s house in Henley Street is described as bounded by the property “late of William Shakespere.” Although Shakespeare was still alive, the statement that it was “late” his property probably arose from the fact that, since around 1601, and possibly earlier, it had been held under a long lease to Lewis Hiccocks.