World

The Bard's Mom <I>Hasn't</i> Slept Here

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

November 29, 2000 / 5:11 PM EST / CBS

For years, tourists believed they were getting a glimpse inside the house where William Shakespeare's mother lived as a child.

New research shows they have been going to the wrong address — for about two centuries.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust said Wednesday that research proves beyond a doubt that the Bard's mother grew up at Glebe Farm, not the property currently called Mary Arden's House, which is located just 50 yards away in Wilmcote, a little village outside Stratford-upon-Avon.

The trust previously had taken the word of local historian John Jordan, who identified the house in 1792 — though visitors were told by guides that there was no certainty.

Now researchers commissioned by the trust have found a property deed dating from 1587 that proves Arden lived at Glebe Farm years earlier. Church of England records in London confirmed the find.

Trust director Roger Pringle said there had always been some doubts about the exact whereabouts of Mary's house.

"I think my excitement at having this proof of the exact location of the Arden home will be shared by many people," he said.

The discovery was made by local historian Nat Alcock, who traced medieval land deeds, including a rental agreement dating from 1587, showing that a building known as Glebe Farm was Mary's childhood home.

The house thought to have been her home was in fact owned by Adam Palmer, a family friend and neighbor.

By chance, the trust owns both properties.

"It's a wonderful coincidence, and thank God the trust decided to buy Glebe Farm. It could easily have become a housing estate or been demolished," said Nick Walsh, estate manager at the Wilmcote site.

Some 100,000 people each year visit Mary Arden's House, which was bought by the trust in the 1930s. Pringle said he hoped the discovery would boost tourism.

Merchandise bearing images of the current Mary Arden's House, which will be renamed Palmer's Farm before the end of the year, will now have to be redesigned.