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The Guardian World1 min read
Shakespeare's 'missing' home mapped with discovery
TL;DR
The location of William Shakespeare's only London property has been identified on Blackfriars street following the discovery of a previously unknown floorplan. This suggests he may have spent more time in London than previously thought.
Key points
- Shakespeare's only London property identified on Blackfriars street
- Discovery made by Prof Lucy Munro from King's College London
- Indicates Shakespeare may have spent more time in London
- Blue plaque on St Andrew's Hill marks the exact site of his house
- Property thought to be part of a 13th Century Dominican friary
Mentioned in this story
William ShakespeareProf Lucy MunroBlackfriarsStratford-upon-Avon
St Andrew's Hill
The exact location of William Shakespeare's only London property has been pinpointed to a Blackfriars street, after an unknown floorplan was discovered.
Shakespeare expert Prof Lucy Munro from King's College London identified the location and size of the property he bought in 1613.
It had been thought that Shakespeare retired from his theatre career not long after he bought the house and returned to Stratford-upon-Avon. However, academics believe the discovery could indicate that the playwright spent more time in London than previously believed.
It also means that the blue plaque for Shakespeare on St Andrew's Hill is not "near" the site of his London house, but on the spot it used to exist.
Shakespeare's Blackfriars property was thought to have been part of "the Great Gate" over the entrance to the Blackfriars precinct, a major 13th Century Dominican friary.
Munro uncovered three documents – two from the London Archives and one from the National Archives – that provided more information.
Munro said: "I was doing research as part of a wider project and couldn't believe it when I realised what I was looking at - the floorplan of Shakespeare's Blackfriars house.
"It had been assumed that there wasn't much more evidence to gather about it, so research on it has laid dormant for a while.
"These findings really help us tell the complete story of Shakespeare's Blackfriars house, and thanks to this new discovery we now know exactly where it stood."
One of the documents was a plan of part of the Blackfriars precinct, drawn up in 1668, two years after the Great Fire of London, which confirmed the precise location and size of Shakespeare's Blackfriars house.
The part of the property that spanned the gate did not appear in the post-fire plan because it had no foundation.
Munro said: "This house was close to [Shakespeare's] workplace at the Blackfriars theatre.
"We know that Shakespeare co-authored Two Noble Kinsmen with John Fletcher later in 1613, and this new evidence that the Blackfriars house was quite substantial makes it not inconceivable that some of it may have been written in this very property."
The other two of these documents relate to the sale of the Blackfriars property by Shakespeare's granddaughter in 1665.
The property covered what are now the eastern end of Ireland Yard, the bottom of Burgon Street and parts of the late 19th Century buildings at 5 Burgon Street and 5 St Andrew's Hill.
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Q&A
Where was Shakespeare's only London property located?
Shakespeare's only London property has been pinpointed to a street in Blackfriars.
What does the discovery of the floorplan indicate about Shakespeare's life?
The discovery suggests that Shakespeare may have spent more time in London after purchasing the property in 1613 than previously believed.
What is the significance of the blue plaque on St Andrew's Hill?
The blue plaque for Shakespeare on St Andrew's Hill is now recognized as being on the exact site where his London house used to exist.
