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So this is where it all began StraorduponAvon in Warwickshire in the middle of England. A halfmbered
house on Henley Street, the heart of the town. It belonged to John Shakespeare, a glover. He came from a
farmingfamilyinavillagecalledSniereldjustoutsidetown,buthemovedfromthelandintotrade,cameinto
Straord, and set up business making gloves. Everybody wore gloves in those days. It involved a whole lot of
dierent processes tanning the hides, cung the skins, creang the products, and selling them in the shop.
Youcansllvisitthehousetoday,andwealwayshearthenoiseoftouristsinthestreets.
InJohnShakespearesme,itwasaquiettown,althoughitgotbusyonmarketday.Hemarriedawomancalled
Mary Arden, also from farming stock. Slightly beer o than him, she came from another local village called
Wilmcote. In1564,they hadtheir rst surviving child, a son. Ivegot here theparish register from Holy Trinity
ChurchhereinStraordwhereallbapsmswereregistered.ItsherethatweseethenameofShakespearefor
therstme:26thofApril,1564,GuliemusliusJohannesShakespeareWilliam,sonofJohnShakespeare.
Its an amazing document to think that this was wrien within two or three days of the child coming into the
world. We dont actually know for sure whichdayhe was born. Tradionally,his birthday is celebrated onthe
23rdofApril,St.GeorgesDay,thedayofthepatronsaintofEnglandveryappropriateforthemanwhowould
becomethenaonalpoetofEngland.Butwhoknowsperhapsitwasthe22ndorthe24th.Wellneverknow.
Hesurvivedthough,thatwastheimportantthing.
Whenwelookdownthepageoftheparishregister,weseeanoteinthemarginhicincipitpessherebegan
the plague. Within a few months of Shakespeares birth, Straord was hit by plague. A huge number of the
peopleofthesmalltownwerewipedout.TheShakespearefamilycouldhavegonethatway,buttheysurvived.
Hewasalwaysinhiswayaluckywriter.Hewasluckyinhisplaceofbirthbecauseitwassomewherewherehe
couldgetagoodeducaon,andhehadsomeluckybreakswhenhistheatricalcareertookoasweregoingto
discoverinthecourseofthecomingweeks.
The Paiish Registei The Paiish Registei