A 17th Century will that sparked a family row over William Shakespeare’s grand Stratford-upon-Avon home has been found.
The document, drawn up by Thomas Nash on 25 August 1642, was discovered by Dr Dan Gosling, a historian at The National Archives, who was looking through unlisted boxes containing hundreds of deeds.
Dr Gosling said he was “confident” no one had seen the will in 150 years as it was filed away in the late 19th Century.
He added it showed how the execution of Shakespeare’s will “wasn’t entirely smooth sailing”.
Nash (also know as Nashe) was married to Shakespeare’s granddaughter Elizabeth Hall and living in New Place, then the Bard’s family residence and the second-largest house in the town.
He left the property to his cousin Edward, despite having no right to do so.
The house had already been left by Shakespeare to his eldest daughter, Susanna, who was alive and living there with Nash and Elizabeth, her daughter.
When Nash died in 1647, Susanna and Elizabeth obtained a legal document confirming they still held Shakespeare’s estates.
Edward Nash hauled Elizabeth into court the following year, demanding she respect his deceased cousin’s wishes.
The case landed in the Court of Chancery – where Elizabeth argued her late husband had no power to grant Shakespeare’s home and mentioned her grandfather’s bequest to her mother.
Elizabeth, who later became Lady Barnard, is believed to have settled the matter out of court and lived in the residence until her death in 1670, Dr Gosling said.
He added: “I got really excited when I started to read about it and how it tied into the Chancery case, how it tied into the Shakespeare family and the last of Shakespeare’s direct descendants.”
