Parents

Shakespeare's parents

William's father, John Shakespeare (1531- September 1601), was probably a glovemaker and dealer in wool. During his years of prosperity, he became bailiff, justice of the peace and the Queen’s chief officer at Stratford-on-Avon, as evidenced in his application for a coat of arms in 1569 (5). His mother, Mary Arden (1536? - September 1608), was the youngest of the eight daughters of Robert Arden. The Ardens were an important Catholic land-owning family in the locality, tracing their ancestry back to the times before the Norman conquest, and Robert left a significant legacy at Wilmcote (called 'Asbyes') to Mary on his death in December 1556. Mary and John married in 1557. Their first two daughters died early, but the birth of William in 1564 was followed by Gilbert (1566), Joanne (1569), Anne (1571), Richard (1574) and finally Edmund (1580).

Roman Catholicism of father

That John Shakespeare continued a Roman Catholic despite huge government pressure to convert to the newly established Church of England is evidenced not only by his ceasing to attend Stratford council meetings (most likely in order to avoid the necessity of taking the Oath of Supremacy), but also by his inclusion in a list of recusants compiled in 1592, and by the survival of a five leaf spiritual testament signed by him.