A 1642 will which caused a legal row about William Shakespeare’s property in Stratford-upon-Avon has been discovered at The National Archives.
The will made by Thomas Nash on 25 August, 1642 was found in a box of Chancery documents from the 17th century and earlier. Until now, this original version of the will has never been seen by modern historians.
Nash was married to Shakespeare’s granddaughter Elizabeth and living in New Place – one of Shakespeare’s houses and reputedly the second largest in Stratford at the time – when he made the will leaving it to his cousin, Edward Nash.
Unfortunately, Thomas Nash had no right to bequeath the house because it had been left by Shakespeare in his will to his eldest daughter, Susanna, who was still alive at the time and living in New Place with Nash and her daughter Elizabeth.
The confusion caused by Nash’s will prompted Susanna and Elizabeth to obtain a legal document confirming that they still held Shakespeare’s estates when Thomas Nash died before both of them in 1647.
This riled Edward Nash and he took Elizabeth to court the following year, arguing that she should honour the terms of Thomas’ will.
Dr Dan Gosling, Principal Legal Records Specialist at The National Archives, who discovered the will, said: “This is a really exciting discovery, showing how the execution of Shakespeare’s will wasn’t entirely smooth sailing. Elizabeth had to bring her husband’s will into court and explain why she hadn’t honoured the terms of it.
“In the Chancery proceedings, though, Elizabeth stood up to Edward Nash, arguing that her late husband had no right to grant New Place, specifically mentioning that it had been left by her grandfather William Shakespeare to her mother Susanna Hall.”
