The inspiration for this site:

came from contact with other researchers tracing Shakespeare ancestors, and the realisation that prior to about the year 1600 there are few Shakespeares to be found outside the County of Warwickshire. In fact, at this time period there are only four continuous records of families outside this county:

1.     One family in Gloucestershire from about 1600, or possibly later.

2.     One family in Bedfordshire from about 1570.

3.     The ‘Black Country Shakespeares' (Staffs & Worcs) from about 1580.

4.     One well documented family in Stepney, London from about 1569. Odd other individuals occur in the London area and may or may not be members of the same family.

Of these the Gloucestershire family seems to have present day descendants although these have been the subject of little research. The Bedfordshire family seems to have become extinct by the early 1700's. The ‘Black Country’ Shakespeares have been the subject of much research and have numerous descendants scattered around the world. The London family is mentioned at length in George Russell French‘s ‘Shakespeareana Genealogica’ (1869).

Apart from the odd ‘stray’ (such as an individual recorded in Cumbria in the 14^th Century) the only Shakespeares to be found before this are within the County of Warwickshire, mainly concentrated around the villages of Rowington, Wroxall etc. This leads to the not unreasonable conclusion that all bearers of the name may share common ancestry.

Another interesting discovery was the thought provoking suggestion by Peter Lee, the Chairman of the Warwickshire Family History Society, that the Poet, William Shakespeare, had one or more previously unrecorded older siblings who have living descendants alive today! If true this fact (and there is a lot of circumstantial evidence) has gone unnoticed by historians for nearly 400 years. You can read of this evidence and the arguments for and against it here.

On this site it is hoped to reconstruct the known genealogies for all Shakespeare families for the period prior to about 1650 (although later information will be included where known) and hopefully collect and present together all Shakespeare documents (eg Parish Registers, Wills, Manorial Records etc.) that can be found and hopefully in this way the various families may one day be linked.  (Research Notes)

Please note that the surname is spelled 'Shakespeare' throughout this site. No apologies are made for this as this seems to be the most common of very many variations. Should your branch consistently use a different spelling please let us know and we will amend the records accordingly. Occasional exceptions are made where the spelling might cause confusion eg 'Shakesboy' - later confirmed as being Shakespeare by subsequent entries in the parish register concerned, using the same, uncommon, christian name.

All his successors gone before him have done 't; and all his ancestors that come after him may.

The Merry Wives of Windsor. Act i. Sc. 1.