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 STRATFORD-UPON-AVON. ANCIENT GUILD 
 KALL 
 Shakespeare Celebration 
 
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 ©escri^tive Cataloauc 
 
 OF 
 
 Kn <E[xhibition 
 
 HELD IN 
 
 The Ancient Guild Hall, 
 
 STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, 
 
 Monday, 19th April, to Saturday, 8th May, 
 
 i 
 
 ! 
 illustrating: an Inventory dalcJ !:;<»=;. j 
 
 and including a number of An^i^^ ti i 
 
 connected with some passages 
 
 Play of 
 
 "THE TAMING 0P THE SHREW." 
 
 KOWAKO rOK, PMMTIK, «T«ATrO«0-U*OH- AVOM. 
 « ^ ^ ^^ ^^ ^^ -^^ -^l^ *i- 
 
 ^
 
 i.ir.UAin 
 LMVt:nsnY (H •aluoi 
 
 SANTA UAUUAKA 
 
 6,r8i6itton Cowmttfcc. 
 
 HoLTE, Frank A., Albany Place. 
 Howe, John, Albany Place {tx-officio). 
 SCRivEN, Mrs. E. A., Tyler Street. 
 Whitcombe, a.. Bridge Street. 
 Baker, Oliver, Lindenhurst. 
 Brassington. W. S., F.S.A., Southcroft. 
 Bond, Acton, Knaresborough Place, S.W. 
 Evans, F. W., Appleton Ma:d {Chaimian), 
 
 Edward Fox, Bridge Street, Hcv. Secretary Exhibition Committu.
 
 The Inventory of Richard Baker, of Stratford- 
 upon-Avon. Died 1595. 
 
 The true Inventorye of the goodes and Cattails 
 of Richard Baker late of old Stratford in the 
 parish of Stratford vpon Avon in the Countye of 
 Warwycke husbandman decessed taken the ixM 
 day of May 1595 & in the xxxvijM yeare of 
 the Rayngne of our Soverayngne Lady Elizabeth 
 by the grace of god Queene of Eyngland, 
 ffraunce, & lerland defender of the ffayth &c. 
 by the discretyon of John Gibbs John Palmer, 
 «&: Abraham Sturley. 
 
 Inprimis his weryng Apperrell praysed at xiij^ iiij^ 
 
 It. in the Kytchyn two table bords wyth one frame viij 
 Joyned stooles, one chyre, a Joyned cubbord & 
 
 ij quysshyns at xvi" 
 
 It. one sylver spone iij^ iiij^ 
 
 It, iiij brasse potts & a dabnet of brasse xn]s m]d 
 
 It. one fyer shovell & a pere of tongs viij^ 
 
 It. one great brasse pan & iiij kettels xxs 
 
 It. ij spytts, one pere of Cobbards one pere of pott 
 hooks, a grydyron, one friyng pan & a pere of 
 
 lynkes prised at iij.y iiij^ 
 
 It. V. Candlestyckes & a chaffyng dish of laten vs 
 
 It. platters great & small, disshes, sawcers, basons, 
 saltcellers old and newe of tynne xxxj pieces — xvs 
 
 It. V flytches of bacon xij^ 
 
 It. one knedyng trogh, one Churne thre lomes iiij payles 
 ij barrells one tubbe of salt, disshes trenchers & 
 
 other small Implements at vs 
 
 It. one old vtyng fatte one great spynnyng whele thre 
 wodden bottels one lether bottell a ladder & a 
 pannell praysed at iiji' i'njd
 
 Ill the Chamber. 
 
 Inprimis one ffether bed, iiij flocke bedds, ij boulsters wyth 
 
 ffethers, iij boulsters wyth flocks & iiij pyllowes — \\\s 
 
 It. iij Coverletts vj pere of blankets & ij twyllys — xk 
 
 It. xiiij payre of sheets, xxti table napkins two short bord 
 
 clothes, & other small lynnens xxxj 
 
 It. one bedsted one truclebed ij coffers & a payntcd 
 
 tester cloth vjj \\\]d 
 
 It. iiij bagges \\s 
 
 In an vpper chamber. 
 
 Inprimis malt iiij quarter & iiij strycke vj// 
 
 It. in a barne at brige town xviij or twentye theave of 
 
 Wheate at \li s\s v\\]d 
 
 It. vj beastes praysed at ix/r* 
 
 It. xxti sheepe praysed at \li 
 
 It. V. geldyngs & mares & one colt v// 
 
 It. one long Cart, one payre of Wheles yron bound, one 
 
 harrowe, one plow & yrons a swynglc tree, a chaync 
 
 & the geares furnyture of the teame at — xxvji' \\\]d 
 
 It. xxti lands and butts of barley .S: six lands pease & 
 
 fytches \\li\s 
 
 It. iij swyne at xss 
 
 It. the kylne heare at \s 
 
 It. all other small & great trassh & od thyngs nameles — \]s 
 Somma totalis \\li \\\]s \\\]d 
 Exhibited at Straiford-vpon-Avon in the court 
 of John Broinhalty Vicar I Octr J'S95- 
 Administration granted to John Gibbs (jf 
 Abraham Sturley.
 
 
 
 
 A^^"^***^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 FAC-SI 
 
 MILK OF A PORTION OF RICHARD BAKER'S INVENTORY (l595)-
 
 O Inventory of the personal effects of William Shake- 
 speare having survived with his will, it is nor 
 possible to say what was the number or character 
 of his goods and chattels. There exists, however, in the 
 priceless stores of local records at the Birthplace, a list of 
 the belongings of one Richard Baker, who was an official of 
 Stratford in 1595; and Warwickshire being still rich in 
 antiquity, it has been decided to attempt to illustrate it, the 
 aim being to get together such examples of English 
 furniture and domestic implements as are mentioned in the 
 Inventory, a printed version and a fac-simile of which are 
 here given. 
 
 It is hoped by this Exhibition to present to those whose 
 lives are spent amidst very different scenes some graphic 
 idea of the surroundings and daily life of a fellow-townsman 
 of Shake.speare's during his lifetime. 
 
 It has not been possible to represent all the items by 
 objects which were actually in existence at that time, but 
 habits and modes of living were more persistent then than 
 now, and a proportion of the articles used in the time of 
 Shakespeare were also common to much earlier and to 
 somewhat later times. 
 
 It has been thought best to limit the Exhibition strictly 
 to the ordinary domestic furniture of the time or slightly 
 later, so as to get the impression of the actual surroundings 
 amidst which Shakespeare lived and wrote, and not what 
 19th century artists, illustrators, and others have considered 
 they were or ought to have been.
 
 Some of the property enumerated in the Inventory we 
 have not attempted to include, such as feather beds, which 
 must always have been much the same as now ; and swine, 
 poultry, sheep, etc., are not possible. 
 
 Several of the objects shown may seem at first sight to 
 have in themselves but slight artistic or antiquarian interest, 
 but they help to make the group more complete. 
 
 LIST OF OBJECTS 
 Exhibited to illustrate the Inventory. 
 
 The numbers refer to Tickets on the several Objects, 
 
 1. 
 
 '■'■Inprimis his weryng Apperrell." 
 
 A good instance of the apparel worn by a civilian of 
 Richard Baker's station is that of Nicholas Lane whose 
 effigy, dated 1595, stands in the east wall of Alveston 
 Church, about two miles from Stratford. — Photograph by 
 Mr. Jethro A. Cos sins. 
 
 A slightly later example is the portrait, dated 1624, of 
 an unknown man, whose shelf of books shows his literary 
 pursuits.
 
 3 - 5. 
 
 LENT BY MR. OLIVER BAKER. 
 
 '''Two table bords wyth one frame." 
 The table of this time had always a loose top for 
 convenience in moving it, the former being separate. The 
 examples shown are probably a little later than the date of 
 the Inventory. 
 
 6. 
 
 " viij joyned stooles." 
 
 The framed furniture made with mortice and tenon 
 was called "joined," to distinguish it from the ruder kind 
 made of slabs of wood united with pins. Stools were much 
 more numerous than chairs, especially when, as in this 
 household, there were no benches. 
 
 Probably none of the stools shown arc actually 
 EHzabethan. 
 
 7. 
 
 " One chyre " (chair). 
 
 As there was only one chair in the house it was prob- 
 ably a handsomely carved one, and the same may be said 
 of the cupboard, which was probably a two-storeyed Court 
 Cupboard, and carved. 
 
 " The two quysshyns " (cushions) were no doubt for use 
 on the permanent benches which were often built with the 
 Elizabethan house and part of it. These are not illustrated. 
 
 8. 
 
 " One sylver spone." 
 By the kindness of Messrs. Crichton Bros., of Old Bond 
 Street, W., we are able to show three silver spoons, each 
 of which might have been the one possessed by Richard 
 Baker^ though it probably most resembled the seal top 
 example.
 
 8 
 
 9 - 11. 
 
 "//^' brasse potts er-" a dabnet of bras se.^'' 
 
 Pots in the i6th century were usually of bell-metal or 
 brass, and were always numerous in a good house. The 
 word "dabnet" is puzzling, and none of the learned 
 authorities consulted can throw any light on it; but it seems 
 likely that it was a kind of skillet or saucepan. 
 
 12, 13. 
 
 " One fyer shovell &= a pere of tongs ^ 
 
 It is hard to say what would be the exact shape of 
 these, but those shown are early ones. 
 
 14. 
 
 " The great brasse pan " was probably for making 
 cheese. 
 
 15, 16. 
 
 " The spytts" would be turned by hand, as mechanical 
 spits were later. This primitive spit was usual from the 
 Middle Ages down to the invention of the smoke-jack in the 
 1 8th century. Two perfect examples of the latter still 
 remain, with their spits and appliances complete, in the 
 kitchen of the Stratford-upon-Avon Town Hall. 
 
 17. 
 
 ^^ The pere of cobbards" were sometimes called cob- 
 irons, and were racks for supporting the spits when in use 
 for roasting. 
 
 18, 19. 
 
 "•The poil /looks" also had racks for adjusting the 
 height of the pot.
 
 9 
 20. 
 
 "A grydyronr 
 These were often highly ornamented. 
 
 21. 
 
 " The friyng pan " having to be used on a flat hearth 
 had a handle of considerable length. 
 
 22, 23. 
 
 '' The pere of lynkes " were perhaps a relic of Richard 
 Baker's official career. They were leg-irons for prisoners. 
 
 24 - 28. 
 
 ''' The V candlesiyckes" were probably of wood and 
 iron, as well as brass. The chaffyng dish of laten was a 
 shallow and small vessel of brass, which is not shown. 
 
 29. 
 
 As pewter is not mentioned in the Inventory, the great 
 and small platters, dishes, saucers, basons and salt cellars, 
 here described as of "tynne," were doubtless pewter. 
 
 '"''vfiytches of bacon:' — Not shown. 
 
 30. 
 
 " The knedyng trogh " (shown) is of the time of Shake- 
 speare. 
 
 31. 
 
 " The chuyne " would be of the vertical plunging type, 
 as shown.
 
 32, 33. 
 
 " The lomes " were vessels (most often of wood) with 
 wide mouths. 
 
 34 - 38. 
 
 " iiij payles " would be of wood or of leather. The 
 dishes and trenchers would be of wood, and the latter for 
 the most part square. 
 
 'I The old vtyngfaite " is difificult to elucidate, and none 
 of the authorities on old MSS. available can explain it. 
 
 39. 
 
 " One great spynnyng whele." This would be a large 
 hand-turned wheel for the spinning of yarn from wool. 
 
 40 - 41. 
 
 " The wodden battels P The small wooden kegs, still 
 used in the Warwickshire harvest fields, and " one lether 
 bottell" the earlier vessel, which they have replaced, the 
 '■'■ladder'''' and " the pannell^'' would be of the ordinary kind. 
 
 42. 
 
 LENT BY MR. A. WHITCOMUE. 
 
 The bedstead shown is of the type likely to be used by 
 Richard Baker, but the bedding is not shown, nor the 
 " truclebed" which was made to slide under the larger one 
 when not wanted. 
 
 43. 
 
 "Coffers" were made of simple slabs of wood, not 
 framed together. 
 
 44. 
 
 "■ Small &^ great trassh csr od thyngs natneles."
 
 LIST OF OBJECTS 
 
 illustrating passages in 
 "THE TAMING OF THE SHREW." 
 
 Induction. 
 Hostess : "A pair of stocks^ you rogue ! " 
 
 1. 
 
 The side and bottom pieces of the ancient stocks are 
 from Ilmington, nine miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, and 
 about five miles from Wincot. 
 
 The iron fastenings belonged to the stocks at Loxley, 
 about four miles from Stratford. 
 
 2. 
 
 Sly : " Go to thy cold bed^ and warm thee." 
 The beds of the i6th and 17th century were sometimes 
 stuffed with straw or feathers, and laid on a mattress of 
 plaited rushes, which often formed the bed itself. Ambrose 
 Dudley, Earl of Warwick, is represented in the Beauchamp 
 Chapel, Warwick, as clad in the robes of a Knight of the 
 Garter, and lying on a rush bed (like the one exhibited) with 
 one end rolled up for a pillow. Another instance is the 
 efifigy in Tenbury Church, where Sir Thomas Acton, 
 father-in-law to Sir Thomas Lucy, of Charlecote (who was 
 satirised by Shakespeare in " The Merry Wives of 
 Windsor,") is represented on a similar rush bed.
 
 12 
 
 3. 
 
 '*And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweety 
 
 The ancient carved bellows, illustrating this passage, 
 contains in the brass nozzle a small chamber in which 
 " sweet wood " or herbs could be inserted with a morsel of 
 live charcoal, so that by working the bellows the fragrant 
 smoke would be diffused into the room. 
 
 The Plague Pan (No. 4), it may be assumed, was used 
 for herbs, the smoke, which would escape through the holes 
 in the lid, being accounted disinfectant. 
 
 4. 
 
 " Wiirt please your honour taste of these conserves ? " 
 
 Conserves were often made by the ladies in great 
 houses. The accompanying MS. book of cookery was 
 compiled by the mistress of Shipton Hall, Salop, in 1687, 
 and gives several recipes for making conserves. 
 
 " Go, sirrah, take them to the buttery^ 
 Illustrated with drawings of ancient butteries. 
 The buttery in a lord's house was placed at the end of 
 the hall. It had in early times an aperture in the wall or 
 door, called the buttery-hatch, which was superseded by the 
 " buttery-bar," a door in two pieces, with a shelf on the 
 lower half. This half-door was secured by a bolt placed so 
 near the floor that the unauthorised toper could not reach 
 it by leaning over, but it could be readily unfastened by the 
 foot of the butler in charge. Only privileged persons would 
 be taken into the buttery itself, the liquor as a rule being 
 dispensed through the hatch. 
 
 m.
 
 13 
 
 6. 
 
 " For God's sake, a pot of small ale^ 
 The ale-pot of Shakespeare's time would be of wood 
 or leather, rarely of earth or pewter. 
 
 7. 
 
 " A Clip oj sack." 
 
 In this case a silver stoup was probably meant, but the 
 "cup" was generally a shallow bowl of wood." 
 
 8. 
 
 ^^ As on a pillory." 
 Photograph of ancient pillory. 
 
 9. 
 
 '' A joint stool." 
 (See No. 6 of Inventory). 
 
 10. 
 
 " In ivory coffers have I stuff' d }ny crowns; 
 Jn cypress chests my arras coutiter points." 
 
 Ancient Italian cypress chest, or ^'cassone," and old 
 Italian tapestry. 
 
 11. 
 
 " Pewter and brass and all things that belong to house or 
 housekeeping." 
 
 12. 
 
 ^^ Be the jacks fair within, the jills fair without?" 
 This refers to drinking jacks of leather, of which three 
 examples are shown.
 
 14 
 
 Note on the local allusions in the Induction to 
 "The Taming of the 5hrew." 
 
 Beggar: " What, would you make me mad? 
 
 Am not I Christopher Site, old Sies son of 
 Burt07i-heathr 
 
 * * * * 
 
 '■'■ Aske Marian Hacket, the fat Alewife of Wincot, 
 if shee hww me not:" 
 
 * * * * 
 
 First Servant: ''Sometimes you would call out for 
 
 Cicely Hacket." 
 Beggar: "^jv, the womati's maide of the house." 
 
 Induction. — First Folio. 
 
 In the original, or foundation play, ''The Taming of 
 a Shrew," published in 1594, there are no local allusions, 
 while in the Induction to ''The Taming of the Shrew" there 
 are several, and these have been thought to be evidence of 
 the Shakespearean authorship of the first scenes. 
 
 "The Beggar " gives us his name, Sly or Slie, a name 
 in the Registers at Stratford-upon-Avon. 
 
 Wincot is one of the allusions which has puzzled the 
 commentators. 
 
 Did Shakespeare allude to Wilmcote, his mother's 
 home; to Wilnecote, near Tamworth; or to Wincot in 
 Gloucestershire? In support of the Gloucestershire Wincot 
 we have the following facts: 
 
 1. Wincot is situated in Clifford Chambers, an adjoin- 
 
 ing parish to Stratford-upon-Avon. 
 
 2. In the register of an adjoining parish, Quinton, the 
 
 name Hackett is found, and in one entry the 
 scribe formed the letter " C " first, and turned 
 it into "S" for "Sara" when transcribing the 
 register, as though " Cicely " was in his mind.
 
 15 
 
 3- At Wincot there is a tradition of long standing that 
 
 the three fine mulberry trees in the garden were 
 
 planted by Shakespeare. Although now only one 
 
 farm house is left, there was a hamlet there, as 
 
 is proved by foundations recently discovered. 
 
 The name " Burton heath" has been taken to be 
 
 Barton-on-the-Heath, in Gloucestershire. But the 1623 
 
 Folio reads " Burton-heath," and both Barton and Burton- 
 
 on-Trent are in the same Staffordshire district as Wilnecote. 
 
 Sir Aston Cokain published in 1658 some verses 
 
 addressed to Mr. Clement Fisher, of Wincott (?>., Wilnecote). 
 
 " Shakespeare your Wincot ale hath much renown, 
 
 That fox'd a beggar so" S'c. 
 There is also a tradition (which it would be interesting 
 to investigate) that Shakespeare slept at an inn, "The Three 
 Tuns," at Sutton Coldfield, when traveUing from Stratford 
 to the North. This agrees with a similar tradition preserved 
 at the inn at Grendon, on the London road. 
 
 W. S. Brassington. 
 
 A number of valuable engravings^ interesting play-bills, 
 editions of old plays and various books bearing upon " The 
 Taming of the Shreiv" have been kindly lent by the Chairman 
 a?id Governors of the Shakespeare Memorial Association.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REG' 
 
 A A 001 42()
 
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