William of Stratford, a Coda: The History of New Place

**Philip Rowe** (0:10)
Welcome to The History Of European Theatre podcast, and thanks for joining me on this journey through millennia of theatrical history. Episode 123, William of Stratford, a Coda, The History Of New Place.
During my research for the four-part biography of Shakespeare, I came across quite a bit of information about his home in Stratford-upon-Avon in his later years, New Place. Much of it veered away from the biography of Shakespeare, so it didn't make it into the edit of the biography episodes, but nevertheless helps to paint a picture of what type of place Stratford-upon-Avon was through the ages, for some of its grander residents of the town at least. So now, as a coda to the Shakespeare biography, here is the story of the house and its residents.
The very beginnings of New Place can arguably be traced back to the Iron Age farmstead that originated sometimes around 700 BC, and which seems to have been active right through to 43 AD. The excavations at New Place have revealed storage pits that date to that period. Some, the archaeology tells us, were likely to have been lined with wood or wicker, and it's thought that they were used to store grain or other consumables once they'd been harvested from the local countryside. But for what we would consider the first house on the site, we have to jump forward to the 13th century, where there was probably a timber-built structure on the site. This was replaced in 1483 by a brick-and-timber building built by local gentry Sir Hugh Clopton. The Cloptons were a major local family who built their wealth as mercers, trading in wool and cloth. Hugh was the younger son and as such, with no likelihood of inheriting the family wealth, he had to find his own way in the world. He was sent to London as a young man to apprentice into the trade of his father, and he was very successful there, rising quickly up through the ranks of the Mercers Guild and City Appointments until, eventually, becoming Lord Mayor of London in 1491
He became extremely wealthy and spent a good portion of his money on land and projects in his home town, including the construction of the wood-and-timber house on the corner plot in a prominent position in town. Stratford, it seemed safe to assume, remained a favourite place of his, and he took several positions in the bodies governing the town at the time. He was a significant contributor to the town. He built the nave of the chapel of the Stratford Guild of the Holy Trinity, which was just opposite his new home, and he then added a tower, a steeple, ceiling paintings and glass windows to the building. He also built Clopton Bridge in stone, which spanned the River Avon with 14 arches, having taken down the earlier wooden bridge at his own expense. When he died, he provided for the completion of the Stratford Improvement and also left 100 marks to 24 maidens of the town and 200 pounds for rebuilding the cross-isle of the parish church. As well as generous bequests to his family, he also left endowments for the education of poor scholars at Oxford and Cambridge universities.
His large house, probably the second largest building in the town at the time, was clearly meant to be seen as a statement of his wealth and power. The brick and timber construction was a significant innovation of the time and allowed for a large and sturdy structure. The house is thought to have included 10 fireplaces, 5 gables and grounds large enough to incorporate barns and an orchard.
Sir Hugh was a lifelong bachelor and when he died in 1496 he left New Place to his great nephew William Clopton, the grandson of his elder brother. In his will he refers to the house as his great house, confirming it as the largest of the several properties he owned in the Stratford area. In 1543 William leased the house for 40 years to a surgeon Thomas Bentley, who then left a lifelong interest in the lease to his widow Anne. But when she remarried William was able to recover possession of the house and in time passed it to his own son, another William Clopton. We've now reached 1560 This William Clopton, who was the third in the line, was a traveller and he was struggling for money. So as part of a deal to meet the marriage portions he had to pay for his sister, he sold New Place to William Bott, who had by then been renting the house for a few years.
In the records, there isn't a good word to be said about William Bott. His own son-in-law said that he was ...void of all honesty and fidelity or fear of God, and openly detected of diverse, great and notorious crimes, namely felony, adultery, whoredom, falsehood and forgery. Nice, but it gets worse. After moving into New Place in April 1563, Bott allegedly talked his underage son-in-law John into leaving his estate to him if Bott's daughter Isabella, John's wife, died without producing an heir. Isabella indeed died suddenly, and eight years later the matter came to court when servant Ronald Wheeler made the following accusation.