The Children of William Shakespeare

Learn about William Shakespeare and his sons and daughters, bore to him by his wife, Anne Hathaway.

The Children of William Shakespeare By the time Shakespeare was 19 his wife had produced a daughter, Susana, christened in May 1583. Unable to afford a home of their own, the new family moved in with Shakespeare’s parents in Henley Street. Two years later, Ann bore William twins, Hamnet and Judith, named after Hamnet and Judith Sadler friends of the couple who lived close by on the corner of High street and Sheep Street in Stratford who incidentally named their own son William to return the compliment. This will not good years for William Shakespeare and although we can only guess at what life was like in this house over crowded with children and the mundane domestic occupation there was at least some small compensation for the young father forced to face his responsibilities. Stratford had become a popular venue for traveling players with the guild hold used by troupes of actors to put on various place. Perhaps it was here that William Shakespeare was first inspired to think of the theater as a future career and even better a means of escaping the drudgery of domesticity. There are two events that may have hastened the Shakespeare to remove himself from Stratford and try his luck in London at this time. The first of the two suggested happenings involves the De Ave that can still be seen at Charlecote Park just a few miles from Stratford today. So Thomas Lacy Lord of the manner and local magistrate had built Charlecote Park, a stately pseudo resident in honor of Queen Elizabeth I. It‘s a long standing tradition that William Shakespeare was frequent poacher of idea here and he was called one night in the act purloining a fine specimen from his Lordship’s dear heard. Unfortunately, when he was hold before the magistrate to face the consequences of his crime William Shakespeare was presented before Sir Thomas Lacy himself. Then by all accounts the wronged gentleman took a great dislike tool the offender and persecuted William with the vengeance from this point on.