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Shakespeare buys 107 acres in Old Stratford from John and William Combe for £320

In May 1602 John Combe and William Combe conveyed 107 acres in Old Stratford to William Shakespeare for £320. In the causal graph this event strengthens the driver Income Inequality.

Shakespeare buys 107 acres in Old Stratford from John and William Combe for £320

Sources: [1][2]

Read the full account

In May 1602 John Combe and William Combe conveyed 107 acres in Old Stratford to William Shakespeare for £320. The deed was taken by Gilbert Shakespeare 'to the use of' his brother. Tenants Thomas and Lewis Hiccocks are named. This is a completed conveyance, not a rumour of wealth.

Context

£320 is a very large cash sum for a player. The land carried common grazing rights. Later Welcombe enclosure politics sit on this freehold. Buying land is not automatically a welfare crime; treating it as inequality is a distributional reading of a documented concentration of acreage and commons, not a claim of eviction on the face of the deed.

Why it matters

Inequality here is asset concentration. The later enclosure fight makes this purchase a precondition, not the enclosure itself.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • William Shakespeare

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.6 · verified

    He purchased four yardlands with common rights; tenants named in the conveyance became his tenants.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactShakespeare buys 107 acres in Old Stratford from John and William Combe for £320
    2. strengthensDriverIncome Inequality

    impact weight 0.35 · Effect from 1 May 1602 · verified

    A large cash land purchase concentrates agrarian income and common rights in one London-based townsman.

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Shakespeare Documented — 1602 Combe conveyance of 107 acresFolger Shakespeare Library / Shakespeare Birthplace Trust · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Shakespeare Birthplace Trust — William Shakespeare biographyShakespeare Birthplace Trust · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

The original conveyance is published on Shakespeare Documented (doi 10.37078/517). Birthplace Trust holds the local archive. The deed establishes parties, acreage, price, and tenants. It does not establish that the Hiccocks were expelled. Wikipedia is not used as a causal source.

Established: 1602 purchase of 107 acres for £320. Not established: eviction; that the money was 'usury'. Confidence high on the deed, medium on the inequality coefficient.

The event remains dated 1602-05-01. Shakespeare's documented role is: He purchased four yardlands with common rights; tenants named in the conveyance became his tenants. A large cash land purchase concentrates agrarian income and common rights in one London-based townsman. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1602-05-01.

The event remains dated 1602-05-01.

The event remains dated 1602-05-01.

The event remains dated 1602-05-01.

The event remains dated 1602-05-01.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorWilliam Shakespeare
  2. contributed toFactShakespeare buys 107 acres in Old Stratford from John and William Combe for £320
  3. strengthensDriverIncome Inequality

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Shakespeare buys 107 acres in Old Stratford from John and William Combe for £320. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/shakespeare-combe-land-1602

https://factrail.ai/facts/shakespeare-combe-land-1602

Accessed 15 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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