# Thomas Greene records Shakespeare's statements about the Welcombe enclosure

Date: 1614

## The fact

Between September 1614 and September 1615 Thomas Greene's notes name [Shakespeare](/people/william-shakespeare) five times in the Welcombe enclosure fight. On 17 November 1614 Greene wrote that 'my Cosen Shakspeare' had come to town and told him the enclosers meant to go no further than Gospel Bush. In September 1615 Greene recorded Shakespeare telling John Greene that he 'was not able to bear the enclosing of Welcombe'.

## Context

Greene was both kinsman and corporation officer opposing enclosure. His diary is hostile-adjacent evidence, not a court judgment. The freeholders list of 5 September 1614 puts Shakespeare at the head with four yardlands. Combined with the Replingham agreement, the notes show a man protecting tithe and freehold more than common tillage.

## Evidence and sources

SBT BRU15/13/26–29 and BRU15/1/94, edited on Shakespeare Documented (doi 10.37078/494 and 10.37078/487), are the papers. They establish Greene's dated notes and the freehold listing. They do not establish Shakespeare's exact inner motive. Wikipedia is not used as a causal source.

## Significance

This is the narrative companion to the Replingham contract. Together they are the enclosure path. Neither is a riot charge.

## What is established and what is not

Established: Greene's dated notes naming Shakespeare; four yardlands listed. Not established: that Shakespeare organised the ditchers; that enclosure fully succeeded in 1615. Confidence high on the notes as Greene's record, medium as a complete account of Shakespeare's will.

The event remains dated 1614-11-17. Shakespeare's documented role is: Greene, town clerk and cousin by marriage, notes five Shakespeare references, including a November 1614 conversation. Shakespeare's reported stance treated enclosure as a bounded scheme he could live with, against the corporation's opposition. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1614-11-17. Shakespeare's documented role is: Greene, town clerk and cousin by marriage, notes five Shakespeare references, including a November 1614 conversation. Shakespeare's reported stance treated enclosure as a bounded scheme he could live with, against the corporation's opposition. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1614-11-17. Shakespeare's documented role is: Greene, town clerk and cousin by marriage, notes five Shakespeare references, including a November 1614 conversation. Shakespeare's reported stance treated enclosure as a bounded scheme he could live with, against the corporation's opposition. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1614-11-17. Shakespeare's documented role is: Greene, town clerk and cousin by marriage, notes five Shakespeare references, including a November 1614 conversation. Shakespeare's reported stance treated enclosure as a bounded scheme he could live with, against the corporation's opposition. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1614-11-17. Shakespeare's documented role is: Greene, town clerk and cousin by marriage, notes five Shakespeare references, including a November 1614 conversation. Shakespeare's reported stance treated enclosure as a bounded scheme he could live with, against the corporation's opposition. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1614-11-17. Shakespeare's documented role is: Greene, town clerk and cousin by marriage, notes five Shakespeare references, including a November 1614 conversation. Shakespeare's reported stance treated enclosure as a bounded scheme he could live with, against the corporation's opposition. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

## People

- William Shakespeare: https://factrail.ai/people/william-shakespeare

## Drivers

- Food-Supply Resilience: https://factrail.ai/drivers/food-supply-resilience

## Sources

- https://shakespearedocumented.folger.edu/node/487
- https://shakespearedocumented.folger.edu/node/494

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/shakespeare-greene-enclosure-notes-1614