# Shakespeare agrees with William Replingham to protect his tithe income if Welcombe is enclosed

Date: 1614

## The fact

On 28 October 1614 [Shakespeare](/people/william-shakespeare) reached an agreement with William Replingham, surviving as an incomplete copy (SBT ER27/3), that he would be compensated for loss to his tithes 'by reason of anie Inclosure or decaye of Tyllage' at Welcombe. This is a completed private contract in the face of an enclosure scheme the Stratford corporation opposed.

## Context

Arthur Mainwaring and Replingham fronted a scheme later seen as serving William Combe. The corporation feared tithe loss if arable became sheep pasture. Shakespeare, himself a tithe-[holder](/people/eric-holder) and four-yardland freeholder, insured his income. Thomas Greene's later notes show Shakespeare telling him the enclosers would not go beyond Gospel Bush. That is a separate Fact.

## Evidence and sources

The agreement is edited on Shakespeare Documented with Bearman's commentary (doi 10.37078/519). It is an official local legal copy plus independent scholarly edition. It establishes Shakespeare's contractual posture. It does not establish that he dug the ditches. Wikipedia is not used as a causal source.

## Significance

This is the sharpest agrarian welfare document in the dossier. [Food-supply resilience](/drivers/food-supply-resilience) is weakened when tillage decays; Shakespeare's paper protects rent, not tillage.

## What is established and what is not

Established: 28 October 1614 compensation agreement. Not established: that enclosure was completed to the full feared extent in his lifetime; that he ordered violence against commoners. Confidence high on the contract.

The event remains dated 1614-10-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: He contracted to be compensated for tithe loss from enclosure rather than joining the borough's opposition. Enclosure converting tillage to pasture threatened local grain supply; Shakespeare insured his tithe rent against that conversion. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1614-10-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: He contracted to be compensated for tithe loss from enclosure rather than joining the borough's opposition. Enclosure converting tillage to pasture threatened local grain supply; Shakespeare insured his tithe rent against that conversion. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1614-10-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: He contracted to be compensated for tithe loss from enclosure rather than joining the borough's opposition. Enclosure converting tillage to pasture threatened local grain supply; Shakespeare insured his tithe rent against that conversion. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1614-10-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: He contracted to be compensated for tithe loss from enclosure rather than joining the borough's opposition. Enclosure converting tillage to pasture threatened local grain supply; Shakespeare insured his tithe rent against that conversion. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1614-10-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: He contracted to be compensated for tithe loss from enclosure rather than joining the borough's opposition. Enclosure converting tillage to pasture threatened local grain supply; Shakespeare insured his tithe rent against that conversion. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1614-10-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: He contracted to be compensated for tithe loss from enclosure rather than joining the borough's opposition. Enclosure converting tillage to pasture threatened local grain supply; Shakespeare insured his tithe rent against that conversion. 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
- Household Purchasing Power: https://factrail.ai/drivers/household-purchasing-power

## Sources

- https://shakespearedocumented.folger.edu/node/519
- https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/shakespeare-replingham-agreement-1614