# Stratford's 1598 corn and malt survey lists Shakespeare holding ten quarters of malt

Date: 1598

## The fact

The Stratford-upon-Avon return dated 4 February 1598, a 'Noate of Corne and malte', lists [William Shakespeare](/people/william-shakespeare) in Chapel Street ward with ten quarters of malt. The survey followed Privy Council orders after bad harvests. This is a named household stock, not a conviction for engrossing.

## Context

Wheat prices had tripled from the early 1590s. Stratford malt-making was a common trade; many neighbours also held grain. Shakespeare's ten quarters put him among the larger holders, not the largest. The 1595 survey had not listed him. Dearth policy treated large private stocks as a public problem. The paper does not say he sold at famine prices.

## Evidence and sources

The document is Shakespeare Birthplace Trust BRU15/1/106, edited on Folger Shakespeare Documented with commentary by Robert Bearman. That is an official borough return plus independent documentary editing. It establishes a name, a ward, a quantity, and a date. It does not establish a prosecution. Wikipedia is not used as a causal source.

## Significance

[Food-price pressure](/drivers/food-price-pressure) is the honest driver: a surveyed stock in a dearth. Weight is medium because malt-making was ordinary and because quantity is not a proven market corner.

## What is established and what is not

Established: 4 February 1598 listing of ten quarters of malt. Not established: that he starved neighbours; that he broke a specific engrossing statute in this return. Confidence high on the listing, medium on harm.

The event remains dated 1598-02-04. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is named in the borough return as storing ten quarters of malt during a dearth. Holding malt in a surveyed dearth is a household food-stock act that can tighten local malt/grain availability. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-02-04. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is named in the borough return as storing ten quarters of malt during a dearth. Holding malt in a surveyed dearth is a household food-stock act that can tighten local malt/grain availability. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-02-04. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is named in the borough return as storing ten quarters of malt during a dearth. Holding malt in a surveyed dearth is a household food-stock act that can tighten local malt/grain availability. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-02-04. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is named in the borough return as storing ten quarters of malt during a dearth. Holding malt in a surveyed dearth is a household food-stock act that can tighten local malt/grain availability. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-02-04. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is named in the borough return as storing ten quarters of malt during a dearth. Holding malt in a surveyed dearth is a household food-stock act that can tighten local malt/grain availability. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-02-04. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is named in the borough return as storing ten quarters of malt during a dearth. Holding malt in a surveyed dearth is a household food-stock act that can tighten local malt/grain availability. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

## People

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

## Drivers

- Food-Price Pressure: https://factrail.ai/drivers/food-price-pressure

## Sources

- https://shakespearedocumented.folger.edu/resource/document/survey-those-within-borough-stratford-upon-avon-holding-quantities-corne-and-malt
- https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/shakespeare-stratford-malt-survey-1598