Record of a meeting of the Stratford-upon-Avon Corporation when John Shakespeare was elected an alderman

The Corporation was made up of 14 aldermen, who were named in the town’s 1553 charter of incorporation, and 14 capital burgesses who the aldermen elected to assist them. Due to the patchy nature of the early records, there is no surviving full list of capital burgesses from before August 30, 1564 (Minutes and Accounts, i, p. 130). However, we know that John Shakespeare was probably elected to serve as a capital burgess around 1558.

If an alderman died, or was removed from the bench, the remaining aldermen would choose a replacement from among the capital burgesses. Again, records for these replacement aldermen at this early date are incomplete, but we do have the record for John Shakespeare's election to the role. On May 9, 1565, Alderman William Bott was expelled on the report by “credable persones” that he “hath spoken evell woords [concerning] M^r Belyf & other, that ther was never a honest man of the Councell or the body of the corporacyon” (Minutes and Accounts, i, p. 145). At the following meeting (shown here), held on July 4, John Shakespeare was elected to take Bott's place. John Shakespeare’s name appears twice, as he was listed as present both in the list of capital burgesses and, because of his election, among the aldermen as well.

John Shakespeare was not the most senior capital burgess present at the meeting. At least three other capital burgesses had served for longer, and his fellow chamberlain at the time, John Taylor, never made it onto the aldermanic bench. John Shakespeare's early promotion might therefore reflect either the aldermen’s confidence in his abilities or perhaps his own civic ambitions.

 

[In the hand writing of the town clerk, Richard Symons. The page begins with the heading for a meeting held on May 9 which was instead written up on p. 387]