Witter v. Heminges and Condell: Shareholdings in the Globe: Appearance Book

In 1606 John Witter of Mortlake, Surrey, married Anne Phillips, widow of Augustine Phillips, a member of the King’s Men who had died in 1605. Though Anne was both a beneficiary and the executrix of her deceased husband’s estate, a clause in Phillips’s will stipulated that, should she re-marry, the executorship of the estate, including the Phillips share in the Globe, would pass to his overseers John Heminges, Richard Burbage, and William Slye, who were principal actors with the King’s Men, and to Timothy Whitehorn. Accordingly, in 1607, a year after Anne’s remarriage, the executorship passed to John Heminges (Playhouse Wills, p. 74). Following Anne’s death in January 1618, Witter sued Heminges and Henry Condell and Henry Condell for her share in the Globe. The resulting lawsuit, from which eight documents survive, provides useful information on the Globe site and the Globe playhouse. One document, the Answer of Heminges and Condell specifically names William Shakespeare.

The entry shown here, from the contemporary “Appearance Book,” simply confirms that John Heminges and Henry Condell, gentlemen, presented themselves to the court in person, in response to the suit brought by John Witter, gentleman. Witter’s Complaint was dated April 20, 1619. The original entry shown here is dated three days later on April 23; the second half of the note, in a different hand, is dated several days later, April 28.