Elizabeth Barnard

Elizabeth Barnard
Portrait of Lady Barnard
Born	(1608-02-21)21 February 1608 Stratford-upon-Avon, England
Died	17 February 1670(1670-02-17) (aged 61) Abington, Northamptonshire, England
Parent(s)	Susanna Shakespeare John Hall

Elizabeth, Lady Barnard (formerly Elizabeth Nash, née Elizabeth Hall) (baptised 21 February 1608 – 17 February 1670) was the granddaughter of the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. Despite two marriages, she had no children, and was his last surviving descendant.

Elizabeth was closely associated with the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. Both her husbands were dedicated supporters of Charles I.

Early life

Elizabeth Hall was born to Susanna Shakespeare and Doctor John Hall. She was baptised in the Holy Trinity Church of Stratford-upon-Avon, England. She was the only grandchild William Shakespeare ever knew, because her three cousins were born after his death in 1616.

First marriage

Elizabeth and her first husband Thomas Nash

Nash Coat of arms quartered with the Hall and Shakespeare coat of Arms as well.According to Charlotte Carmichael Stopes, Nash's coat of arms was emblazoned “double quarterly of four, First, 1 and 4 argent on a chevron between three ravens' heads erased azure, a pellet between 4 cross-crosslets sable, for Nash; 2 and 3 sable a buck's head caboshed argent attired or, between his horns a cross patée, and across his mouth an arrow, Bulstrode. Second, 1 and 4, for Hall, 2 and 3 Shakespeare”.[11]

In 1626, Elizabeth Hall married Thomas Nash, who was a member of the Manor and Lordship of Shottery. Nash is known to have been an ardent Royalist, a supporter of Charles I and indeed a donor to the king's cause to the tune of £100.^[1] In July 1643 the queen Henrietta Maria stayed with the Nashes at New Place.

Thomas made his will on 25 August 1642, in which he left his house in Chapel Street and two meadows to Elizabeth. However, he left the bulk of his fortune to his cousin, Edward Nash. On 4 April 1647, Thomas died, leaving Elizabeth a widow.

Second marriage

On 5 June 1649, eighteen months after her husband's death, Elizabeth married John Barnard (1604–74) of Abington, near Cambridge. Barnard was a widower with several children. It is not known how they met, since he did not live near Stratford, but it was most likely through Elizabeth's Royalist connections. Like Nash, he had been a strong supporter of the Royalists in the Civil War. Five weeks after the marriage, Elizabeth's mother Susanna died. As a result, Elizabeth inherited the Shakespeare family property. The couple moved to Stratford, to live in New Place.

As a staunch Royalist, Barnard's social position improved dramatically after the Restoration in 1660. He became the MP for Huntingdon in 1660 and was made a baronet in 1661, thus giving his wife the title Lady Barnard.^[2] They left Stratford to move into the Barnard family home in Abington. The couple had no children.

In February 1662, Judith Quiney died in Stratford-upon-Avon, making Elizabeth Barnard the last descendant of William Shakespeare. She wrote her will on 29 January 1669, which did not give much to her husband, Sir John Barnard. Elizabeth died at Abington, Northamptonshire on 17 February 1670. There is a memorial plaque in the Church of Saint Peter & Paul, Abington, where she is buried.^[2]

The family home of Sir John and Lady Barnard is now a museum, Abington Park Museum, and the grounds are now a park in the town of Northampton.

References

↑ Halliwell-Phillipps, James Orchard (1885). Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare. London: Mssrs. Longmans, Green, and Co. pp. Volume II, p.324. It may be mentioned that amongst “the names of such persons within the burrough of Stratford-upon-Avon who by way of laone have sent in money and plate to the King and Parliament,” 24 Sept., 1642, is found as by far the largest contributor,—“Thomas Nashe esq^r., in plate or money paid in at Warr:, 100li.”
1 2 J. Q. Adams, A Life of William Shakespeare, Wildside Press, 2007 (reprint from 1923), p485-8.

External links

Family of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare's family tree

Direct ascendants and descendants of William Shakespeare are shown with a blue background

     Shakespeare's siblings are shown with a red background
     Anne Hathaway and ascendants are shown with a yellow background
     People related to Shakespeare through marriage are shown with a green background

Relations whose identity is not known are shown with a dashed border

This does not include all of Shakespeare's siblings, only the notable ones.

Years given are usually approximate and typically reflect baptismal and burial years, rather than birth and death.

For remarriages, the number in parenthesis after the name indicates the order of the marriages..

Richard
Shakespeare^{[n. 1]}
(1490–1561)

(unknown)

Robert
Arden^{[n. 2]}
(unknown)

John
Shakespeare^{[n. 3]}
(1531–1601)

Mary
Arden^{[n. 4]}
(1537–1608)

(unknown)

Richard
Hathaway^{[n. 5]}
(unknown)

Gilbert
Shakespeare^{[n. 6]}
(1566–1612)

Joan
Shakespeare^{[n. 7]}
(1569–1646)

Edmund
Shakespeare^{[n. 8]}
(1580–1607)

(4 other siblings)^{[n. 9]}

William
Shakespeare^{[n. 10]}
(1564–1616)

Anne
Hathaway^{[n. 11]}
(1555–1623)

John
Hall^{[n. 12]}
(1575–1635)

Susanna
Hall^{[n. 13]}
(1583–1649)

Judith
Quiney^{[n. 14]}
(1585–1662)

Thomas
Quiney^{[n. 15]}
(1589–1662)

Hamnet
Shakespeare^{[n. 16]}
(1585–1596)

Thomas
Nash (1)^{[n. 17]}
(1593–1647)

Elisabeth
Barnard^{[n. 18]}
(1608–1670)

John
Barnard (2)^{[n. 19]}
(1604–1674)

Shakespeare
Quiney^{[n. 20]}
(1616–1617)

Richard
Quiney^{[n. 21]}
(1618–1639)

Thomas
Quiney^{[n. 22]}
(1620–1639)

Notes

↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:11
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:12
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:12
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:12
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:18
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:12
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:12
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:12
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:12
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:12
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:18
↑ Chambers 1930, p. II:9
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:18
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:18
↑ Schoenbaum 1977, p. 292
↑ Chambers 1930, p. I:18
↑ Chambers 1930, p. II:9
↑ Chambers 1930, p. II:8
↑ Chambers 1930, p. II:8
↑ Chambers 1930, p. II:8
↑ Chambers 1930, p. II:8
↑ Chambers 1930, p. II:8

Sources

Chambers, Edmund Kerchever (1930). William Shakespeare: A Study of Facts and Problems. Oxford: Clarendon Press. OCLC 353406.
Schoenbaum, Samuel (1977). William Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0195051610.

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