The purported Shakespeare's signet ring or seal ring, is a gold signet ring with the initials WS. It was found in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom, in 1810 and may have belonged to William Shakespeare. It is kept by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT).
According to Robert Bell Wheler, a local historian of Stratford-upon-Avon, the ring was found on Friday the 16th of March, 1810, in a field near the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, by a Mrs Martin, wife of a labourer. Immediately after her discovery, Mrs Martin took the ring to a local silversmith's shop, where it was immersed in nitric acid, in order to prove or ascertain the metal of the ring. This, says Wheler, may have destroyed the ring’s "precious aerugo", or tarnish, but it did restore the ring's original color. Word of the discovery reached Wheler, and he managed to buy the ring from Mrs Martin on the very same day, March 16. He paid her 36 shillings, which was the value of the ring's gold at the time. The ring, Wheler felt, must have been lost for "a great many years", because it appeared "nearly black" when it was discovered. Wheler noted that the ring was "of tolerably large dimensions", and he thought that it must have been an Elizabethan gentleman's ring. Similar rings, he pointed out, could be found portrayed in Elizabethan paintings and monuments. Plus the distinctive formation of the letters "W" and "S", agree with the way the letters were formed in Shakespeare's day–proof of which could be seen nearby on tombs, and in Shakespeare’s monument in the Holy Trinity Church. Wheler noticed another element the ring had of the Elizabethan style–the "union of the letters by the ornamental string and tassels", a design that could also be found along with the letters "T" and "L" on a porch ornament of Charlcote-house—a mansion located near Stratford-upon-Avon and built by Thomas Lucy. Lucy is the person said to have prosecuted young William Shakespeare for poaching deer. Wheler considered the possibility that the ring might have belonged to William Shakespeare. [1]
Wheler felt that the only way to authenticate the ring as having belonged to Shakespeare might be to find an impression of the seal on a letter or a document signed by Shakespeare. [1] Still later that same day, March 16, Wheler wrote a letter to The Gentlemen's Magazine, as part of his efforts to discover such a document. In his letter Wheler requested the magazine's readers to find any letters written by Shakespeare, and have them inserted into the pages of the "extensively-circulated [Gentleman’s] Magazine, with fac-similes of the signatures, and of any seals” still attached." [2] He didn’t hint at the discovery that had been made that day, which was the reason he was asking, [3] but he did say that for such an acquisition he was "particularly anxious". [4] His letter received no response. In his next letter published in the Gentlemen’s Magazine, Wheler included illustrations: the seal ring, an impression made by the seal ring, and Thomas Lucy’s string-and-tassels design. [3]
Six months later, in September 1810, and writing to the same magazine, Wheler explains the object of his previous request for Shakespearian letters: the hope of finding "an impression of my seal ring on one of them". Wheler also reports that he had located and studied a document from 1617, a year after Shakespeare had died, that listed all the people living in Stratford-upon-Avon who were assessed taxes, plus Wheler made other "numerous and continued researches into public and private documents", but he said he could not find any "Stratfordian of that period likely to own such a ring." But he pointed out, Shakespeare, who had retired from the stage, lived "in the principal house here, which he had previously purchased [and] had accumulated considerable property". Still hoping that an example of a Shakespearian document bearing an impression of the seal ring might be found, Wheler appeals to the readers of the magazine to look at the drawing of the ring (which he included) and compare it with any "impressions of seals they possess". [3]
Wheler’s next step was to write a letter to Edmond Malone, the noted Shakespeare scholar and biographer. Malone wrote back on June 13, 1810. Wheler quotes Malone’s response:
I have not in my possession, nor have I ever seen any letter written by Shakspeare [sic]; nor have I an impression of any seal of his. I am unable, therefore, to furnish any document that can throw a light on the ancient seal-ring which you have lately acquired. [1]
Wheler concludes in an article from his 1814 publication A Guide to Stratford-upon-Avon: "At present, I have no positive proof whatever. … I yet hope to meet with an impression of the ring in my possession, and in this I am more particularly encouraged by the fact, that should success attend the investigation, this seal-ring would be the only existing article proved to have originally belonged to our immortal poet." [1] [5] [6] [7] [8]
After Wheler's death, his sister Anne donated it to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT). [9]
The signet ring is in the style of such a ring for a wealthy man of the Elizabethan era. It is made of gold and is somewhat heavy – weighing about 18 grams. The face (bezel) has the initials "WS", reversed for use as a seal stamp. Combined with the letters is a knotted rope. Above the letters the rope forms a true lover's knot with 4 loops, the topmost one in the shape of a heart. Between the letters it forms a Bowen knot. The rope's ends below the letters have tassels. [10] [11] [6] The ring has a width of 19 mm and a height of 16 mm. [12]
No seal impressions by William Shakespeare are preserved, but it is possible that the ring belonged to him. [6] [13] Wheler thought so, and that it had been Shakespeare's wedding ring. [5] [6] He saw no other plausible owner. [9] Wheler consulted Shakespearean scholar Edmond Malone, who mentioned as an alternative William Smith (c.1550–1618), another wealthy Stratfordian. However, Smith's seal is known and of a different design. [10] [6]
It is also possible that the ring was a gift from "WS" to a friend, or for the use of a business representative. [11] Author Charles Edwards suggests that it was a gift to William from his wife Anne. [14] Shakespearean scholar E. K. Chambers posits that W and S could be two different people, but this idea doesn't fit with the purpose of a signet ring. [13]
Scholars have suggested that Shakespeare could have lost the ring at his daughter Judith's wedding at the Holy Trinity Church in 1616. [15] [5] [16] A possible indication of this is a correction made in Shakespeare's will, written the same year. Where it had originally read "whereof I have hereunto put my hand and seal" near the end, "and seal" has been struck. [10] [5] [15]
Another signet ring with the initials WS was kept by the English 18th century actor David Garrick in his Temple to Shakespeare. [11] [17]
In 2016, the SBT licensed the making of a version of the ring for sale to a Stratford jeweller firm. According to the jeweller, these rings were made with the same gold alloy as the original. [18] [19] [20] Other SBT merchandise based on the ring include pendants and fridge magnets. [21] [22] As of 2016, the ring's design was used on packaging of SBT merchandise. [23]
In Graham Holderness' story "The Adventure of Shakespeare's Ring", the ring is stolen and the theft investigated by Sherlock Holmes. The thief is Oscar Wilde, who wanted it because he believed it was a love token given to Shakespeare by Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. [24]
Stratford-upon-Avon, commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, 91 miles (146 km) north-west of London, 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Birmingham and 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Warwick. The town is the southernmost point of the Arden area at the northern extremity of the Cotswolds. In the 2021 census Stratford had a population of 30,495.
Anne Hathaway's Cottage is a twelve-roomed farmhouse where Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare, lived as a child in the village of Shottery, Warwickshire, England, about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon. Spacious, and with several bedrooms, it is now set in extensive gardens.
Anne Shakespeare, commonly known as Anne Hathaway, was the wife of William Shakespeare, an English poet, playwright and actor. They were married in 1582, when Hathaway was 26 years old and Shakespeare was 18. She outlived her husband by seven years. Very little is known about her life beyond a few references in legal documents. Her personality and relationship to Shakespeare have been the subject of much speculation by many historians and writers.
New Place was William Shakespeare's final place of residence in Stratford-upon-Avon. He died there in 1616. The whole building was demolished in 1702 by Sir John Clopton, who replaced it with a modern-style house, also called New Place. This in turn was demolished by Francis Gastrell, vicar of Frodsham, Cheshire, in 1759. It was never rebuilt after the second demolition and only the foundations remain.
The Collegiate Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon, is a Grade I listed parish church of the Church of England in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. It is often known simply as Holy Trinity Church or as Shakespeare's Church, due to its fame as the place of baptism, marriage and burial of William Shakespeare. More than 200,000 tourists visit the church each year.
The Grammar School of King Edward VI at Stratford-upon-Avon is a grammar school and academy in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, traditionally for boys only. However, since September 2013 the school has admitted girls into the Sixth Form. It is almost certain that William Shakespeare attended this school, leading to the school widely being described as "Shakespeare's School".
A Shakespeare garden is a themed garden that cultivates some or all of the 175 plants mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. In English-speaking countries, particularly the United States, these are often public gardens associated with parks, universities, and Shakespeare festivals. Shakespeare gardens are sites of cultural, educational, and romantic interest and can be locations for outdoor weddings.
The Shakespeare funerary monument is a memorial to William Shakespeare located inside Holy Trinity Church at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, the church in which Shakespeare was baptised and where he was buried in the chancel two days after his death.
Samuel Ireland, English author and engraver, is best remembered today as the chief victim of the Ireland Shakespeare forgeries created by his son, William Henry Ireland.
The Ireland Shakespeare forgeries were a cause célèbre in 1790s London, when author and engraver Samuel Ireland announced the discovery of a treasure-trove of Shakespearean manuscripts by his son William Henry Ireland. Among them were the manuscripts of four plays, two of them previously unknown.
Nash's House in Chapel Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, is the house next door to the ruins and gardens of William Shakespeare's final residence, New Place. It is a grade I listed building and has been converted into a historic house museum.
Hall's Croft is a building in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, which was owned by William Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna Hall, and her husband Dr John Hall whom she married in 1607.
Shakespeare's Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in southern England, United Kingdom.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) is an independent registered educational charity based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, that came into existence in 1847 following the purchase of William Shakespeare's birthplace for preservation as a national memorial. It can also lay claim to be the oldest conservation society in Britain. Receiving no government funding or public subsidies, it is totally dependent upon the public for support, and relies on donations and the income generated from visitors.
Dr. Levi Fox OBE, DL, MA, FSA, FRHistS, FRSL, was the son of a Leicestershire smallholder. He became Archivist for the city of Coventry and then Director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and was a conservationist, local historian, and author.
William Shakespeare has been commemorated in a number of different statues and memorials around the world, notably his funerary monument in Stratford-upon-Avon ; a statue in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, London, designed by William Kent and executed by Peter Scheemakers (1740); and a statue in New York's Central Park by John Quincy Adams Ward (1872).
Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare is a small garden folly erected in 1756 on the north bank of the River Thames at Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Grade I listed, it was built by the actor David Garrick to honour the playwright William Shakespeare, whose plays Garrick performed to great acclaim throughout his career. During his lifetime Garrick used it to house his extensive collection of Shakespearean relics and for entertaining his family and guests. It passed through a succession of owners until coming into public ownership in the 1930s, but it had fallen into serious disrepair by the end of the 20th century. After a campaign supported by distinguished actors and donations from the National Lottery's "good causes" fund, it was restored in the late 1990s and reopened to the public as a museum and memorial to the life and career of Garrick. It is reputedly the world's only shrine to Shakespeare.
Edgar Innes Fripp was a Unitarian minister and English antiquarian who specialized in Shakespearean research in the archives of Stratford-upon-Avon, and the father of the artist Paul Fripp.
The Shakespeare coat of arms is an English coat of arms. It was granted to John Shakespeare, a glover from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in 1596, and was used by his son, the playwright William Shakespeare, and other descendants.
Robert Bell Wheler was an English antiquarian.
