Shakespeare the tax evader: extract from a certificate by London tax commissioners, 1597 (E 179/146 f.354)
The Elizabethan age was characterised by a vibrant cultural life. The queen loved the arts in all their forms and inspired a host of poets and playwrights, many of whom performed for her at court. Foremost among them was William Shakespeare. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, the ‘bard’ had moved to London by the early 1590s. What was probably his first play, Henry VI Part I, was performed in 1592 at the Rose Theatre in Southwark. Five years later, he and his company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, gave a private performance of ‘Love’s Labours Lost’ for Elizabeth I. Many more would follow. Although Shakespeare enjoyed great prosperity as a result of his plays, and their patronage by the queen, he regularly failed to pay his taxes. This entry is one of several similar ones in The National Archives.
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St Martyns Outwhiche parishe
Anthony Treavys………viii li ……viii s
Robert Whorewood…….. v li …… v s
St Ellens parishe
Peter Dallila……….. l li ……. l s
William Shackspeare…….. v li…….. v s
Thomas Smythe gent…….. xxx li …… xxx s
William Boyele……….. xxx li …… xxx s