First Footsteps in London

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GEORGE:
Before we start, I want to be fair to the truth.

We do not have a neat, signed lease saying:
“William Shakespeare, here is your first London room, congratulations.”
In fact, Shakespeare’s early London years are famously foggy.
What we have instead is a trail of documents — tax records, parish lists — the kind of evidence that proves you existed in a place even if doesn’t give you a cozy story.

WILL:
History often remembers a man
not when he is dreaming,
but when he is owing.

GEORGE:
Exactly.
So today, we’re going to walk into London the way a historian has to: by following the paper.

GEORGE:
Here’s our first solid anchor: by the late 1590s, Shakespeare is recorded in the parish of St. Helen’s, Bishopsgate.

The Folger has a documented record: the Lay Subsidy Roll for St. Helen’s (1598) lists “William Shakespeare” among parish householders and gives his assessed wealth and tax. 

And the UK National Archives teaching packet includes transcripts from tax commissioner records (1597 and 1598) tied to St. Helen’s/Bishopsgate, showing Shakespeare listed among those who hadn’t paid what was due. 

WILL (dry):
So my earliest London address is… a bill?

GEORGE:
In a sense, yes.

The National Archives packet explicitly describes a 1597 list of people in St. Helen’s, Bishopsgate who had not paid, with Shakespeare’s goods valued and tax owed. 

And the same packet includes a 1598 list in St. Helen’s parish and a later Exchequer entry showing the tax debt continuing. 

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