This deed of bargain and sale, dated March 10, 1613, records William Shakespeare's purchase of a gatehouse in the Blackfriars district of London, from Henry Walker, citizen and minstrel of London. Shakespeare paid £80 of the £140 selling price up front, and on the day after the conveyance he mortgaged the remaining £60 back to Walker. William Johnson, citizen and vintner of London, and John Jackson and John Heminge, gentlemen, acted as trustees in Shakespeare's interest. They also were in charge of the sale of the property following Shakespeare's death in April 1616. This was the poet’s only real estate purchase in London; Shakespeare continued to live for the most part at New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon, and he apparently acquired this property only as an investment. This document is Shakespeare's copy, which is why he did not sign it.
This deed of bargain and sale, dated March 10, 1613, records William Shakespeare's purchase of a gatehouse in the Blackfriars district of London, from Henry Walker, citizen and minstrel of London. Shakespeare paid £80 of the £140 selling price up front, and on the day after the conveyance he mortgaged the remaining £60 back to Walker. William Johnson, citizen and vintner of London, and John Jackson and John Heminge, gentlemen, acted as trustees in Shakespeare's interest. They also were in charge of the sale of the property following Shakespeare's death in April 1616. This was the poet’s only real estate purchase in London; Shakespeare continued to live for the most part at New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon, and he apparently acquired this property only as an investment. This document is Shakespeare's copy, which is why he did not sign it.