NEW PLACE;

The Residence of Shakspeare.

WE are informed by Dugdale, in his History of Warwickshire, that New Place was originally erected by Sir Hugh Clopton, Knt. temp. Henry the Seventh. It was, says that antiquarian, "a fair house, built of brick and timber;" and was probably the best in the town, being called the Great House, in Sir Hugh's will, in which it was devised to his great nephew, William Clopton, Esq. who died in 1521. In the year 1563, the Great House was sold out of the Clopton family to William Bott, who, before the year 1570, sold it to William Underhill, Esq. From the Underhill family it was purchased, in 1527, by Shakspeare, who, having repaired and modelled it to his own mind, changed the name to New Place, which appellation it retained till its demolition.

Shakspeare, by his will, dated the 25th of March, 1616, gave New Place, and the lands in this parish, (which he had purchased of William and John Combe, in 1602,) to his daughter, Mrs. Hall, for her life, and then to her daughter Elizabeth, afterwards Lady Barnard. On the 20th

of October, 1652, (about three years after her second marriage,) New Place, with the lands in Stratford field, (formerly part of Shakspeare's possessions,) was settled to certain uses; reserving a power in Mrs. Barnard to dispose of them, in case of failure of issue. Mrs. Barnard soon after, viz. on the 18th of April, 1653, directed her trustees, Mr. Henry Smith, and Job Dighton, Esq. to sell this property; and dying without issue on the 17th of February, 1669-70, New Place, with the four-yard land and a half, (or 107 acres,) was sold on the 18th of May, 1675, by the surviving trustee, Henry Smith, and her kinsman and executor, Edward Bagley, to Sir Edward Walker, Knt. whose only child, Barbara, married Sir John Clopton, in this parish; who, by her means, became heir to Sir Edward's estates.

Sir John Clopton, by deed, gave New Place to his younger son, Sir Hugh Clopton, Knt. Barrister at Law, a Justice of the Peace for this county, one of the Heralds at Arms, and Recorder of this borough many years. He resided in New Place the latter part of his life, and died there in December, 1751, in the 80th year of his age. By this worthy gentleman, New Place was

not (as hath been erroneously stated) pulled down, but thoroughly repaired and beautified, and a modern front built to it.

In 1753, it was sold by his son-in-law and executor, Henry Talbot, Esq. brother to the late Lord Chancellor Talbot, to the Reverend Francis Gastrell, Vicar of Frodsham, in Cheshire; who, if we may judge by his actions, felt no sort of pride or pleasure in this charming retirement, no consciousness of his being possessed of the sacred ground which the Muses had consecrated to the memory of their favourite Poet. The celebrated Mulberry-tree, planted by Shakspeare's hand, became first an object of his dislike, because it subjected him to answer the frequent importunities of travellers, whose zeal might prompt them to visit it. In an evil hour, the sacrilegious priest ordered the tree, then remarkably large and at its full growth, to be cut down; which was no sooner done than it was cleft to pieces for firewood: this took place in 1756, to the great regret not only of the inhabitants, but of every admirer of our Bard. The greater part of it was soon after purchased by Mr. Thomas Sharp, of Stratford; who, well

knowing what value the world had set upon it, turned it much to his advantage, by converting every fragment into small boxes, goblets, toothpick-cases, tobacco-stoppers, and numerous other articles.

New Place did not long escape the destructive and of Mr. Gastrell; who, being compelled to pay the monthly assessments for the maintenance of the poor, (some of which he thought to escape, because he resided part of the year in Lichfield, though his servants continued in the house at Stratford during his absence,) in the heat of his anger declared that house should never be assessed again: and the demolition of New Place soon followed his declaration. In 1759, he razed the building to the ground, disposed of the materials, and left Stratford amidst the rage and curses of its inhabitants.

The site of New Place was afterwards added to the garden adjoining it; which, in 1775, was sold by Mrs. Jane Gastrell, (the widow and devisee of Francis Gastrell,) to William Hunt, Esq. late of Stratford; from whose eldest son, (the Rev. John Hunt, Rector of Welford, in Gloucestershire, and trustee of his will,) it was

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purchased, in 1790, by Charles Henry Hunt, Esq. and it is now the property of Messrs. Battersbee and Morris, Bankers, of Stratford.

GOODMAN'S FIELDS THEATRE.

THE Goodman's Fields Theatre, in Leman Street, was erected by Mr. Thomas Odell, in 1729, who, in 1730, waited on the King, George II., to request his license for acting there, but he met with a decisive refusal. In 1731, Odell's Theatre was purchased by Henry Giffard, who, in the following year, opened a subscription for rebuilding it, and obtained £2300 for that purpose. It would appear to have been raised by £100 shares, as Giffard, soon after, assigned twenty-three shares of the property, by indenture, to the subscribers, granting them free admissions, and 1s. 6d. per night, on every night's performance. He next contracted with Sir William Leman for the ground for 61 years, at an annual rent of £45: having so done, he proceeded with the building, on which, including dresses and decorations, he expended several thousand pounds.-Garrick first appeared there on October 19th, 1741, and whilst he continued on that stage produced "The Lying Valet," and "Lethe."