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Blackfriars Gatehouse Deed

This manuscript is Shakespeare’s copy of his deed of purchase of the Blackfriars gatehouse in 1613.

Large, square-shaped, handwritten, beige document with stains throughout and a scalloped edge at the top. Lower edge is turned up and affixed in the center by a short, twisted tab hanging below it. Text begins with a hand-written, large, decorated letter and shows wear along fold lines. Randomly throughout, single words and multi-word phrases are written using heavy black ink.
Blackfriars Gate-House Conveyance, March 10, 1613.

The Blackfriars “gate-house” was a residence built partly above a gate in the wall surrounding the district, and it came with an enclosed garden plot. Though it was near the Blackfriars theater in London where his acting company performed, Shakespeare did not live there but seems to have bought the property as an investment.

By 1613, Shakespeare—who was probably retired at this point—had purchased several investment properties in Stratford-upon-Avon; the gatehouse appears to have been his only investment purchase in London.

The wavy cuts at the top of the document are called “indentures” and were a method of proving authenticity. If there was ever a question about the deed, the buyer and seller could compare their halves of the document. If they fit together, like pieces of a puzzle, the document was genuine.

See the catalog record

Learn more about this manuscript and Shakespeare’s real estate transaction:

Shakespeare Documented