Thomas Quiney
Encyclopedia
Thomas Quiney was the husband of William Shakespeare
's daughter Judith Shakespeare
, and a vintner
and tobacconist in Stratford-upon-Avon
. Quiney held several municipal offices in the corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon, the highest being chamberlain in 1621 and 1622, but was also fined for various minor offences.
In 1616, Quiney married Judith Shakespeare. The marriage took place during a season when a special license was required by the church, and the couple had failed to obtain one, leading to Quiney's brief excommunication
. Quiney was also summoned before the Bawdy Court
fewer than two months after the wedding to answer charges of “carnal copulation” with a Margaret Wheeler, who died in childbirth. Scholars believe that as a result of these events William Shakespeare altered his will to favour his other daughter, Susanna Hall
, and excluded Quiney from his inheritance.
Judith and Thomas had three children: Shakespeare, Richard, and Thomas. Shakespeare Quiney died at six months of age, and neither Richard nor Thomas lived past 21. The death of Judith's last child led to legal wrangling over William Shakespeare's will that lasted until 1652. Scholars speculate that Thomas Quiney may have died in 1662 or 1663 when the burial records are incomplete.
Thomas Quiney was born in Stratford-upon-Avon
and baptised on 26 February 1589 in Holy Trinity Church. He was the son of Richard and Bess Quiney, and the grandson of Adrian Quiney. He had 10 siblings, among them a Richard Quiney who was a grocer in London, Mary Quiney who later married Richard Watts, the vicar
of Harbury, and Elizabeth Quiney who married William Chandler. There is no record of Thomas Quiney's attendance at the local school
, but he had sufficient education to write short passages in French, run a business, and hold several municipal offices in his life.
and dealt in tobacco. He held the lease to a house known as “Atwood's” for the purpose of running a tavern, and later traded houses with his brother-in-law, William Chandler, for the larger house known as “The Cage” where he set up his vintner's shop in the upper half. He is recorded as selling wine to the corporation
of Stratford-upon-Avon as late as 1650.
He was a man of some education, with knowledge of French and calligraphy. In signing his accounts for 1621 and 1622 as chamberlain
he decorated them with a couplet
in French from a romance
by Mellin de Saint-Gelais
. Quiney writes “Bien heureux est celui qui pour devenir sage, Qui pour le mal d'autrui fait son apprentissage” but the original is “Heureux celui qui pour devenir sage, Du mal d'autrui fait son apprentissage”. The original translates into English as “Happy is he who to become wise, serves his apprenticeship from other men's troubles” but Quiney's version “… is ungrammatical and without sense”.
He was a well-respected man in the borough, and was elected a burgess and constable
in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1617. In 1621 and 1662 he was acting Chamberlain
. In signing his accounts for 1622–3, he did so “…with flourishes…”, but the records show that the council voted them “imperfect”. Quiney did not attend this meeting, but he did attend the later meeting where the accounts were passed, so they appear to have needed further explanation.
Quiney's reputation was slightly spotted; he was fined for swearing and for “suffering townsmen to tipple in his house”, and was at one point in danger of prosecution for “dispensing unwholesome and adulterated wine”.
On 10 February 1616, Thomas Quiney married Judith Shakespeare
, William Shakespeare
's daughter, in Holy Trinity Church. The assistant vicar, Richard Watts, who later married Quiney's sister Mary, probably officiated. The wedding took place during the Lent
en season, which was prohibited. In 1616 Lent started on 23 January, Septuagesima Sunday
, and ended on 7 April, the Sunday after Easter
. The marriage therefore required a special license, issued by the Bishop of Worcester
, which the couple had failed to obtain. A Walter Wright of Stratford was cited for marrying without either banns or license, so since Quiney was only cited for marrying without the required license it is presumed that they had posted banns
in church. The infraction was a minor one, apparently caused by the minister, as three other couples were also wed that February. Quiney was nevertheless summoned by Walter Nixon to appear before the Consistory court
in Worcester
. (This same Walter Nixon was later involved in a Star Chamber
case and was found guilty of forging
signatures and taking bribes
). Quiney failed to appear by the required date. The register recorded the judgement, which was excommunication
, on or about 12 March 1616. It is unknown if Judith was also excommunicated, but in any case the punishment did not last long. In November of the same year they were back in church for the baptism of their firstborn child.
The marriage did not begin well: Quiney had recently impregnated another woman, Margaret Wheeler, who was to die in childbirth along with the child and was buried on 15 March 1616. On 26 March 1616, Quiney appeared before the Bawdy Court
, which dealt, among other things, with "whoredom and uncleanliness". Confessing in open court to "carnal copulation" with Margaret Wheeler, he submitted himself for correction. He was sentenced to open penance
"in a white sheet (according to custom)" before the congregation on three Sundays. He also had to admit to his crime, this time wearing ordinary clothes, before the Minister of Bishopton in Warwickshire. The first part of the sentence was remitted, essentially letting him off with a five-shilling
fine to be given to the parish's poor. Since Bishopton only had a chapel
, he was spared any public humiliation.
The Cage provides further insight into why Shakespeare would not have trusted Judith's husband. Around 1630 Quiney tried to sell the lease on the house but was prevented by his kinsmen. In 1633, to protect the interests of Judith and the children, the lease was signed over to the trust of: John Hall, Susanna's husband; Thomas Nash
, the husband of Judith's niece; and Richard Watts, vicar of nearby Harbury
, who was Quiney's brother-in-law and who had officiated at Thomas and Judith's wedding. Eventually, in November 1652, the lease to The Cage ended up in the hands of Thomas' eldest brother, Richard Quiney, a grocer in London.
The inauspicious beginnings of Judith's marriage, in spite of her husband and his family being otherwise unexceptionable, has led to speculation that this was the cause for William Shakespeare's hastily altered last will and testament. He first summoned his lawyer, Francis Collins, in January 1616. On 25 March he made further alterations, probably because he was dying and because of his concerns about Quiney. In the first bequest of the will there had been a provision "vnto my sonne in L[aw]"; but "sonne in L[aw]" was then struck out, with Judith's name inserted in its stead. To this daughter he bequeathed £
100 "in discharge of her marriage porcion"; another £50 if she were to relinquish the Chapel Lane cottage; and, if she or any of her children were still alive at the end of three years following the date of the will, a further £150, of which she was to receive the interest
but not the principal
. This money was explicitly denied to Thomas Quiney unless he were to bestow on Judith lands of equal value. In a separate bequest, Judith was given "my broad silver gilt bole".
Finally, for the bulk of his estate, which included his main house, "New Place
", his two houses on Henley Street and various lands in and around Stratford, Shakespeare had set up an entail
. His estate was bequeathed, in descending order of choice, to the following: 1) his daughter, Susanna Hall; 2) upon Susanna's death, "to the first sonne of her bodie lawfullie yssueing & to the heires Males of the bodie of the saied first Sonne lawfullie yssueing"; 3) to Susanna's second son and his male heirs; 4) to Susanna's third son and his male heirs; 5) to Susanna's "ffourth ... ffyfth sixte & Seaventh sonnes" and their male heirs; 6) to Elizabeth, Susanna and John Hall
's firstborn, and her male heirs; 7) to Judith and her male heirs; or 8) to whatever heirs the law would normally recognise. This elaborate entail is usually taken to indicate that Thomas Quiney was not to be entrusted with Shakespeare's inheritance, although some have speculated that it may simply indicate that Susanna was the favoured child.
Shakespeare Quiney died at six months of age. Richard and Thomas Quiney were buried within a month of each other; they were 19 and 21 years old, respectively. The deaths of all of Judith's children brought on new legal consequences. The entail on her father's inheritance led Susanna, along with her daughter and son-in-law, to make a settlement, by use of a rather elaborate legal device, for the inheritance of her own branch of the family. Legal wrangling continued for another thirteen years, until 1652.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's daughter Judith Shakespeare
Judith Quiney
Judith Quiney , née Shakespeare, was the youngest daughter of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. She married Thomas Quiney, a vintner of Stratford-upon-Avon. The circumstances of the marriage, including Quiney's misconduct, may have prompted the rewriting of Shakespeare's will...
, and a vintner
Vintner
A vintner is a wine merchant. You pronounce it like this In some modern use, in particular in American English, the term is alsoused as a synonym for winemaker....
and tobacconist in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
. Quiney held several municipal offices in the corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon, the highest being chamberlain in 1621 and 1622, but was also fined for various minor offences.
In 1616, Quiney married Judith Shakespeare. The marriage took place during a season when a special license was required by the church, and the couple had failed to obtain one, leading to Quiney's brief excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
. Quiney was also summoned before the Bawdy Court
Court of Peculiars
The Court of Peculiars is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England.The court sits with a Dean, who is also the Dean of the Arches. The Registrars are the Joint Provincial Registrars. The Court of Peculiars deals with all legal matters from peculiar parishes in the province...
fewer than two months after the wedding to answer charges of “carnal copulation” with a Margaret Wheeler, who died in childbirth. Scholars believe that as a result of these events William Shakespeare altered his will to favour his other daughter, Susanna Hall
Susanna Hall
Susanna Hall , née Shakespeare, was the eldest child of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, and the older sister of Judith Quiney and Hamnet Shakespeare...
, and excluded Quiney from his inheritance.
Judith and Thomas had three children: Shakespeare, Richard, and Thomas. Shakespeare Quiney died at six months of age, and neither Richard nor Thomas lived past 21. The death of Judith's last child led to legal wrangling over William Shakespeare's will that lasted until 1652. Scholars speculate that Thomas Quiney may have died in 1662 or 1663 when the burial records are incomplete.
Birth and early life
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
and baptised on 26 February 1589 in Holy Trinity Church. He was the son of Richard and Bess Quiney, and the grandson of Adrian Quiney. He had 10 siblings, among them a Richard Quiney who was a grocer in London, Mary Quiney who later married Richard Watts, the vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of Harbury, and Elizabeth Quiney who married William Chandler. There is no record of Thomas Quiney's attendance at the local school
King Edward VI School Stratford-upon-Avon
King Edward VI School is a voluntary aided boys grammar school in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England...
, but he had sufficient education to write short passages in French, run a business, and hold several municipal offices in his life.
Business and municipal offices
Quiney was a vintnerVintner
A vintner is a wine merchant. You pronounce it like this In some modern use, in particular in American English, the term is alsoused as a synonym for winemaker....
and dealt in tobacco. He held the lease to a house known as “Atwood's” for the purpose of running a tavern, and later traded houses with his brother-in-law, William Chandler, for the larger house known as “The Cage” where he set up his vintner's shop in the upper half. He is recorded as selling wine to the corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
of Stratford-upon-Avon as late as 1650.
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
he decorated them with a couplet
Couplet
A couplet is a pair of lines of meter in poetry. It usually consists of two lines that rhyme and have the same meter.While traditionally couplets rhyme, not all do. A poem may use white space to mark out couplets if they do not rhyme. Couplets with a meter of iambic pentameter are called heroic...
in French from a romance
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
by Mellin de Saint-Gelais
Mellin de Saint-Gelais
Mellin de Saint-Gelais was a French poet of the Renaissance and Poet Laureate of Francis I of France.- Life :...
. Quiney writes “Bien heureux est celui qui pour devenir sage, Qui pour le mal d'autrui fait son apprentissage” but the original is “Heureux celui qui pour devenir sage, Du mal d'autrui fait son apprentissage”. The original translates into English as “Happy is he who to become wise, serves his apprenticeship from other men's troubles” but Quiney's version “… is ungrammatical and without sense”.
Parish constable
Parish constable was a law enforcement officer, usually unpaid and part-time, serving a parish. In some parishes, the position was known as "high constable", e.g. the High Constable of Holborn....
in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1617. In 1621 and 1662 he was acting Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
. In signing his accounts for 1622–3, he did so “…with flourishes…”, but the records show that the council voted them “imperfect”. Quiney did not attend this meeting, but he did attend the later meeting where the accounts were passed, so they appear to have needed further explanation.
Quiney's reputation was slightly spotted; he was fined for swearing and for “suffering townsmen to tipple in his house”, and was at one point in danger of prosecution for “dispensing unwholesome and adulterated wine”.
Marriage
Judith Quiney
Judith Quiney , née Shakespeare, was the youngest daughter of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. She married Thomas Quiney, a vintner of Stratford-upon-Avon. The circumstances of the marriage, including Quiney's misconduct, may have prompted the rewriting of Shakespeare's will...
, William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's daughter, in Holy Trinity Church. The assistant vicar, Richard Watts, who later married Quiney's sister Mary, probably officiated. The wedding took place during the Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
en season, which was prohibited. In 1616 Lent started on 23 January, Septuagesima Sunday
Septuagesima
Septuagesima is the name for the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Ash Wednesday. The term is sometimes applied also to the period that begins on this day and ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins. This period is also known as the pre-Lenten season or...
, and ended on 7 April, the Sunday after Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. The marriage therefore required a special license, issued by the Bishop of Worcester
Bishop of Worcester
The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...
, which the couple had failed to obtain. A Walter Wright of Stratford was cited for marrying without either banns or license, so since Quiney was only cited for marrying without the required license it is presumed that they had posted banns
Banns of marriage
The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as the "banns" or "bans" are the public announcement in a Christian parish church of an impending marriage between two specified persons...
in church. The infraction was a minor one, apparently caused by the minister, as three other couples were also wed that February. Quiney was nevertheless summoned by Walter Nixon to appear before the Consistory court
Consistory court
The consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England. They were established by a charter of King William I of England, and still exist today, although since about the middle of the 19th century consistory courts have lost much of their subject-matter...
in Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
. (This same Walter Nixon was later involved in a Star Chamber
Star Chamber
The Star Chamber was an English court of law that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster until 1641. It was made up of Privy Counsellors, as well as common-law judges and supplemented the activities of the common-law and equity courts in both civil and criminal matters...
case and was found guilty of forging
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
signatures and taking bribes
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
). Quiney failed to appear by the required date. The register recorded the judgement, which was excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
, on or about 12 March 1616. It is unknown if Judith was also excommunicated, but in any case the punishment did not last long. In November of the same year they were back in church for the baptism of their firstborn child.
The marriage did not begin well: Quiney had recently impregnated another woman, Margaret Wheeler, who was to die in childbirth along with the child and was buried on 15 March 1616. On 26 March 1616, Quiney appeared before the Bawdy Court
Court of Peculiars
The Court of Peculiars is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England.The court sits with a Dean, who is also the Dean of the Arches. The Registrars are the Joint Provincial Registrars. The Court of Peculiars deals with all legal matters from peculiar parishes in the province...
, which dealt, among other things, with "whoredom and uncleanliness". Confessing in open court to "carnal copulation" with Margaret Wheeler, he submitted himself for correction. He was sentenced to open penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
"in a white sheet (according to custom)" before the congregation on three Sundays. He also had to admit to his crime, this time wearing ordinary clothes, before the Minister of Bishopton in Warwickshire. The first part of the sentence was remitted, essentially letting him off with a five-shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
fine to be given to the parish's poor. Since Bishopton only had a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, he was spared any public humiliation.
Chapel Lane, Atwood's and The Cage
Where the Quineys lived after being married is unknown. Judith owned her father's cottage on Chapel Lane, Stratford, while Thomas had held, since 1611, the lease on a tavern called "Atwood's" on High Street. The cottage later passed from Judith to her sister as part of the settlement in their father's will. In July 1616 Thomas swapped houses with his brother-in-law, William Chandler, moving his vintner's shop to the upper half of a house at the corner of High Street and Bridge Street. Known as "The Cage", it is the house traditionally associated with Judith Quiney. In the 20th century The Cage was for a time a Wimpy restaurant before being turned into the Stratford Information Office.The Cage provides further insight into why Shakespeare would not have trusted Judith's husband. Around 1630 Quiney tried to sell the lease on the house but was prevented by his kinsmen. In 1633, to protect the interests of Judith and the children, the lease was signed over to the trust of: John Hall, Susanna's husband; Thomas Nash
Thomas Nash
Thomas Nash was the first husband of William Shakespeare's granddaughter Elizabeth Barnard. He lived most of his life in Stratford-upon-Avon, and was the dominant male figure amongst Shakespeare's senior family line after the death of Dr...
, the husband of Judith's niece; and Richard Watts, vicar of nearby Harbury
Harbury
Harbury is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. In the 2001 census it had a population of 2,485....
, who was Quiney's brother-in-law and who had officiated at Thomas and Judith's wedding. Eventually, in November 1652, the lease to The Cage ended up in the hands of Thomas' eldest brother, Richard Quiney, a grocer in London.
William Shakespeare's last will and testament
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
100 "in discharge of her marriage porcion"; another £50 if she were to relinquish the Chapel Lane cottage; and, if she or any of her children were still alive at the end of three years following the date of the will, a further £150, of which she was to receive the interest
Interest
Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds....
but not the principal
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
. This money was explicitly denied to Thomas Quiney unless he were to bestow on Judith lands of equal value. In a separate bequest, Judith was given "my broad silver gilt bole".
Finally, for the bulk of his estate, which included his main house, "New Place
New Place
New Place is the name of William Shakespeare's final place of residence in Stratford-upon-Avon. He died there in 1616. Though the house no longer exists, the land is owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust....
", his two houses on Henley Street and various lands in and around Stratford, Shakespeare had set up an entail
Fee tail
At common law, fee tail or entail is an estate of inheritance in real property which cannot be sold, devised by will, or otherwise alienated by the owner, but which passes by operation of law to the owner's heirs upon his death...
. His estate was bequeathed, in descending order of choice, to the following: 1) his daughter, Susanna Hall; 2) upon Susanna's death, "to the first sonne of her bodie lawfullie yssueing & to the heires Males of the bodie of the saied first Sonne lawfullie yssueing"; 3) to Susanna's second son and his male heirs; 4) to Susanna's third son and his male heirs; 5) to Susanna's "ffourth ... ffyfth sixte & Seaventh sonnes" and their male heirs; 6) to Elizabeth, Susanna and John Hall
John Hall (physician)
John Hall was a physician and son-in-law of William Shakespeare.-Life:He was born at Carlton, Bedfordshire and studied at Queens' College, Cambridge from 1589, receiving a B.A. in 1593 and a M.A. in 1597...
's firstborn, and her male heirs; 7) to Judith and her male heirs; or 8) to whatever heirs the law would normally recognise. This elaborate entail is usually taken to indicate that Thomas Quiney was not to be entrusted with Shakespeare's inheritance, although some have speculated that it may simply indicate that Susanna was the favoured child.
Children
Judith and Thomas Quiney had three children: Shakespeare (baptised 23 November 1616 — buried 8 May 1617); Richard (baptised 9 February 1618 — buried 6 February 1639); and Thomas (baptised 23 January 1620 — buried 28 January 1639). Shakespeare was named for his mother's father. Richard's name was common among the Quineys: his other grandfather and an uncle were both named Richard.Shakespeare Quiney died at six months of age. Richard and Thomas Quiney were buried within a month of each other; they were 19 and 21 years old, respectively. The deaths of all of Judith's children brought on new legal consequences. The entail on her father's inheritance led Susanna, along with her daughter and son-in-law, to make a settlement, by use of a rather elaborate legal device, for the inheritance of her own branch of the family. Legal wrangling continued for another thirteen years, until 1652.