Historian Identifies William Shakespeare's London Home
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A historian believes he was able to pinpoint the exact location of the world’s greatest dramatist William Shakespeare in London.
Geoffrey Marsh cross-referenced a number of official records to ascertain that the playwright lived at 5 Great St Helen's - near Liverpool Street, the Standard reported.
It has never been known exactly where William Shakespeare lived when he emerged onto the London theatre scene in the late 16th-century.
It was previously known that he had lived close by between the years of 1597 and 1598.
The site is now occupied by an office block.
Marsh carried out a decade of research in his efforts to locate where Shakespeare lived in London. He discovered that in the 1590s, Shakespeare was a tenant of the guild that organized the Elizabethan leather trade.
His home was most likely to be among several properties that overlooked the churchyard of St Helen's, Marsh said.
He said: "The place where Shakespeare lived in London gives us a more profound understanding of the inspirations for his work and life.
"Within a few years of migrating to London from Stratford, he was living in one of the wealthiest parishes in the city, alongside powerful public figures, wealthy international merchants, society doctors and expert musicians.
"The merchants had connections across Europe and the doctors were linked to the latest progressive thinking in universities in Italy and Germany.
"Living in what was one of the power locales of London would have also enhanced Shakespeare's status as he developed his career, sought a family coat of arms and planned to buy an impressive and expensive house in Stratford."
