Elizabeth, Lady Bernard (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Hall, formerly Nash;

baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

21 February 1608 – 17 February 1670) was the granddaughter of the English poet, playwright and actor

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. Despite two marriages, she had no children, and was the last surviving descendant of Shakespeare. Elizabeth was closely associated with the Royalist cause during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. Both her husbands were dedicated supporters of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

Early life

Elizabeth Hall was born to

Susanna Hall Susanna Hall (née Shakespeare; baptised 26 May 1583 – 11 July 1649) was the oldest child of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway and the older sister of twins Judith and Hamnet Shakespeare. Susanna married John Hall, a local phys ...

and Doctor

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (1951–2023), professor of classics at Brigham Young Univ ...

. She was baptised in the

Holy Trinity Church Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. She was the only grandchild William Shakespeare ever knew, because her three cousins were born after his death in 1616.

First marriage

In 1626, Elizabeth Hall married Thomas Nash, who was a member of the Manor and Lordship of Shottery. Nash was an ardent Royalist, a supporter of

and indeed a donor to the king's cause to the tune of £100. In July 1643 the queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

stayed with the Nashes at

New Place New Place was William Shakespeare's final place of residence in Stratford-upon-Avon. He died there in 1616. The whole building was demolished in 1702 by Sir John Clopton, who replaced it with a modern-style house, also called New Place. This i ...

. Thomas made his will on 25 August 1642, in which he left his house in Chapel Street and two meadows to Elizabeth. However, he left the bulk of his fortune to his cousin, Edward Nash. On 4 April 1647, Thomas died, leaving Elizabeth a widow.

Second marriage

On 5 June 1649, eighteen months after her husband's death, Elizabeth married John Bernard (1604–74) of Abington, near Northampton. Bernard was a widower with several children. It is not known how they met, since he did not live near Stratford, but it was most likely through Elizabeth's Royalist connections. Like Nash, he had been a strong supporter of the Royalists in the Civil War. Five weeks after the marriage, Elizabeth's mother Susanna died. As a result, Elizabeth inherited the Shakespeare family property. The couple moved to Stratford, to live in New Place. As a staunch Royalist, Bernard's social position improved dramatically after the Restoration in 1660. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

on 25 September 1661,William A. Shaw, ''The Knights of England'' (London, 1906) vol. II
p. 235
thus giving his wife the title Lady Bernard. They left Stratford to move into the Bernard family home in Abington. The couple had no children.

Joseph Quincy Adams Joseph Quincy Adams Jr. (March 23, 1880 – November 10, 1946) was a prominent Shakespeare scholar and the first officially appointed director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Biography Adams, a scion of the famous Adams ...

, ''A Life of William Shakespeare'', Wildside Press, 2007 (reprint from 1923), pp. 485–88. In February 1662,

Judith Quiney Judith Quiney (baptised 2 February 1585 – 9 February 1662), , was the younger daughter of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway and the fraternal twin of their only son, Hamnet Shakespeare. She married Thomas Quiney, a vintner of Strat ...

died in

, making Elizabeth Bernard the last descendant of

. She wrote her will on 29 January 1669, which did not give much to her husband, Sir John Bernard. Elizabeth died at

Abington, Northamptonshire Abington is a district of the town of Northampton and former civil parish, now in the parish of Northampton, in the West Northamptonshire district, in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, situated about east of the town centre. Th ...

on 17 February 1670. There is a memorial plaque in the Church of Saint Peter & Paul, Abington, where she is buried. The family home of Sir John and Lady Bernard is now a museum, Abington Park Museum, and the grounds are now a park in the town of Northampton.

References

External links

Shakespeare's Granddaughter and the Bagleys of Dudley

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Elizabeth 1608 births 1670 deaths Shakespeare family People from Stratford-upon-Avon People from Abington, Northamptonshire

Early life

First marriage

Second marriage

See also

References

External links