Description:Shakespeare, once he had become a man of means, had clearly been toying with the idea of buying some land in or near Stratford since 1598, but it was not until 1602 that he acted, buying from a local landowning family, the Combes, 107 acres in the open fields of Old Stratford, Welcombe and Bishopton. For this he paid £320.
Two deeds were drawn up to record the purchase, one to be given to Shakespeare and the other to the Combes. This one, with one tag seal, was clearly the one Shakespeare was meant to have signed before being handed to the Combes. Perhaps due to his absence in London, this was never done, and it remained amongst his papers together with the copy signed by the Combes.
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust reference: ER 27/1