Key Points
- Professor Lucy Munro of King’s College London identified the exact location of William Shakespeare’s only London property using three previously overlooked documents.
- One of the key sources was a 1668 floor plan of part of Blackfriars, drawn a year after the Great Fire of London, which confirmed the property’s precise position and size.
- The house stood in Blackfriars, at the eastern end of Ireland Yard, the bottom of Burgon Street, and parts of the late 19th-century buildings now at 5 Burgon Street and 5 St Andrew’s Hill.
- The blue plaque at 5 St Andrew’s Hill is now understood to be on the actual site of Shakespeare’s house, not merely close by.
- Shakespeare bought the Blackfriars property on 10 March 1613, and the property later passed to his descendants before being sold in 1665.
- The building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, which helped explain why the exact location remained uncertain for centuries.
- The discovery suggests Shakespeare may have spent more time in London in his later years than historians previously believed.
London (The Londoner News) May 5, 2026 – Professor Lucy Munro of King’s College London has pinpointed the exact location of William Shakespeare’s only London property after uncovering a previously unknown 1668 floor plan, ending a historical uncertainty that has lasted for generations. As reported by King’s College London, the finding places Shakespeare’s Blackfriars house on the site now occupied by the eastern end of Ireland Yard, the bottom of Burgon Street, and parts of the late 19th-century buildings at 5 Burgon Street and 5 St Andrew’s Hill.
What exactly was discovered?
As reported by King’s College London, Munro found three previously overlooked documents while working on another research project, including two held in The London Archives and one in The National Archives.
The most important was a plan of part of the Blackfriars precinct drawn in 1668, which confirmed the exact position and dimensions of the house Shakespeare bought in 1613. The discovery also clarifies the long-running assumption that the property was only near the site marked by the City of London’s blue plaque.
Why was the location uncertain for so long?
Shakespeare’s Blackfriars property had long been known to exist, but historians could not identify its precise footprint because the area was transformed over time and the house itself was later destroyed.
The earlier belief placed it near the entrance to the old Dominican friary known as the Great Gate, but the new evidence shows that this description was not exact enough to establish the true site. The post-fire plan provides the missing link by tying the property to specific streets and later building plots.
How did the 1668 map help?
The 1668 plan was drawn after the Great Fire of London and records a section of the Blackfriars precinct in enough detail to show where Shakespeare’s house stood and how large it was. The part of the property spanning the gate does not appear in the plan because it had no foundation and did not survive in the same way as the rest of the building.
The surviving section measured 45 feet from east to west, 15 feet from north to south at the eastern end, and 13 feet at the western end.
What did the house mean for Shakespeare?
The new evidence strengthens the idea that Shakespeare may not have simply retired permanently to Stratford-upon-Avon after buying the Blackfriars property in 1613.
Munro argued that the house’s location near the Blackfriars theatre makes it plausible Shakespeare used it personally rather than holding it only as an investment. She also pointed to Shakespeare’s work on Two Noble Kinsmen later in 1613 and his documented visit to London in November 1614 as reasons to think he may have stayed there.
What happened to the property later?
The documents found by Munro also trace the later history of the house through Shakespeare’s descendants. They show the property was sold in 1665 by Shakespeare’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Hall Nash Barnard, the daughter of Susanna. Just one year later, the building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
What do historians say now?
Munro said the discovery “throws into question” the idea that Shakespeare simply abandoned London for good and never used the house himself.
Dr Will Tosh of Shakespeare’s Globe said the archive work offers a new understanding of Shakespeare as a London writer and underlines how important the city was to him professionally and personally. King’s College London said the research will be published in the print edition of the Times Literary Supplement on Friday 17 April.
Why does this matter now?
The finding does more than settle a location dispute; it changes the way scholars understand Shakespeare’s relationship with London. If he used the house regularly, it suggests a more active presence in the city during his later years than the traditional retirement narrative allows. The discovery also adds historical precision to Blackfriars, one of the most significant theatrical and literary districts of early modern London.
What is the wider historical significance?
The Blackfriars house sits at the intersection of Shakespeare’s theatrical career, property ownership, and family legacy. Because the building was later erased by fire and rebuilt urban layers, the exact spot became obscured until Munro’s archival work brought together the surviving evidence. In that sense, the discovery is both a biographical correction and a reminder of how much of London’s literary past still depends on patient archive research.
Munro’s finding gives Shakespeare’s London life a sharper map than scholars have had for centuries, and it places his only known capital property squarely on a modern street corner in Blackfriars.
