Facts on the Shakespeare, Arden and Webb families were taken from "William Shakespeare: A Biography" by A. L. Rowse 1963. This biography confirms that the Arden family was a well known and large family in Wilmcote and that John Shakespeare was a "ner-do-well" who was oftened fined for not showing up for doing his duty as baliff or alderman, or mayor, and who vouched for other people's debts as well as accumulating his own and so lost all his money and standing in the community. Even when William began to make money, debt plagued his father for the rest of his life. John Shakespeare could not read or write, but had aspirations to be a nobleman and applied to the Herald's College for a grant of a Coat of Arms. This grant was not accepted & put through until after John's death, when William pursued the matter. The Coat and crest were granted on October 20, 1596.539