Myles Standish and Shakespeare acknowledgements

The Mayflower Society was incredibly helpful in providing facsimiles of New England MSS. Caleb Johnson, webmaster of the main Mayflower site, deserves a medal for his site and all his generous help to me. Norman Standish, another descendant of Myles, gave great support. Jim Snow, another descendant of Myles, pursued valued details about some of Myles's American descendants and his portrait in American libraries. Dr Donald King, yet another descendant of Myles, has offered continued moral support. Paul Laughnane (of Liverpool University and via Gareth Edwards of Munich) provided valued details about the Pooles of Poole in the Wirral, which introduced me to a part of the county that was later to have great significance for Mary Arderne.

Lyn Williams (associated with The New Globe) provided vital early London details and her husband Alan guided me through the world of copyright. Ann Ashby nee Kaneen (ex-Isle of Man, now of Cheshire) provided various Cheshire and Manx details and maps. Most importantly, perhaps, she provided me with the first details of the Ardernes of Cheshire one fateful day.

I am also indebted to the staff of various county Record Offices (particularly Lancashire and Cheshire for documents and answering queries) and many Local Studies Libraries and archives, but most particularly David Reid and his team at Stockport Local Studies Library for all the Arderne help; Nicholas Webb for placing many Standish documents from the collection in Wigan archives into my trembling hands; Peter Iles at Sites, Monuments and Records at County Hall, Preston, for invaluable help with aerial photographs and other matters; Dr Michael Powell at Chetham's Library in Manchester for patiently unearthing the answers to obscure questions re Chetham matters; Dr Robert Bearman at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust for cheerfully answering all queries and playing devil's advocate on some points; and Amanda Askari, ex-Keeper of the Earl of Derby's Collections, who provided everything requested about William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby, and led me to his portrait. I was lucky that almost on my doorstep was the Shakespeare Library at the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Munich. I wish I could have made more use of this, but the main sources of relevant information and documents lay not so much in Shakespeare libraries as in Lancashire and Cheshire.

Thanks also to the dedicated staff and guides round various halls and churches mentioned (and many more still to be mentioned), and to Alan Bacon and Roy Parkes for a personal guided tour of Ashton-under-Lyne parish church, with all its fascinating connections to the Asshetons, Hoghtons, Ardernes and possibly Shakespeare himself. And to Elizabeth Parkinson, J.P. and Michael Parkinson (both ex-Lancaster), Michael being the long-standing Estate Manager of Lord Clitheroe's estates, and thus 'Steward of the Honour of Clitheroe' (how anachronistic and splendid at the same time that such a title still exists), for providing contacts and information on the duties of Justices of the Peace and stewards; one contact was to Lord Clitheroe and his brother, who both kindly investigated their own ancestral records for traces of Assheton-Arderne marriages and other relevant connections. Also historian and historic building consultant Nigel Morgan (of Preston for many years), who generously presented me with a copy of his (unpublished) manuscript on local gentry families and their affinities and freely gave his knowledge on 'escheators' and sundry other Elizabethan officials and related matters.

For encouragement, advice or information at various times among those Professors who have espoused the 'Catholic Shakespeare in Lancashire' theory fully or partially, thanks also to Leo Daugherty, Peter Milward, S. J., E. A. J. Honigmann, Richard Wilson and Park Honan; also to Shakespeare biographer Anthony Holden (ex-Southport), the first 'full biographer' to have completely accepted the Lancashire episode.

Also, of course, (and he should perhaps have come in first place) heartfelt thanks to Sir Bernard de Hoghton for his constant support and enthusiasm about anything that might serve to confirm his Shakespeare family tradition, and for providing details about some rather obscure ancestors. Thanks also for putting me in touch with Carol Enos, who had been exploring the same Shakespeare world for a decade before I started, and who has during the last year read several draft chapters of my Shakespeare book and provided endless numbers of sane and helpful comments. She also put me in touch with Leo Daugherty and Peter Milward and produced the transcription of Father Thomas Conlan's fascinating letter. She is another person who deserves a medal for her invaluable research and much valued discussions at length.

Thanks also to Dr Ian Wilson, who has recently played the role of devil's advocate on many points in my Shakespeare conclusions (much valued, and several of the FAQs in the 'interview' are from him). He is delighted that his Dark Lady candidate, Penelope Rich, now has some aristocratic support from the Arderne connections and has generously offered his own Shakespeare portrait to be freely available for inclusion on this web site.

Concerning William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby, I must mention and thank again Professor Leo Daugherty, author of William's first ever dedicated biography, which will appear in the New Dictionary of National Biography, scheduled for publication in 2004; he has provided unswerving support for my William Stanley findings. Also John Michell, author of Who Wrote Shakespeare? (1996), who read an early draft of my William Stanley chapter and provided welcome comments about William, his personal favourite at the time of researching his book, and other 'alternative authorship' matters. While on Stanley matters, thanks also to Peter Hammond, ex-Research Secretary of the Richard III Society, and Professor Barry Coward (ex-Rochdale), who both kindly answered early queries about awards after Bosworth.

Dozens of distant and local friends and colleagues have also given unremitting support and encouragement, and believed (in) my proposals every step of the way, but then most of them never knew that there was a Shakespeare ancestry problem in the first place. Amongst all these, four Munich colleagues in particular deserve to be named: Juliet Schick and Reinhard Gratzke for patiently allowing every new discovery to be bounced off them and Stephen Jones (ex-Liverpool), for the same, but also for feeding me relentlessly with history books and journals, translating all texts that were beyond my 'small Latine' and saying wise things such as, 'All histories are provisional, and some parts more provisional than others'. Also Henry Christian (ex-Isle of Man) for a constant supply of Manx details.

One final Lancashire support must be mentioned. Phil Hudson founded The Lancashire History Quarterly in 1996, since when five articles about Myles Standish and one about the history of Duxbury have appeared. I should perhaps state that I have absolutely no financial interest in this - I just want the journal to survive. My main interests in this lie in my deep affection for Lancashire, its people, its traditions and its history. In my teens, I could hardly wait to leave; now I can never wait for the next return visit. Maybe this love of Lancashire constitutes the axe I have been accused of grinding? The only relevant historical axe I know of was the one that chopped off the head of the 7th Earl of Derby in Bolton in 1651, wielded by a kinsman of one of my Grandpa Whewell's ancestors, whose skull was mentioned above. But that is another story, which I hope will appear sooner or later in The Lancashire History Quarterly .

Finally, gratitude to my two daughters, who trained themselves not to yawn until three sentences after they heard the words 'Duxbury', 'Myles Standish' or 'Shakespeare', and my husband Alan, who (nobly or in despair?) took over much of the housework when I was at the computer or buried in files, and whose only regular early complaint was, 'The answer to all of your questions is "the Earl of Derby"'. His recent most frequent plaintiff question has been, "When are you going to finish the book?".

To all those named above and others who have contributed to the 'Duxbury to Shakespeare' story, e.g. by writing all books in the bibliography and sending clippings of articles in the national or local press on Shakespeare and Standish, heartfelt thanks. Thanks also to all the dedicated people who have placed full Renaissance texts and Shakespeare biographies on their web sites. Apologies to the latter for any rewriting that might be required.

Despite all this help and support, any mistakes in the text on this web site or in future books remain mine.

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