Patrons and Travelling Companies in Warwickshire

Abstract

Documentary evidence from the REED Warwickshire collection in progress (ed. Alan Somerset) provides the basis for analysis of regional ties of patrons of touring companies in Warwickshire prior to 1642. This analysis shows that the majority of patrons whose companies performed in Warwickshire also had large landholdings there or in neighboring counties. Payments to travelling companies suggest the relative importance of the patron's rank and local influence. Evidence of payments to travelling companies survives in records from Maxstoke Priory, civic accounts from Stratford and Warwick (ed. Alan Somerset), the city of Coventry (ed. R.W. Ingram), and the household accounts of Henry, 7th Lord Berkeley (ed. Peter Greenfield).