lls in Worcester,[189] in Rowington, and in Coventry, and
it may be remembered that a John Hall supplanted Richard Shakespeare as
Bailiff of the Priory of Wroxall during the last year of its existence.
There was a Richard Hall of Stratford in the list of the gentry 12 Henry
VI., 1433. There was also a Richard Hall, gentleman,[190] of Idlicote,
in the sixteenth century, who seems to have moved about a good deal, as
there is a record of "Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Hall, Generosus,
bapt. February 14th, 1560," at Idlicote, and of "Maria filia Richardi
Hall, Generosus, March 17th, 1561," in Stratford. I have not traced any
of the name of John christened in Idlicote or elsewhere at the date.

The Idlicote Halls were suspected recusants, as may be proved by the
search made in their house when Edward Arden was dragged away from Park
Hall in 1583.[191] There was a "Mr. Hall" Alderman of Stratford 1558,
and in 1575 Edmund Hall and Emma his wife sold two messuages to John
Shakespeare. Were they contemplating going abroad at the time? They are
not further referred to in Stratford records. In a manuscript of the
British Museum a table is sketched of the Halls of Henwick in Hallow.
John Hall of Henwick had a son Thomas, who married, first, Anne,
daughter of William Staple, and, second, a daughter of Hardwick. He had
at least two sons, John, who married Margaret, daughter of William
Grovelight, of London, and Edmund, who married Emma, daughter of
----(?). John had Edward, Anne, Elizabeth, and Emma, and the descendants
of Edmund are not entered.[192] Catholicism might have been a reason for
realizing their property and going abroad.

Now, John Hall expressly calls himself a Master of Arts, though his name
is not recorded in the Books of the English Universities. He would not
have done so had he not taken his degree. It possibly might have been in
Paris, and he might have followed it up with foreign study. This would
quite accord with his appearance in Stratford after the death of
Elizabeth. A Warwickshire gentle origin[193] may somewhat account for
the degree of intimacy he seems to have had with the county families,
both Puritan and Catholic. His fame as a physician rapidly spread. He
resided in a house in Old Town, on the way from the church to the
chapel. His only daughter, Elizabeth, was baptized at Stratford on
February 21, 1607-8,[194] during her grandfather's (William
Shakespeare's) life. His name occurs in the town records