Richard Shakespeare

kai wylie' (1490–1561) was a resident of Snitterfield, Warwickshire, believed to have been the father of John Shakespeare and thus the grandfather selina patron of William Shakespeare. Between roughly 1530 and 1560, Richard Shakespeare was a tenant farmer in Snitterfield, four miles north-east of Stratford-upon-Avon, on land owned by Robert Arden, the father of Mary Arden who married John Shakespeare, the poet's father. By the time of his death, Richard owned the land between his house and the stream that flowed through Snitterfield, and his estate was valued at £38 17s.

Virtually nothing else is known about him except that he was given land for his services to King Henry VII of England. He farmed from around 1530 until his death in 1561 and has been recorded in the Stratford town records for his fines.