Shakespeare and St Margarets – a source of inspiration?

William Shakespeare reading his plays to Francis Bacon in the grounds of Twickenham Park. This is an AI generated picture. I do not use AI for modifying historic images so as not to confuse reality and imagination. However, this is clearly not trying to be a ‘real’ picture, it is pure imagination! It is also anachronistic; the weeping willow was not introduced into England until the 18^th century (in the grounds of Twickenham Park!) and the bridge in the grounds did not exist at the time of Shakespeare and Bacon!

What are the links between St Margarets, a quiet residential area sandwiched between Richmond, Isleworth and Twickenham and the immortal works of William Shakespeare? To answer that question one first has to ask who wrote the works of Shakespeare.

There are numerous people that do not believe the author was William Shakespeare of Stratford on Avon. Thespian luminaries such as Sir Mark Rylance and Sir Derek Jacobi have questioned the identity of the bard. The reason that is generally given is that William Shakespeare’s modest education and lack of travel meant that he could not know enough about politics, courtly life, classical literature and European countries and cultures to write the marvellously complex plays with their rich and varied allusions.

If Shakespeare did not write the plays and sonnets, then who did? There are several contenders, but one of the most popular is Sir Francis Bacon, the lawyer, philosopher, courtier and polymath. He was one of the more remarkable individuals of his time, whose influence on the development of modern science was seminal.

Bacon not only had the intellectual ability and education to write the plays, but was involved in drama, putting on masques. He also, after graduating from Trinity Cambridge at the age of 15, spent three years travelling across France, Italy and Spain. These characteristics make him a popular candidate for many ‘anti-Stratfordians’.

If this were to be true then many of ‘Shakespeare’s’ plays would have been written in Twickenham Park, Bacon’s house in what is now St Margarets. Twickenham Park is where Bacon lived during the legal vacations, and when fleeing the plague, and he found it a conducive place for his philosophical thinking and writing. Given the dates he lived in Twickenham Park, the plays that he would have written in St Margarets include: Love’s Labour Lost, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Romeo and Juliet, The Midsummer Night’s Dream, Taming of the Shrew, King John, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, All’s Well that Ends Well, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet and Macbeth.

Unfortunately for the status of St Margarets as a cradle of English literature, the consensus of serious Shakespearean scholars is overwhelmingly that the author of William Shakespeare’s works was ….. William Shakespeare. There is no robust evidence linking the authorship to anyone else (including Bacon), the documentary evidence points to William Shakespeare as the author and no one at the time seems to have doubted this. I also cannot imagine how Bacon would have found the time to write the plays given his other work!

However, all is not lost for St Margarets! Many scholars believe that Shakespeare would have gathered his information from discussions with others who had travelled to the countries he writes about, and would have insights from classical literature and knowledge of politics. It is likely that Sir Francis Bacon would have been one of his sources. Bacon was interested in theatre, they would have both been present at court (albeit in very different roles; Shakespeare was an actor and Bacon a courtier and public servant). London was not a large city, they are almost bound to have known each other.

This theory was given some weight as I am researching the life of the Revd. Stewart Headlam, who lived in Wavertree in St Peters Road, St Margarets between around 1892 and 1924. The importance for this debate is that he understood Shakespeare’s work. He was President of the London Shakespeare League from 1913 to 1924. He had a mission to ensure that every school child in London saw a Shakespeare play and had the opportunity to act in one (due to his work around 100,000 pupils saw a performance between 1918 and 1922).

Headlam described a story that Shakespeare read his plays to Bacon in the grounds of Twickenham Park. This is an interesting suggestion, and not at all implausible. Bacon used the gardens of his house to converse and debate with others. It is not impossible that he would have invited Shakespeare to visit (possibly when Shakespeare was putting on plays at Richmond Palace) and that Bacon might have contributed ideas or information to Shakespeare’s plays.

We will never be able to know whether this is true. But it is plausible that St Margarets was a place that Bacon and Shakespeare talked, and which helped shape the greatest literature of the English speaking world. Something to think about as you walk the area!

Sources

For information about Bacon and his time in Twickenham Park see (George 2025). This list of plays that may have been written in Twickenham Park come from a book written by an ardent ‘Baconist’ (Bunten 1912). There are many biographies of Bacon and Shakespeare; Daphne du Maurier suggests that Bacon may have contributed material/ideas for Shakespeare (du Maurier 1976). The Revd Stewart Headlam was a fascinating and influential person and I am currently writing his story, his biography describes the story that Shakespeare read his plays to Bacon in the grounds of Twickenham Park (Bettany 1926). It is perhaps worth pointing out that this year is the 400^th anniversary of Bacon’s death.

Bettany, F. G. (1926). Stewart Headlam: A biography. London, John Murray.

Bunten, A. C. (1912). Twickenham Park and Old Richmond Palace, and Francis Bacon Lord Verulam's Connection with Them. 1580-1608. London, Robert Banks & Son.

du Maurier, D. (1976). The Winding Stair: Francis Bacon, his Rise and Fall. London, Virago Press.

George, A. J. T. (2025). The Gardens and People of Twickenham Park. Bristol, Redcliffe Press.

© 2026, Andrew George, all rights reserved

Published 8 June 2026