Arden, Warwickshire prominent in the area for centuries. Mary Arden, mother of William Shakespeare, was a member. Shakespeare's play "As You Like It" is set in the Forest of Arden, however it is an imaginary version incorporating elements from the Ardennes forest in Thomas Lodge's prose romance "Rosalynde" and the real forest (both as it was then, subjected to deforestation and enclosure, and the romanticized version of his youth). Towns in the area include Hampton-in-Arden, Henley-in-Arden, and Tanworth-in-Arden. The Countryside Commission considered creating a new national forest in the area in 1989, but the proposal was not taken up. A national forest
Mary Arden, Lady Arden Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) at the same time. Her husband joined the Queen's Bench Division in October 1993, making them the first married couple to sit on the High Court bench. That feat has now been matched by Sir Peter Openshaw and Dame Caroline Swift. Arden was chairman of the Law Commission from 1996-99. Her husband became a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1999. On 2 October 2000, she was also appointed to the Court of Appeal. The couple became the first married couple both to sit on the Court of Appeal. Other posts