Mary Shakespeare Palmer, and the house was accordingly renamed Palmer's Farm. The house that had belonged to the Arden family – which was near to Palmer's Farm – had been acquired by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1968 for preservation as part of a farmyard, without knowing its true provenance. The house and farm are open as an historic museum displaying 16th century life. Mary Shakespeare Mary Shakespeare, née Arden, (c. 1537–1608) was the mother of William Shakespeare. She was the daughter of Wilmcote gentleman farmer Robert Arden, a cadet of the Arden family prominent in Warwickshire since before the Norman Conquest.
Tom Arden his Ph.D. thesis on "Clarissa", the epic tale by 18th-century novelist Samuel Richardson. In 1990, he moved to the United Kingdom, living in Northern Ireland and England. He lectured in English at Queen's University of Belfast for seven years. Since 2003, he lectured creative writing at Middlesex University, London. Arden died of cancer on 15 December 2015. Tom Arden David Rain (2 May 1961 – 15 December 2015), known by his pen name Tom Arden, was a British science fiction and fantasy writer. He was born in Australia. His main work is the five volume "Orokon" saga, as well as