Sample Images

Before you order a digital document, we thought you might like to see some sample images, free of charge.

Wills

William Shakespeare

Download William Shakespeare's will free of charge (Catalogue reference: PROB 1/4)

We've chosen the last will and testament of William Shakespeare, the famous playwright, who died on 23 April 1616. The will, dated 25 March 1616, less than a month before he died, includes bequests to his fellow actors, his neighbours in Stratford and the famous gift of his "second-best bed" to his wife.

Reading the wills

Official documents were written in Latin between 1086 and 1733. If you need help with Latin you can try our beginners' online tutorial. There is also a step-by-step online tutorial to teach advanced Latin. Or you might prefer a book such as Denis Stuart's Latin for Local and Family Historians, A Beginner's Guide which you'll find in The National Archives bookshop.

If you need help in reading the handwriting found in documents written in English between 1500 and 1800 have a look at our online Palaeography tutorial.

The National Archives and DocumentsOnline are unable to provide a transcription or translation service. If you have any problems reading a will you have bought, or need a translation of a Latin will, you can access our database of independent researchers. This includes specialists for the transcription and translation of records in Latin.

WW1 Medal Cards

Herbert Henry Asquith

Download Medal card of Herbert Asquith free of charge

We've chosen the World War One Campaign Medal Index Card of Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1958), the Liberal Prime Minister for Great Britain from 1908 to 1916, who led Britain during the first two years of the First World War. He received the Victory Medal, British War Medal and the 1914 Star.

These files are in PDF format, so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download the image. If you don't already have it installed, it is available free from Adobe's website