Dogberry? - "The Constable of the Watch with his Dog: Much Ado, III.iii." (17th c.)

It is interesting to know that in 1556 John Shakespeare (the playwright's father) took up the first of several key municipal positions he was to hold in Stratford, when he was elected borough ale taster. He was responsible for making sure that weights and measures and prices were observed correctly throughout the borough by innkeepers and publicans, but also by butchers, bakers and town traders. And in 1558 John Shakespeare was made borough Constable of Stratford-upon-Avon - similar to an early police constable. Perhaps symbolically, here the Constable seems to be carrying a gigantic wooden ale-jug. Moreover, after becoming effectively mayor of the town, John was someone, like Dogberry, "a rich fellow enough, go to, and a fellow that hath had losses."(IV.ii.830-4) In the original production by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, William Kempe played Dogberry and Richard Cowley played Verges. By a 17th century Anonymous Artist. courtesy of the Yorck Project, under Creative Commons Attribution-Share- Alike License (Wikipedia).