This mace, a ceremonial symbol of authority of the town’s most prominent citizens, was originally made in the late AD 1400s for Stratford-upon-Avon’s Guild of the Holy Cross. In the middle of the next century, the Guild was dissolved and the mace re-purposed for the new Corporation of the town. The object offers an insight into the impact of the Reformation in a local context which can be extended to the country as a whole. It has particular resonance through its link with William Shakespeare whose works contributed significantly to the formation of a new national identity.