The Westminster Abbey search for evidence that Shakespeare might have been Bacon has drawn a blank, and the controversy remains where it was. It had been thought that the tomb of the poet Spenser might have produced data one way or the other.
The Dean of Westminster issued the following statement last night : "The search for the grave of Edmund Spenser took place in Westminster Abbey on November 2 and 3. The space immediately in front of the Spenser Monument was found to be taken up by solid foundations, and further search showed that the nearest grave was some twelve feet to the north of the monument. It had been cut out of the foundations to a depth of three feet eight inches from pavement level.
"This grave was carefully examined, and was found to contain a lead coffin. There was no inscription or other means of identifying this, but there was reason to believe that it was post-Elizabethan. There were indications that two other interments had taken place in the same grave, but it was impossible to assign any definite date for these.
"The contents of the lead coffin were not disturbed, but the ground around was carefully sifted, and revealed no trace of any manuscript or pens."
The Irish Times,
November 4th, 1938.