Was William Shakespeare a stoner? It's a legitimate question following the revelation that clay tobacco pipes dug up from the garden of his home in Stratford-upon-Avon contain traces of cannabis.

Researchers at a forensic laboratory in South Africa have examined fragments of 24 clay tobacco pipes dating from the early 17th century in the area where Shakespeare was born and lived. A number of these came from the grounds of his house.

Off his head?: William Shakespeare could well have smoked cannabis to fuel his creativity. Credit:Hulton Archive

Traces of cannabis were found in eight of the pipes, nicotine in one and cocaine in two.

Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh, contemporaries of Shakespeare and favourites of the court of Queen Elizabeth, were renowned travellers to the New World.