Salisbury Court Playhouse - Dorset Rise, London, UK
N 51° 30.797 W 000° 06.364
30U E 700798 N 5710877
A blue plaque on the wall of a modern office building.
Waymark Code: WMCDJ1
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/25/2011
Views: 3
The blue plaque, placed by the Corporation of the City of London, reads:
"Site of the / Salisbury Court / Playhouse / 1629 - 1649".
Salisbury Court Playhouse Theatre was built in 1629 by Richard Gunnell and William Blagrove
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The Whitefriars Playhouse theatre was replaced by the Salisbury Court Theatre in 1629. The Salisbury Court Theatre was a private theatre built by Richard Gunnell and William Blagrove at a cost of £1000 and covers part of the site of Salisbury House, the London Town House which was owned by he Bishops of Salisbury. The theater was successful but it fell into decline when the Puritans came into power in England in 1642. The Puritans moved the country to a stricter code of conduct which deplored any kind of finery or flippant behaviours. In 1648 all playhouses were ordered to be pulled down. All players were to be seized and whipped, and anyone caught attending a play to be fined five shillings. Plays were illegally performed during the this era but the Salisbury Court Theater was destroyed by soldiers in 1649. In 1660 King Charles II is restored to the throne of England. With the Restoration of the English monarchy and , and the demise in the power of the Puritans in 1660 the theatres finally open again. After the Restoration Salisbury Court was restored by William Beeston and was one of the first theatres to re-open. Samuel Pepys recorded visiting the Salisbury Court Theatre in 1661.
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