The Globe Theatre - Park Street, London, UK
N 51° 30.418 W 000° 05.676
30U E 701621 N 5710206
Most people are familiar with the current Globe theatre that Sam Wanamaker was instrumental in having built close to the River Thames. This was opened by the Queen in June 1997. A mere 200 metres, to the south east, is where the original stood.
Waymark Code: WMEBA4
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/01/2012
Views: 11
When visiting the major tourist attractions of London the
vast majority of visitors, with an interest in Shakespeare, will visit
Wanamaker's Globe that opened in 1997. There is something tangible to be seen
and experienced as Shakespeare's plays are performed here. In fact, this year
(2012), all Shakespeare's plays are to be performed each in a different
language.
If the visitor walks about 200 metres in a roughly south east direction to the
east side of Southwark Bridge, the location of the original Globe theatre can be
seen. There is not a lot to see as is proven by the lack of tourists. A wall, on
the south side of Park Street, holds a bronze plaque. That is inscribed:
"Here stood the / Globe Playhouse / of Shakespeare /
1598 - 1619".
Above this inscription is a bust of Shakespeare that is
carved in relief. To the right, also in relief, is a view of London that shows
the River Thames towards the top and the Globe bottom centre. Along the bottom
of the plaque is inscribed:
"Commemorated by the Shakespeare Reading Society of
London and by subscribers in the United Kingdom and India".
At either end of the wall is an entrance to a
semi-circular walkway where information plaques give details of what was here
and what can be seen. To the immediate right of the viewing area, set into the
ground is a curved piece of black granite with "The Globe" carved in to
it. This approximates to where the south west extremity of the Globe stood.
The following information, from the About.com website (visit
link) tells about the area:
"In the final years of Queen Elizabeth I's reign, the
Bankside area of Southwark was a vibrant place characterized by playhouses,
bear-baiting arenas, alehouses and riverside stews or brothels.
This is the site of The Globe Theatre, the first home to many of the celebrated
plays of William Shakespeare (1564-1616). Built in 1599 (Gregorian calendar),
the Globe soon became the most popular theatre of its day and held the first
performances of some of the greatest works of English literature, including
Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth.
In 1599 Richard and Cuthbert Burbage with William Shakespeare and four other
players leased two plots of land alongside Maiden Lane (now Park Street), on
which, using the dismantled timbers of James Burbage's 'The Theatre' in
Shoreditch, they built the Globe playhouse. The Globe soon became even more
successful than its nearby rival, 'The Rose'. However, during a performance of
Henry VIII on 29th June 1613 a stray spark from a cannon, fired as part of the
performance, fell onto a thatched roof; the theatre was burnt to the ground.
The Globe reopened in 1614, having been hurriedly rebuilt apparently on the same
foundations, but with a tiled roof replacing the original thatch. The Globe
flourished once again, until its demolition after 1644.
After Shakespeare's death, the Globe continued to be profitable to the company
of players, but was finally demolished by order of Parliament under the
Puritans, probably after 1644.
In 1989 the Museum of London carried out an archaeological evaluation on this
site and uncovered the remains of a small part of the Globe Theatre, as well as
other archaeological features and deposits. The numerous later buildings that
have stood on the site since the demolition of the Globe have severely damaged
the archaeological remains, leaving only a small part of the theatre surviving.
From this site you can see the outer edge of the semi-circular granite
cobblestones which denotes the limit of the area scheduled as an Ancient
Monument in 1989 under the terms of the Ancient Monument and Archaeological
Areas Act 1979."