London map showing Shakespearean theatres

The Whitefriars Theatre was a theatre in Jacobean London, in existence from 1608 to the 1620s — about which only limited and sometimes contradictory information survives.

Location

The Whitefriars district was outside the medieval city walls of London to the west; it took its name from the priory of

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monks ("white friars" due to their characteristic robes) that had existed there before

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

's Dissolution of the Monasteries. Until 1608 the Whitefriars district was a

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

of the City, beyond the direct control of the Lord Mayor and the aldermen; as such, it tended to attract the elements of society that had an interest in resisting authority. Like actors: there is a single reference to a theatre in Whitefriars that was suppressed sometime in the reign of Queen

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

Theatre

In 1608,

Michael Drayton Michael Drayton (1563 – 23 December 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. He died on 23 December 1631 in London. Early life Drayton was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothin ...

and Thomas Woodford, nephew of the playwright,

Thomas Lodge Thomas Lodge (c. 1558September 1625) was an English writer and medical practitioner whose life spanned the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Biography Thomas Lodge was born about 1558 in West Ham, the second son of Sir Thomas Lodge, Lo ...

, leased the mansion house of the old priory from Lord Buckhurst, for a term of seven years. They constructed what was then called a "private" theatre (as opposed to the large open-air "public" theatres like the

Globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe ...

) in the refectory or hall of the building. The new theatre was occupied at first by the

King's Revels Children The King's Revels Children or Children of the King's Revels were a troupe of actors, or playing company, in Jacobean era London, active in the 1607-9 period. They were part of a fashion for child actors that peaked in the first decade of the seve ...

during that company's brief life. In 1609 their place was taken by the

Children of the Queen's Revels The Children of the Chapel are the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who form part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so. They were overseen ...

; that company acted

Nathan Field Nathan Field (also spelled Feild occasionally; 17 October 1587 – 1620) was an English dramatist and actor. Life His father was the Puritan preacher John Field, and his brother Theophilus Field became the Bishop of Llandaff. One of his brothe ...

's play '' A Woman is a Weathercock'' there, as well as

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

's ''Epicene'',

George Chapman George Chapman (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, – London, 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been speculated to be the Rival Poet of Shak ...

's ''

The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois ''The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois'' is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by George Chapman. ''The Revenge'' is a sequel to his earlier '' Bussy D'Ambois,'' and was first published in 1613. Genre and source ''The Revenge of Bussy'' is one in Cha ...

,''

Beaumont and Fletcher Beaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I (1603–25). They became known as a team early in their association, so much so that their jo ...

's ''

The Scornful Lady ''The Scornful Lady'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, and first published in 1616, the year of Beaumont's death. It was one of the pair's most popular, often revived, and frequently reprint ...

,'' John Marston's ''

The Insatiate Countess ''The Insatiate Countess'' is an early Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy first published in 1613. The play is a problematic element in John Marston's dramatic canon. Publication ''The Insatiate Countess'' was first printed in 1613, in a quart ...

,'' and

Robert Daborne Robert Daborne (c. 1580 – 23 March 1628) was an English dramatist of the Jacobean era. His father was also Robert Daborne, heir to family property in Guildford, Surrey and other places, including London, and a wealthy haberdasher by trade ...

's ''

A Christian Turn'd Turk ''A Christian Turn'd Turk'' (1612) is a play by the English dramatist Robert Daborne. It concerns the conversion of the pirate John Ward to Islam. Characters The list of dramatis personae printed in the 1612 quarto is incomplete and inaccura ...

.'' The Queen's Revels Children were joined in 1613 by the

Lady Elizabeth's Men The Lady Elizabeth's Men, or Princess Elizabeth's Men, was a company of actors in Jacobean London, formed under the patronage of King James I's daughter Princess Elizabeth. From 1618 on, the company was called The Queen of Bohemia's Men, after ...

. The intention may have been for the combined company to use the Whitefriars as its winter playhouse and the Swan Theatre as a summer venue, as the King's Men did with the

Blackfriars Theatre Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former Blackfriars Dominican priory in the City of London during the Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the Children of the Chapel Royal, child acto ...

and the Globe. But

Philip Rosseter Philip Rosseter (1568 – 5 May 1623) was an English composer and musician, as well as a theatrical manager. His family seems to have been from Somerset or Lincolnshire, he may have been employed with the Countess of Sussex by 1596, and he was l ...

, the manager of the Queen's Revels company, lost his lease on the Whitefriars in 1614 and was unable to renew it. The combined company split again, and by October 1614 the Lady Elizabeth's Men were at the newly opened

Hope Theatre The Hope Theatre was one of the theatres built in and around London for the presentation of plays in English Renaissance theatre, comparable to the Globe, the Curtain, the Swan, and other famous theatres of the era. The Hope was built in 1613 ...

south of the Thames. In 1615 the Queen's Revels players moved to Rosseter's short-lived Porter's Hall Theatre and then passed out of existence. After that point, the story of the Whitefriars Theatre grows obscure;

Prince Charles's Men Prince Charles's Men (known as the Duke of York's Men from 1608 to 1612) was a playing company or troupe of actors in Jacobean and Caroline England. The Jacobean era troupe The company was formed in 1608 as the Duke of York's Men, under the titu ...

may have used the theatre, though they were also acting at the Hope. A 1616 reference pictures the place as poorly furnished and suffering from rain damage. In 1621 the building's then-current landlord, Sir Anthony Ashley, "turned out the players."

Replacement

In 1629 the Whitefriars was replaced by the

Salisbury Court Theatre The Salisbury Court Theatre was a theatre (structure), theatre in 17th-century London. It was in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Court, which was formerly the London residence of the Bishop of Salisbury, Bishops of Salisbury. Salisbury Court was ...

, which was located across Water Lane (now the southern end of Whitefriars St) from the Whitefriars, where the KPMG headquarters now stands. Salisbury Court was named after the medieval house and garden of the

Bishops of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat i ...

, which stood on the east side of Water Lane.Clapham, p. 17 and fig. facing. To add an element of posthumous confusion, the Salisbury Court Theatre was sometimes referred to as the Whitefriars in later years, as in the 1660s diary of

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

. The site of the Whitefriars priory is now occupied by the offices of

Freshfields Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (informally Freshfields, or FBD) is an multinational corporation, international law firm headquartered in London, and a member of the Magic Circle (law firms), Magic Circle. The firm has 28 offices in 17 jurisdi ...

; a fragment of the priory cellars has been excavated and moved to a basement that can be viewed from Magpie Alley.

Notes

References

* Braunmuller, A. R., and Michael Hattaway, eds. ''The Cambridge Companion the English Renaissance Drama.'' Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003. * Clapham, A. W., "The topography of the

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Priory of London," ''Journal of the

British Archaeological Association The British Archaeological Association (BAA) was founded in 1843 and aims to inspire, support and disseminate high quality research in the fields of Western archaeology, art and architecture, primarily of the mediaeval period, through lectures, con ...

'' New Series 16 part 1 (March 1910), pp. 15–32. * Chambers, E. K. ''The Elizabethan Stage.'' 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923. * Halliday, F. E. ''A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964.'' Baltimore, Penguin, 1964. * Munro, Lucy. ''The Children of the Queen's Revels: A Jacobean Theatre Repertory.'' Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005.

External links

*
Shakespearean Playhouses
', by Joseph Quincy Adams, Jr. from

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{{coord , 51, 30, 48, N, 0, 6, 27, W, type:landmark_region:GB-LND, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1608 1629 disestablishments Former theatres in London 17th century in London Theatres completed in 1608 1608 establishments in England