INN-YARDS
When Shakespeare first arrived in London, which is now generally
assigned to the year 1586, there existed in the Metropolis two
permanent theatres, called respectively The Theatre and The Curtain.
Shakespeare’s dramatic connection with the stage commenced probably
about 1590, but where his first plays were produced records are found
wanting. Personally I am strongly in favour of his early plays being
acted at the Theatre. Students are agreed that Shakespeare joined
the company of actors known as the Earl of Leicester’s servants, in
which the celebrated Burbages, both father and son, were included. The
first named was the builder and manager of The Theatre; therefore, the
inference is quite logical that Shakespeare acted in the playhouse to
which his company was attached.
Before the public theatres were erected the actors set up their stages
at the inn-yards, and many early and important plays were presented
in these places. That acting took place in these localities is beyond
question, and it is within the bounds of possibility that Shakespeare’s
earliest contributions to the drama may have been first produced in
these impromptu play places, otherwise inn-yards.
The names of several of these London inn-yards are well known, both
from contemporary literature and documentary records; unfortunately
little information can be gleaned of their connection with the
drama. These resorts were fairly well suited for stage plays. The
fore part of the yard corresponded to the pit of a modern provincial
theatre, with the exception that standing room only was provided.
The galleries that surrounded the yard accommodated the better class
of spectators, probably a space at the back of the stage supplied the
needs of a dressing room. How the play was produced, the manner in
which the scenes were indicated, the number of stage properties used
and other details connected with the drama are questions that cannot be
satisfactorily answered; the historian in search of full information
on these subjects seeks in vain. However much we may deplore the loss
of written documents elucidating this period of our early drama, we
possess proof that the acting companies of the Earl of Leicester, Lord
Strange, the Admiral’s and other noblemen’s companies frequently gave
performances in these places. Although Southwark, the pleasure seeking
resort of Londoners, was plentifully supplied with inn-yards, many
becoming quite famous, namely, The Tabard, White Hart, Cross Keys,
George, and several others, there exists no record or reference that
any company of actors set up their stage in any one of those taverns
named above. As already stated, little is known of the conditions
under which theatrical companies acted in those impromptu places of
entertainment.
In connection with these taverns one great difficulty arises of a
rather perplexing nature, namely, how was the money collected during
one of these performances? Devoid of any reliable information, every
reader who is interested in the question must work out a theory for
himself, relying on his own conclusion for the solution. My own
particular theory is that, whenever the players announced a performance
they hired the premises for the afternoon, with the right of charging
admission for anyone entering the yard or the rooms in the gallery
surrounding the building. As these last could be entered through the
inn proper, money takers were stationed at the door or doors of all
the private entrances and also at the place where the general public
entered. In confirmation of the above, an account of a quarrel may
be quoted from Halliwell-Phillipps’s “Illustrations to Shakespeare”:
“Whilst the Queen’s players were performing at Norwich a man named
Wynsdon endeavoured to gain admission without payment. An altercation
ensued, during which the money box was upset. The disturbance had a
tragic sequel, so far as regards the originator of the quarrel, as
he received a sword thrust from one of his pursuers, from which he
succumbed.” The above written testimony proves that some kind of system
existed, whereby money could be taken at the doors before gaining
admission. The entire subject of plays produced at inn-yards requires
special treatment by a trained Shakesperean scholar. The subject is
a difficult one, necessitating patient research, exact knowledge of
sixteenth century theatrical customs and much leisure, but finally the
student will be amply rewarded by the interest and fascination which
the theme evokes. Printed matter has been ransacked in the hope of
throwing light on the subject, but with poor results. Original research
among the MSS. of the British Museum and the documents stored at the
Record Office must be henceforth the order of the day. Considering so
little is known in connection with this interesting subject, reference
to similar theatrical conditions in Spain during the Elizabethan
period may interest the reader. In Madrid plays were performed in a
corral, which, in Spanish, signifies a courtyard of a private house,
corresponding in England to our inn-yard. The stage was erected at the
back of the yard, in all cases being a movable one, the majority of
the audience viewing the performance standing in the court-yard. From
the windows of the surrounding houses the better class of spectators
watched the play. The entire building was open to the sky, fine weather
being absolutely necessary for a continuous performance.
Two years before a permanent theatre was erected in London, these
“corrals” were partly roofed, besides providing seats and benches. An
awning was thrown across to protect the spectators in the unroofed
courtyard from the glare of the sun. From these facts it will be noted
that from 1574-1576 theatrical performances were given in Madrid under
better conditions than those of any other country. Regular organized
theatres did not exist in France, Italy, Russia, or any other European
city except England and Spain until the beginning of the seventeenth
century. Although for a short period Spanish playgoers were provided
with more comforts than any other known theatre, the honour of erecting
the first organized theatre in Europe must be awarded to English
enterprise.
The chief taverns with inn-yards in which the different companies
of actors pitched their tents are seven in number, although several
others, whose names are unrecorded, were similarly used for the same
purpose. The seven known are “The Bull,” in Bishopsgate Street; “The
Bull,” “Cross Keys,” and “The Bell,” in Gracechurch Street; “The Belle
Savage” on Ludgate Hill; “The Boar’s Head,” in Eastcheap, and “The
Boar’s Head” in Aldgate Without. “The Bell” was situated in Gracechurch
Street. A reference to this inn is mentioned in the Revel’s Account:
“A well counterfeit from ‘The Bell’ in Gracious Street.” This and
two others are the only known references to this tavern being used
as a playhouse. Even this quotation is rather vague. Probably “the
well” refers to a play called “Cutwell,” which was performed at Court
during Shrovetide, 1577, by the Earl of Warwick’s company, the actors
having previously appeared at “The Bell” in the same piece.
[Illustration: Reproduced by kind permission from Professor G. P.
Baker’s _The Development of Shakespeare as a Dramatist_, The Macmillan
Company, New York, 1907.
A Stage Play in progress at an inn-yard.]
[Illustration: Reproduced by kind permission of Professor G. P. Baker.
A typical inn-yard in Elizabethan times used by the players for the
acting of their plays.]
This event is mentioned by Richard Rawlidge in a tract entitled “A
Monster lately found out, or scourge of Tipplers,” published in 1628.
Prynne also mentions this inn in a pamphlet against stage plays in
1632. The best known resort of the actors during the latter part
of Elizabeth’s reign was “The Bull” in Bishopsgate Street, being
frequently noticed in documents and literature. “The Bull” stood on the
left hand side of Bishopsgate Street going towards Shoreditch from the
west, exactly opposite St. Helen’s Place, formerly known as Little St.
Helen’s. This inn luckily escaped the great fire in 1666, a disaster
of such magnitude that, fortunately, has not befallen any other famous
city of such great renown and dimensions. “The Bull” remained _in situ_
two centuries after that disastrous event, only to be pulled down by
the iconoclasts of our own day in 1866.
There exists a letter from the Earl of Warwick, dated July 1st,
1582, addressed to the Lord Mayor of London, in which he requests
that his servant, John Davis, may be allowed to play at “The Bull,”
in Bishopsgate Street. In answer to a second letter from the Earl
of Warwick, the Lord Mayor still refuses the license on account of
the plague. The restrictions in connection with the theatres in time
of plague were very stringent. By command of the Authorities, all
places of amusement were immediately closed if more than thirty deaths
occurred during the week. On cessation of the plague the theatres,
by permission, resumed their normal course. In the last years of the
sixteenth century, Anthony Bacon, brother of the celebrated Francis
Bacon, occupied lodgings near “The Bull,” much against the wish of his
mother, who feared that his servants might be corrupted by living so
near the scene of dramatic entertainment. This same inn was the resort
of Hobson, the well-known Cambridge carrier. In one of the rooms hung
his portrait with a hundred pound bag under his arm; underneath was
written “The Fruitful Mother of a Hundred more.” The next notice is
one of great importance and interest, containing a definite statement
of a play being acted at “The Bull,” besides naming the title of the
play, “An excellent Jest of Tarlton’s suddenly spoken at ‘The Bull’ in
Bishopsgate Street.”
“There was a play of Henry the Fifth, wherein the Judge was to take a
box of the eare, and because he was absent that should take the blow,
Tarlton himselfe, ever forward to please, tooke upon him to play the
same Judge, and Kenel then playing Henry the Fifth, hit Tarlton a sound
boxe indeed, which made the people laugh, the more because it was he,
but anon the Judge goes in and immediately Tarlton, in his clownes
cloathes, comes out and asks the actor what news? O, saith one, hadst
thou been here thou shouldst have seen Prince Henry hit the Judge a
terrible box of the eare. What, man, said Tarlton, strike a judge! It
is true in faith said the other. No other like, said Tarlton, and it
could not be but terrible to the Judge when the report so terrifies
me that methinks the blow remains still on my cheeke that it burns
againe. The people laughed at this mightily, and to this day I have
heard it commended for rare, for no marvel, for he had many of these.
But I would see our clowns do the like in these days, no I warrant
ye, and yet they thinke well of themselves too.” The play in which
the prince strikes the judge is taken from “The Famous Victories of
Henry the Fifth containing the Honourable Battell of Agincourt. As it
was played by the Queens Majesties Players, London. Printed by Thomas
Creede, 1598.” A unique copy of this book is in the Bodleian Library.
This play is much earlier than Shakespeare’s “Henry the Fifth,” and
may be considered the source out of which Shakespeare created one of
his great masterpieces. Gosson, in his “School of Abuse,” published in
1559, refers to a comedy entitled “The Jew,” performed at “The Bull,”
describing the “greediness of worldly chusers and venomous minds of
Usurers.” There is hardly a shadow of a doubt that this play is the
same on which, many years later, Shakespeare founded his own “Merchant
of Venice.” The plot of the “worldly chusers,” or what is now termed
the “casket scene,” is related in the _Gesta Romanorum_ a collection
of tales and jests written originally in Latin, an English translation
of which existed, _circa_, 1515, printed by the famous Wynkyn de
Worde, several reprints appearing between 1571-1601. I possess a copy
in black letter dated 1672, proving the popularity of the book during
many generations. The Bond, or pound of flesh, story is taken from a
collection of tales called “Il Pecorone by Ser Giovanni Fiorentino,”
written in the year 1378; the first printed edition appeared in 1558.
A copy of this rare book is in the Grenville collection, bequeathed by
the owner to the British Museum. I was thus able to read the story in
the beautiful original edition. I possess a copy of this book, which
formerly belonged to Professor Dowden, bearing the imprint “In Milano,
1554,” with the name of the publishers of the genuine edition of 1558,
four years previously to the genuine first edition. This imprint is a
false one, the entire book being issued in 1740. I also possess a thick
quarto edition of a book entitled _The Orator_, containing one hundred
discourses on various subjects. In each essay the pros and cons of the
case in dispute are thoroughly investigated after the manner of books
on rhetoric, which were fashionable with the early Greek writers.
Declamation numbered 96 strikingly resembles the trial scene in the
“Merchant of Venice”; this book may have been read by Shakespeare
before he composed the “Merchant of Venice,” which is assigned by most
students to the year 1597. The Declamation opens as follows: “Of a Jew
who would have for his debt a pound of flesh of a Christian.” Spenser,
the famous poet, when writing to his friend, Gabriel Harvey, the
well-known Cambridge scholar, signs himself “He that is fast bound unto
thee in more obligations than any merchant of Italy to any Jew there.”
This letter was in reply to one of Harvey’s, dated 1579; enclosed
therein was a whimsical bond between the two friends in allusion to the
bond of the Jew in the play. Evidently these two students had witnessed
a performance of the Jew at “The Bull,” in which the bond story played
a prominent part. When Shakespeare’s play was entered at Stationer’s
Hall the description ran thus: “A book of the Merchant of Venyce or
otherwise called the Jew of Venyce.” John Florio, an Italian refugee,
refers to “The Bull” in a book called the _First Frutes_, published
in 1578: “Shall we go to a playe at ‘The Bull’ or else to some other
place?” By the above reference plays continued to be acted at inn-yards
even after the erection of public theatres.
“The Bell Savage” was situated on the north side of Ludgate Hill,
immediately outside the City gates. The site is now occupied by the
publishing firm of Cassell and Co. This inn is included in the five
enumerated by Rawlidge, where stage plays were enacted. The inn is not
mentioned by name, but simply as one on Ludgate Hill. Stephen Gosson
notes that at this inn two prose plays were acted, further adding that
these plays were free from all immorality and obscenity. “The two
prose plays played at ‘The Belsavage.’ Where you shall find never a
word without wit, never a line without pith, never a letter placed in
vain. Neither with amorous gestures wounding the eye, nor with slovenly
talk hurting the ears of the chaste hearer.” George Gascoigne, in
the prologue to one of his plays, called the “Glass of Government,”
1575, refers to this inn: “The Belsavage fair as affording merry jests
and vain delights.” In Lamborde’s “Perambulation of Kent” there is
another reference to this inn as a place of amusement: “Those who go
to Paris Garden, the Belsavage or Theatre to behold bear baiting,
interludes, or fence plays must not account of any pleasant spectacle
unless they first pay one penny at the gate, another at the entry of
the scaffold, and a third for a quiet standing.” In Shakespeare’s play
of “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” in answer to a question a boy replies:
“Why, sir, is this such a piece of study the dancing horse will tell
you.” This horse, named Morocco, was a famous draw in Elizabethan
times, being shown at “The Bull,” in Bishopsgate Street. One Banks, a
Staffordshire man, exhibited him throughout England and a great part
of the continent. When in Rome, Banks and his horse were supposed to
have been burnt for witchcraft, but this is doubtful. The author of
the above statement is Ben Jonson, in one of his epigrams, “Old Banks
the Juggler and his learned horse burned beyond the sea.” Morocco was
a bay horse and performed some very clever tricks; amongst them was
counting how much money was in a man’s purse, signalling the answer
by stamping with his hoof an equal number of times as there were
coins in the purse. When his master told him to fetch the veriest
knave in all the company he would always make towards his own keeper,
thereby causing much merriment. The well-known Elizabethan dramatist,
Thomas Dekker, mentions him as the dancing horse who stood on the top
of Saint Paul’s whilst a number of asses stood braying below. Many
writers of the period refer to this animal, and he may well be dubbed
the literary horse. A curious tract, entitled “Moroccius Extaticus,
or Bank’s Bay Horse in a Trance,” with a woodcut depicting the horse
on his hind legs and two dice in front of him, was published in 1596.
Three copies of this pamphlet are known, one is in the British Museum.
The Huth exemplar, sold in 1911, fetched £110. I read the copy in the
British Museum, but nothing is related about the horse. The book is a
political satire on the land question. The name of the La belle sauvage
has given rise to many ingenious guesses respecting the derivation, and
Stow says the owner was named Isabella Savage and that she bequeathed
the inn to the Cutlers’ Company. _The Spectator_ would name it after
a French play entitled “La Belle Sauvage.” Another states it was
christened after Lady Arabella Savage, with a sign of a wild man and
a bell. By the discovery of a document the matter was finally set at
rest, wherein it was stated that the tavern was known as “Savage’s
Inn,” otherwise called “The Bell on the Hoop.” By degrees the two names
became confused, eventually becoming known as “The Bell Savage.”
“The Cross Keys” stood on the north side of Gracechurch Street,
adjacent to the well-known Elizabethan tavern “The Queen of Saba,”
kept by the Queen’s famous jester, Richard Tarlton. Many said he was
a frequent visitor at “The Cross Keys” in order to note the fashions
of the day, not in apparel only, but in manners, morals and customs
of the period. This inn is not mentioned by Rawlidge as one of the
public inn-yards where plays were performed before the year 1580. We
catch a glimpse of “The Cross Keys” by an order of the Lord Mayor,
dated November, 1589, forbidding the players acting in the City on
account of having appeared in a controversial play in connexion with
the Martin Marprelate affair. This Marprelate question occupied a
similar position amongst the Elizabethan public as the Pusey tract
controversy in mid-Victorian days. The discussion ranged over a
theological question which was taken up by the dramatists of the Tudor
period, with much acrimonious feeling and much throwing about of brains
on both sides. Shakespeare abstained from taking part in this fierce
and bitter controversy. When the order was executed only two companies
were playing in the City, The Admiral’s and Lord Strange’s men, the
latter company included Shakespeare as a member. Both companies were
promptly summoned before the Court. The Admiral’s men obeyed the
summons, but Lord Strange’s company deliberately refused and acted the
same afternoon at “The Cross Keys.” Again they were summoned, and two
of their number committed to prison. “The Cross Keys” was certainly one
of the City’s regular play places, in proof of which the same company,
but under different patronage, is found five years later playing in
this identical inn-yard. A petition to the Lord Mayor, dated October
the eighth, 1594, emanating from Lord Hunsdon, who was then Lord
Chamberlain, prays the Lord Mayor if he would allow his players to
continue acting at “The Cross Keys,” “where my company of players have
accustomed for the better exercising their quality and for the service
of Her Majesty, if need so require, and may your Lordship permit and
suffer them so to do the which I pray you, rather to do for that they
have undertaken to me, that there heretofore they began not their plays
till towards four o’clock they will now begin at two and have done
towards four o’clock and five, and will not use any drum or trumpet at
all for the calling of the people together, and shall contribute to
the poor of the parish where they play according to their abilities.”
This is one of the few authentic notices concerning Lord Strange’s
men setting up their stages at an inn-yard. If it could be proved
definitely that “The Cross Keys” was their principal place of acting
between the years 1589-1594, then we must be prepared to admit that
many of Shakespeare’s early plays were first acted under these
primitive and rough and ready conditions. I am not an adherent of this
theory, holding the opinion that all his plays were first produced
at regular built theatres; afterwards there may have been a revival
performance at inn-yards for want of better accommodation, but all
this is very problematical. Not possessing any records designating
the actual place of the first performance of Shakespeare’s plays, we
are forced, therefore, to indulge in speculative theories. As I have
repeatedly stated, this important question has not been sufficiently
investigated, and a monograph on the subject by a Shakesperean scholar
would be specially welcome.
At “The Cross Keys,” Banks exhibited his wonderful performing horse.
The most famous of all inns where plays were acted was unhesitatingly
“The Boar’s Head,” in Eastcheap, exactly where now stands the statue of
William the Fourth. The old site was swept away when the new approach
was made to London Bridge. The only instance of a play being produced
there is fortunately extant, and is contained in a letter to the Lord
Mayor from the Lords of the Council, dated March 31st, 1608, granting
permission to the servants of the Earl of Oxford and the Earl of
Worcester to play at “The Bore’s Head,” in Eastcheap. This letter is
preserved in the “Remembrancia,” a collection of papers now safely
housed in the Guildhall. On the succession of James the First the
Worcester men became the servants of Queen Anne, the consort of the
King. Among the Calendars and State Papers is a licence for the actors
to perform plays in their usual houses, “The Curtain” and “The Bore’s
Head.” This tavern is, above all others, specially renowned, as it
was here that Shakespeare selected as the meeting place of Falstaff,
Prince Hal, and their boon companions. The tavern is alluded to in
Shakespeare’s play of “King Henry the Fourth” in the following lines:
“Doth the old boar feed in the old Frank,” and Bardolph answers: “At
the old place, my Lord, in Eastcheap.”
Several inns existed in this locality, namely, “The Plough,” “The
Chicken,” “The Three Kings,” and many others, but none with any
sign that could be confounded with “The Boar’s Head.” The nocturnal
roysterings of Prince Hal are not the invention of the poet. Stow
relates how the Prince, with his two brothers, created such a riot
in Eastcheap that they were brought before the magistrate. William
Gascoigne, the Chief Justice, required the Mayor and Aldermen for
the citizens to justify the Prince’s arrest and put themselves in
the King’s grace. The Aldermen answered they had done their best
according to the law to maintain the peace, therefore the Chief
Justice in the King’s name remitted his ire and dismissed them. This
William Gascoigne is the same judge who, according to tradition, was
struck in the face by Prince Hal, whereupon the Prince, at the Judge’s
order, was committed to the King’s Bench. Maitland, the historian of
London, states that an inscription under the sign of “The Boar’s Head”
notified that “this is the chief tavern in London.” The original inn
was burnt to the ground in the great fire, immediately being rebuilt,
and having for its sign a large boar’s head of stone, with the date
underneath--1668; the sign is now exhibited in the crypt of the
Guildhall. This second building was likewise destroyed, but in this
instance not by fire, being demolished when an improvement scheme was
formed for the widening of the approach to London Bridge. Many years
before its demolition, this tavern had been converted into two houses,
numbered respectively 2 and 3, Great Eastcheap; one of these houses
was occupied by a gunsmith. A curious relic of “The Boar’s Head” is a
carved figure about 12 inches high representing Falstaff. This figure
stood on a bracket placed on one side of the doorway, outside the inn,
another figure of the same period representing Prince Hal, stood on the
opposite side. A water-colour drawing of Falstaff was presented to the
Guildhall by Mr. Burgin, Dean of Chichester. A more important memento
of this inn is a carved boxwood bas-relief of a boar’s head, set in a
circular frame formed by the tusks of two boars, mounted in silver.
An inscription at the back reads “Wm. Brooke, Landlord of ‘The Bore’s
Head,’ Eastcheap, 1566.” The relic was sold at Christie’s in 1855, and
is now in the possession of Mr. Burdett Coutts. In Shakespeare’s time
the landlord at “The Bore’s Head,” was one John Rhodway, of Ventnor,
who was buried in the churchyard of St. Michael’s, Crooked Lane,
1623. This church was also demolished in making improvements in this
district. There are several allusions to this tavern in the literature
of the day; one of special significance is mentioned in Gayton’s
_Festivous Notes_, 1654: “Sir John of ‘The Bore’s Head,’ in Eastcheap.”
Was it a coincidence or of a set purpose that Sir John and his wild
companions assembled at this inn for their midnight revels? There was
another “Boar’s Head” in Southwark, the property of a real Sir John
Falstaff, who died in 1460.
“The Red Bull” in Clerkenwell is mentioned, by Larwood and Hotten in
their history of sign-boards, as a place where the players acted. This
is surely an error, as “The Red Bull” was always a regular playhouse
from its opening in 1600 until all the theatres were closed by Act of
Parliament.
A “Boar’s Head” tavern existed in Aldgate Without, where plays were
represented. The following notice is copied from the Harleian MSS.,
No. 285: “At St. James’s the V day of September, 1557, A letter to the
Lord Mayor of London to give order forthwith that some of his officers
do forthwith repair to the Boreshed Without Aldgate, where the Lords
are informed a lewd play called ‘A sack full of News’ shall be played
this day, the Players whereof he is willed to apprehend and comit to
safe warde, until he shall hear further from hence and to take their
playbooks from them and to send the same hither. At Westr. the VI day
of September, 1557.” Neither this inn nor the one of the same name in
Eastcheap is mentioned by Rawlidge. The number of taverns in the City
of London at this period must be reckoned by hundreds, most of them
having inn-yards adjoining the premises, thus affording a convenient
acting place for the players. That so many inns abounded in London
may account for the meagre notice taken of them, scenes of everyday
occurrence being less likely to be chronicled than events which rarely
happen.