ON OUR WAY TO THE " GLOBE "

Maiden Lane (Park Street)

Clink Street

     

           

        The nearest railway station to Shakespeare's Globe Theater is the London Bridge or the Southwark. It is just a   fifteen-minute walk from these two stations. As we passed through the Park Street (earlier called as Maiden Lane ) we could recapture the atmosphere of the Elizabethan times to some extent , of course modified by modern facilities and comforts. The lane was narrow flanked by pubs, restaurants and shops. The path was a  cobbled road with old constructions bearing testimony to the fact that once it was a notorious and squalid place where brothels, bear-baiting pits, taverns and gambling dens flourished. The playhouses or theaters were given permission only to set up in this locality outside London in Southwark borough as acting was looked down as not a worthy profession. The audience also consisted of many low class people who drank, abused and loved ribald jokes. The rich aristocratic people asked players to act in their own private halls.

The Anchor

Interior View

                                

      As we passed by, we saw "The Anchor" the oldest surviving inn of Elizabethan times where people flock even now to relish the ale and enjoy refreshments. It had a long history of nearly eight hundred years. During Shakespeare's time many actors from the Globe, the Swan and the Rose theaters used to frequent this inn. After the Great Fire of London in 1666, this inn was re-built in 1676 and later in 1770 and in 19th century.

    There used to be many inns and taverns in this lane during Elizabethan times. Many of these inns were owned by Philip Henslowe, the theatrical manager of Shakespeare's Globe. Of  course today most of them are nowhere to be seen. They had been destroyed in the Great Fire of London or demolished to give space for later construction of buildings or roads by the riverside.

George Inn

Boar's Head Tavern Sign

  

                 

The Mitre Tavern

                                                                                

    Shakespeare in one of his plays ("Twelfth Night " Act III, Scene III ) referred to the "Elephant Inn " as the best place to lodge. (" In the south suburbs at the Elephant is best to lodge " ). The Boar's Head Tavern on Eastcheap was established in Southwark before 1537. It was re-built and existed till 1831 when it was demolished. But we can see the signboard of this inn (the meeting place of many famous playwrights of Elizabethan times) in the exhibition hall of today's Shakespeare's  Globe. The site of the original inn is now a part of the approach road to London Bridge in Canon Street.

   Before the advent of theaters plays were staged in the courtyards of inns by touring actors. In the courtyards of "The Bull Inn" and "The White Hart Inn" (Shakespeare's reference in  Henry VI)
many plays were staged between 1576 and 1594. "The George Inn" built in 1542h  on Borough High Street near the White Hart Inn was frequented by Shakespeare and his fellow-actors. It was destroyed in fire in 1576 but was later re-built. With galleried hall and cobbled courtyard it still functions as a stage for actors to enact their plays at this inn. Only the southern part of the inn remains intact and is protected by the National Trust.

  

The White Hart Inn

George Inn

   In the courtyard of "The Cross key Inn" located in Grace Church Street, actors used to stage their plays between 1576 and 1594. Shakespeare's acting troupe of Chamberlain's Men used the Cross key Inn Theatre on a regular basis.

Cross Keys Inn

Sign of Cross Keys at the original location

          
          












  "The Mermaid Tavern" located at the junction of Friday Street and Bread Street in East Cheap end deserves special mention as it was frequented by many Elizabethan poets and scholars like Ben Jonson, Francis Beaumont, John Donne, John Fletcher and Richard Carew. A group of these people called "Fraternity of the Sirenical Gentlemen" or "The Friday Club" (a drinking club) used to visit this tavern on the first Friday of every month and engaged themselves in witty conversation or in discussing on various literary topics and contemporary events.Shakespeare, though not a member of this club, might have visited this tavern occasionally to meet and converse with his poet-friends and fellow-dramatists. Ben Jonson and Beaumont mentioned about this tavern in their poems "Inviting a Friend to Supper" (by Ben Jonson) and "Letter to Ben Jonson" (by Francis Beaumont). This famous tavern was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.


   Ben Jonson and his group also  used to visit "The Mitre Tavern" located nearby which had been in existence even before 1475, but was later destroyed in the Great Fire of London . That site was now occupied by buildings and offices.

View of inside prison

Clink Prison Museum

                                                                       

 Apart from these inns and taverns most of which had been razed down by mishaps of time, one can see a replica of the "Clinker's Prison" on the original site as one passes by this South Bank Street leading to Shakespeare's Globe. This was one of the oldest prisons in England which existed right since 1144 up to 1780. It was located within the premises of Winchester's Palace, the home of the bishops of Winchester from 1140 to 1626. This prison was first used to house religious prisoners before being burnt at stake or hanged. Later it became a debtors' prison and was used to keep thieves, harlots, heretics and other criminals. The inmates were tortured and were not given food by the warden. They had to beg food from the passers-by. The prison was located below the level of Thames and a sewer with squalid surroundings.  In the Clink Museum one can see the examples of crime and instruments of torture used at that time. The word "clink" is derived from the Middle English word "clinken" which means 'a Lock". 

The Ruined Winchester Palace

The Rose Window on western gable

                 





 
  





 Another strange fact is that the Bishop of Winchester, being the sole proprietor of the most of the land in Bankside, gave licences to brothels in the area in 1611. So the local prostitutes in that area were nicknamed as "Winchester Geese." The Winchester Palace and the original prison were destroyed in the fire of 1814 and only the rose window of the palace remains as a historic reminder of those notorious times. 

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                                                                                                                 Somaseshu Gutala