Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Globe
Price: Free
Address: Park Street
*Keep following Clink Street, through the tunnel. When you reach the end of this tunnel,
Vinopolis to your right and Premier Inn ahead, turn left onto Bank End, then take your next
right onto Park Street. Walk on the left side of the road until you see a plaque and steps
just before another tunnel. Walk up the stairs and look into the backyard. It's okay, the res-
idents here are used to it by now.*
This is where the original Globe Theater, where Shakespeare presented most of his plays,
was built in 1599. There's not much to see here these days, just a few pieces of slate making
out a circle with "The Globe" written on them.
To add to the confusion, this was not even the Globe's original location. That was in
Shoreditch, north of the Thames. That theater was built in 1576 and is the Elizabeth-
an theater that William Shakespeare originally joined.
Disputes over the lease in Shoreditch is what led Globe owners to destroy the theater in
1598 and rebuild it on the plot of land your staring at now, not far from the Rose Theater.
The original theater in this spot, where Shakespeare's work flourished, was destroyed dur-
ing a performance of Henry VIII when a stage cannon set fire to the thatch roof. It was
quickly rebuilt and finally demolished in 1644, after England's Puritan Administration
closed all theatres in 1642.
