Globe Theatre
In the winter of 1598, carpenter Peter Street and a group of players moved under cover of darkness. They dismantled an earlier playhouse called The Theatre beam by beam while its landlord Giles Allen celebrated Christmas at his country home. The timber traveled to a waterfront warehouse near Bridewell before crossing the Thames in spring. These beams formed the skeleton of a new structure rising on marshy gardens south of Maiden Lane. The cost for this operation reached £700. The land itself sat close to the river yet remained liable to flooding during high tides. Builders constructed a raised earth bank with timber revetments to keep the foundation above water levels. The resulting building stood larger than its predecessor but reused almost every piece of old wood.
On the 29th of June 1613, a theatrical cannon misfired during a performance of Henry VIII. The ignition spread quickly through wooden beams and thatching until flames consumed the entire structure. Surviving documents state no one died except a man whose burning breeches were extinguished with a bottle of ale. Reconstruction began immediately and finished by June 1614. This second version featured a tile roof instead of flammable thatch. The rebuilding effort cost £1,400. The theatre remained open for another three decades after this fire. It hosted works by Ben Jonson, Thomas Dekker, and John Fletcher alongside Shakespeare's plays.
The exact location of the original Globe remained unknown for centuries until 1989. Archaeologists from the Department of Greater London dug beneath a car park at Anchor Terrace on Park Street. They uncovered a small section of foundations including one original pier base. The shape of these remains suggests a polygon with twenty sides rather than a perfect circle. Most of the foundation lies under existing buildings numbered 67 to 70 Anchor Terrace. No further excavations are permitted because those structures are listed buildings. Today the outline of the foundation replicates the ancient footprint on the surface above ground.
Scholars estimate the building stood approximately 30 meters in diameter and held up to 3,000 spectators. It featured three storeys of open-air seating surrounding a central yard. For one penny, people known as groundlings stood on rush-strewn earthen floors during performances. Excavation in 1989 revealed layers of nutshells pressed into the dirt floor to create new surfaces. Vertical stadium-style seats rose around the yard offering more expensive viewing options. A rectangular stage platform thrust out into the middle of this open space. The stage measured roughly 20 meters wide and 15 meters deep while raised about 4 meters off the ground. Musicians played from a balcony above the inner stage area.
Historical theories link the name Globe to the Latin phrase totus mundus agit histrionem meaning all the world plays the player. This motto supposedly appeared on the theatre's flag alongside an image of Hercules carrying a globe. Early biographer William Oldys claimed he saw this detail in the Harleian Manuscripts but modern scholars call his account suspicious. Another theory points to John of Salisbury's twelfth-century work Policraticus which discussed theatrical metaphors widely read in 1595. Shakespeare himself referenced these ideas in Hamlet when comparing child actors to figures stealing Hercules' burden. An elegy for actor Richard Burbage also mentions Atlas or Hercules supporting the sky above the playhouse.
The Long Parliament issued an ordinance on the 2nd of September 1642 closing all London theatres due to the outbreak of civil war. The Globe remained shuttered until authorities pulled it down between 1644 and 1645. A commonly cited date of the 15th of April 1644 appears only as a pencil note in a library copy of John Stow's book and is unreliable. Dismantling the structure made room for tenement housing. The site sat within Southwark where entertainment venues clustered together near the riverbank. Thomas Brend had originally offered the land for rent while neighbors included actors like John Heminges and Henry Condell.
A modern replica named Shakespeare's Globe opened its doors in 1997 with a production of Henry V. This building sits approximately 230 meters from the original site based on Google Earth measurements. It serves as an academic approximation derived from evidence found in 1599 and 1614 structures. Historian John Orrell contributed significantly to recreating the design before his death in 2003. The reconstruction allows audiences to experience performances similar to those staged four centuries ago. It stands as a functional theatre rather than just a museum exhibit.
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Common questions
When was the Globe Theatre built and how much did it cost to construct?
The Globe Theatre construction began in the winter of 1598 when carpenter Peter Street moved timber beams across the Thames. The total operation cost £700 to build the new structure on marshy gardens south of Maiden Lane.
What happened to the original Globe Theatre on the 29th of June 1613?
A theatrical cannon misfired during a performance of Henry VIII and ignited wooden beams that consumed the entire structure. No one died except for a man whose burning breeches were extinguished with a bottle of ale before reconstruction finished by June 1614.
Where is the exact location of the original Globe Theatre foundations found today?
Archaeologists from the Department of Greater London uncovered foundation remains beneath a car park at Anchor Terrace on Park Street in 1989. Most of the foundation lies under existing buildings numbered 67 to 70 Anchor Terrace while an outline replicates the ancient footprint above ground.
How many spectators could the Globe Theatre hold and what were the seating arrangements like?
Scholars estimate the building stood approximately 30 meters in diameter and held up to 3,000 spectators. It featured three storeys of open-air seating surrounding a central yard where groundlings paid one penny to stand on rush-strewn earthen floors.
Why was the name Globe chosen and what motto appeared on its flag?
Historical theories link the name Globe to the Latin phrase totus mundus agit histrionem meaning all the world plays the player. This motto supposedly appeared on the theatre's flag alongside an image of Hercules carrying a globe according to early biographer William Oldys.
When did the Long Parliament close the Globe Theatre and when was it demolished?
The Long Parliament issued an ordinance on the 2nd of September 1642 closing all London theatres due to the outbreak of civil war. Authorities pulled down the structure between 1644 and 1645 to make room for tenement housing.