Three London Theatres of SJiakespeare's Time 5 



but are inserted by me. Such insertions at the head of the docu- 

 ments merely explain. Those in the body indicate illegibility, 

 from decay, and are supplied either from the context or from 

 some other record of the series. 



This matter has gone through the press during my absence 

 from the University. But as the proof-reading has been done 

 under the direction and care of the editor and the committee of 

 the Studies, it is hoped that it will be found to be accurate. 



II 



THE RED BULL THEATRE. 



To J. P. Collier, despite his colossal forgeries, we owe great 

 credit for new knowledge and the assembling of old informa- 

 tion on the theatre and drama of the period best designated as 

 Shakespearean. His knowledge of the Red Bull was slight, but 

 it was more than had been found out prior to his first publication 

 in 1 83 1. He did not know the date of its erection, but inferred 

 it to be late Elizabeth. He ascertained that it was located at 

 the upper end of St. John street, but erred in supposing it origi- 

 nally an inn yard, like the Bell Savage of Ludgate Hill. He 

 found that it was occupied at some undetermined time in the 

 reign of James I by Queen Anne's men, and then, after her 

 death, March 2, 1618— [19], by some of the same actors under 

 a new name, the Revels company ; that it was, as mentioned in 

 Prynn's Histriomcistix, in 1633 one of the "two old playhouses" 

 and had been " lately reedified and enlarged " ; that, under the 

 regime of the Puritans of the Commonwealth, it was, for exam- 

 ple in 1647, used clandestinely by once famous actors in play 

 presentations; that it was, after 1660, under the Restoration, 

 used by Thomas Killigrew's royally licensed company; and that 

 before 1663 it was tenanted only by fencers and spiders. 



We have, since Collier's day, added to this information. A 

 picture from Kirkman's Drolls (1672), certainly much older 

 than its date indicates, shows crudely a portion of the interior 

 and the arrangement of the stage. While this gives us informa- 

 tion of a kind, it is of doubtful value in its customary applica- 



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