London

London 

• By 1600's London the London Theatre goings numbered to 20,000 per week 
• royalty supported theatres 
• Berween 1550-1600 it is estimated the population grew to 200,000
• the general population in England and wales was over 4 million 
• going to shops you could see traders making the products they would sell 

Why London:

• London was one of the wealthiest and biggest city in London and had many playhouses
• Wealthy people lived there meaning they had enough money to visit the Theatre 
• By 1600, London’s theatre-goers numbered 20,000 per week.
• As there were many noble men in London they become patrons to Theatres helping financially and legally 

What was London like:

•  Between 1550 and 1600 it is estimated the city grew from around 50,000 residents to over 200,000
• London was beginning to get very crowded, in 1599, a Swiss visitor said, “one simply cannot walk along the streets for the crowds”
• The dark streets attracted a lot of crime to London 
• The crowd also brought a lot of disease such as the plague in 1593 about killed about 10,000 causing the Theatres to close

What were the cities main landmarks:

St Paul's Cathedral: This was the biggest church in London, its tower was almost 300 feet tall, 

 Inside, as well as worship, crowds gathered to socialise or do business this attracted pick-pockets and prostitutes. The Tower of London: This was London’s old medieval fortress. By 1600 it housed rooms for the royal family, a treasury, a prison, a weapons store, a zoo and the royal mint, where nearly all England’s coins were made.

London Bridge: This was the only bridge in London and  It joined the City of London, on the north bank of the Thames, with Southwark on the south bank, where the Globe Theatre was.  It was about 800 feet long and supported by 20 pillars.

Where did Shakespeare live in London:

St Helen’s: In the mid-1590’s, Shakespeare lived in the London parish of St Helens, just north of London Bridge, he failed to pay taxes twice. 

Paris Gardens: From about 1598-1602, he seems to have lived in the Paris Gardens area of Bankside south of the river near his workplace, The Globe. 

Silver Street: From about 1602, Shakespeare rented lodgings in the Silver Street house.