260:"Court holden the 15th day of July 1567... by Master William Ruddock, Master Richard More, Henry Whreste, and Richard Smarte, wardens, and Master Bradshaw. (Memorandum that) where certain variance, discord, and debate was between William Sylvester, carpenter, on the one party and John Brayne, grocer, on the other party, it is agreed, concluded, and fully determined by the said parties, by the assent and consent of them both with the advice of the master and wardens above said, that William Buttermore, John Lyffe, William Snelling, and Richard Kyrby, carpenters, shall with expedition go and peruse such defaults as are and by them shall be found of, in, and about such scaffolds as he the said William hath made at the house called the Red Lion in the parish of Stepney, and the said William Sylvester shall repair and amend the same with their advice substantially as they shall think good. And that the said John Brayne on Saturday next ensuing the date above written shall pay to the said William Sylvester the sum of £8 10s lawful money of England, and that after the play which is called
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While it appears to have been a commercial success, the Red Lion offered little that the prior tradition of playing in inns had not offered. Situated in open farmland, it was too far from its audiences to be attractive for visiting in the winter. Records of the Court of King’s Bench show that it was
289:
The playhouse is stated to have been constructed within the court or yard lying on the south side of the garden belonging to a house. The exact location remained unknown until early in 2019, when archaeological excavations associated with a building development at
Stepney Way, Whitechapel (south of
188:
The Red Lion had been a farm, but a single gallery multi-sided theatre (constructed by John
Williams), with a fixed stage 40 feet (12 m) by 30 feet (9 m) standing 5 feet (1.5 m) above the audience, was built by John Reynolds in the garden of the farmhouse. The stage was equipped with
316:
Director of the dig, Stephen White from UCL's
Institute of Archaeology, believes that all the indicators point to this being the site of the Red Lion: "The strength of the combined evidence – archaeological remains of buildings, in the right location, of the right period – seem to match up with
248:
border, and alleged that Brayne raised a mortgage on the land, by trickery, to fund the building of the Red Lion. Separate actions were brought against the carpenters. These sources were published and explored by E.K. Chambers (1923) and J.S. Loengard (1983).
312:
announced that they had discovered the remains of the Red Lion theatre in
Whitechapel. Their research, which had commenced in January 2019 following the exposure of a rectangular timber structure, is focused on housing redevelopment site.
197:, after some corrections had been made to the structure, and there is little documentary evidence that the theatre survived beyond the summer season of 1567, although the lawsuit, from the little we know of it, dragged on until 1578.
305:(which is within the parish of Stepney) on 6 August 1501. Attempts to locate the original site are made confusing by the various streets and public houses named "The Red Lion" (or "Lyon") which since have arisen thereabouts.
264:
be once played at the place aforesaid the said John shall deliver to the said
William such bonds as are now in his custody for the performance of the bargain. In witness whereof both parties hereunto hath set their
647:
224:, with companies being based there. The former was a continuation of the tradition of touring groups, performing at inns and grand houses, the latter a radically new form of theatrical engagement.
374:
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by Brayne against John
Reynolds, for 20 marks forfeit for breach of fulfilment. This describes the work to be done, with dimensions, by 8 July 1567 (9 Elizabeth I).
232:
The little that is known of the Red Lion comes principally from lawsuits between Brayne and his carpenters, and also with Edward
Stowers, a blacksmith of Averstone,
240:). Edward Stowers was John Brayne's brother-in-law, being married to his sister Margaret Brayne. The suit concerned 6 acres (24,000 m) of land straddling the
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Whitechapel Road) discovered the remains of a rectangular structure, with dimensions corresponding to the
Carpenters Company and Kings Bench court cases. It has
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touring theatrical companies - and perhaps the first purpose-built venue known to have been built in the city since Roman times. Its existence was short-lived.
301:, as the most likely location. The first reference to playing in one of the speculated locations for the Red Lion is when actors were paid to perform at
373:
C. Phillpotts, 'Red Lion
Theatre, Whitechapel, Documentary Research Report' (MoLAS Report for Crossrail, ref 1E0418-C1E00-00004, August 2004), in
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trapdoors, and an attached 30 feet (9 m) turret, or fly tower – for aerial stunts and to advertise its presence. The construction cost £20.
61:
637:
632:
420:
M. Edmond, 'Yeomen, Citizens, Gentlemen, and
Players: The Burbages and Their Connections', in R.B. Parker and S.P. Zitner (eds),
193:
an enclosed, walled construction, and was up and running before July 1567. The only play known to have been presented here was
480:, 3 Vols, III: Court Books (Oxford University Press, for the Company, Oxford 1915), pp. xx, 95-96. (Spelling modernized here).
506:
KB27/1229 m30, printed and translated at Loengard 1983, pp. 306–310. View original at AALT, KB 27/1229 rot. 30 front, images
341:
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The venture was soon replaced by a more successful collaboration between Brayne and his brother-in-law, the actor-manager
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Account Book of John Heron, Treasurer of the King's Chamber to Henry VII, payment of 3s.4d to the players at Mile End.
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657:
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47:
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G. Egan, 'Platonism and Bathos in Shakespeare and Other Early Modern Drama', in J. Holmes and E. Streete (eds),
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J.S. Loengard, 'An Elizabethan Lawsuit: John Brayne, his Carpenter, and the Building of the Red Lion Theatre,'
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about the standard of the work of William Sylvester, the carpenter who built the Red Lion Theatre scaffolds:
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Commentators had previously suggested the eastern edge of Whitechapel, where it meets the western edge of
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309:
494:
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The Business of Playing: The Beginnings of the Adult Professional Theater in Elizabethan London
176:, this was the first known attempt to provide a purpose-built playhouse in London for the many
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404:
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The contract for the stage and turret is set forth in a plea brought in January 1569 in the
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424:(University of Delaware Press/Associated University Presses, Newark/London 1996),
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The National Archives (UK), ref. STAC 5/S31/37 Edward Stowers v John Brayne.
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441:, The Revels Plays Companion Library (Manchester University Press 1993),
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619:(2017). Contains transcript of the contract between Brayne and Reynolds.
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The Rose and the Globe — Playhouses of Shakespeare's Bankside, Southwark
596:"Ancient London Theatre Assumed Found in New Housing Development Holes"
285:
Location of the early London theatres. The Red Lion is at the far right
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Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
252:
On 15 July 1567, John Brayne made the following complaint before the
386:
C.W. Wallace, 'The First London Theatre: Materials for a History',
302:
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407:(Google). See also W. Ingram, 'The early career of James Burbage'
599:
437:
See Will of John Brayne, in E.A.J. Honigmann and S. Brock (eds),
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357:(University of Hertfordshire Press, Hatfield 2005), pp. 59–78.
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characteristics of the playhouse recorded in early documents."
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Refiguring Mimesis: Representation in Early Modern Literature
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578:"Red Lion: Archaeologists 'find London's earliest theatre'"
523:"The Gentle Author", 'In Search of the Red Lion Theatre',
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514:(University of Houston/Anglo-American Legal Tradition).
422:
Elizabethan Theater: Essays in Honour of S. Schoenbaum
403:(Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London 1992),
538:"Archaeologists 'find London's earliest theatre'"
467:, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Autumn 1983), pp. 298–310.
624:
493:, 4 volumes (Clarendon Press, Oxford 1923), II,
359:Loughborough University Institutional Repository
140:William Sylvester and John Reynolds (carpenters)
611:An Introduction to Shakespeare's Life and Times
478:Records of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters
308:On 10 June 2020, a team of archaeologists from
220:accepted long-term engagements, essentially in
489:GL MS 4329/1, also printed in E.K. Chambers,
320:
390:13 (January, April, July 1913), pp. 1-297.
411:10 (P.D. Meany, Ontario 1983), pp. 18-36.
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369:
367:
625:
615:'In Search of the Red Lion Theatre',
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23:, a modern London performance space.
16:Elizabethan playhouse in Whitechapel
13:
14:
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638:1568 disestablishments in England
336:(Museum of London, 2010), p. 19.
254:Court of the Carpenters' Company
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216:for touring companies, whereas
48:London Borough of Tower Hamlets
633:1567 establishments in England
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204:(husband of Ellen Brayne), at
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1:
377:. Accessed 25 February 2019.
119:standing yard with galleries
19:Not to be confused with the
7:
388:Nebraska University Studies
276:
10:
679:
663:Theatres completed in 1567
332:J. Bowsher and P. Miller,
18:
643:Former theatres in London
617:Spitalfields Life website
525:Spitalfields Life website
439:Playhouse Wills 1558–1642
310:University College London
136:
128:
123:
113:
100:
92:
53:
37:
33:
653:Elizabethan architecture
321:References & Reading
294:for galleried seating.
159:Borough of Tower Hamlets
409:The Elizabethan Theatre
658:16th century in London
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267:
556:The Elizabethan Stage
491:The Elizabethan Stage
465:Shakespeare Quarterly
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271:Court of King's Bench
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212:. The Red Lion was a
151:Elizabethan playhouse
161:), just outside the
157:(part of the modern
77:51.51861°N 0.05694°W
29:The Red Lion Theatre
21:Old Red Lion Theatre
497:(Internet Archive).
262:The Story of Samson
195:The Story of Samson
165:on the east side.
73: /
30:
527:(26 January 2017).
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174:citizen and Grocer
168:Built in 1567 for
82:51.51861; -0.05694
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554:Chambers, E.K.,,
342:978-1-901992-85-4
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147:The Red Lion
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129:Years active
124:Construction
25:
399:W. Ingram,
238:Alphamstone
228:Attestation
218:The Theatre
210:The Theatre
208:, known as
184:Description
170:John Brayne
155:Whitechapel
153:located in
105:Elizabethan
96:John Brayne
80: /
55:Coordinates
45:High Street
43:Whitechapel
627:Categories
495:pp. 379-80
476:B. Marsh,
405:pp. 92-113
206:Shoreditch
68:00°03′25″W
65:51°31′07″N
445:(Google).
428:(Google).
292:postholes
222:repertory
178:Tudor age
137:Architect
132:1567–1568
108:playhouse
542:BBC News
303:Mile End
277:Location
115:Capacity
600:Gizmodo
299:Stepney
265:hands."
246:Suffolk
149:was an
38:Address
558:(1923)
340:
242:Essex
234:Essex
93:Owner
510:and
338:ISBN
101:Type
582:BBC
375:pdf
629::
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540:.
512:36
508:35
366:^
172:,
361:.
344:.
244:-
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