Members of the Cambridge Society of London spent an enjoyable evening exploring Bankside and Shakespeare’s London on a walking tour led by Blue Badge Guide Caroline Piper. From London Bridge we explored the inns and markets of Borough, before wandering west along the river to end at the replica Globe theatre.
We explored the buildings which have survived from the 17th century and discussed what Bankside would have been like in Shakespeare’s time and how this influenced Shakespeare’s plays. A visit to the George Inn, a galleried coaching inn run by the National Trust on Borough High Street, helped us envisage why theatres evolved as they did at the end of the 16th century and how such inns influenced theatre design.
We found the surviving traces of the Elizabethan / Jacobean theatres; the Rose, the Globe and the Hope and discussed how archaeology has contributed to our understanding of these theatres and shaped the design and building of the replica Globe. This was the brainchild of the great Sam Wanamaker and it opened on the banks of the Thames in 1997 built using Jacobean building materials and methods, with a few minor modern additions such as a sprinkler system. Given that the original Globe burned down in 1613 when a spark from a canon set its thatched roof on fire, this is a very sensible precaution!
The group photo shows the group in front of street art by Australian artist Jimmy C, done in his signature “aerosol pointillist” style. It is based on the portrait of Shakespeare which has the best claim to have been painted from him in his lifetime, and thus to most accurately record what Shakespeare looked like.
Post tour we retired for a well earned drink and interesting conversation in a nearby tavern!
Organised by Caroline Piper