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CLUES TO THE LOCATION OF ROSSETER'S BLACKFRIARS
a.k.a. "PUDDLE WHARF" and "PORTER'S HALL"
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3 June 1615: King James authorizes the setting up of a playhouse "situate and being within the precinct of the Blackfriars, near Puddle Wharf in the suburbs of London, called by the name of the Lady Saunders' house, or otherwise Porter's Hall."
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Rosseter and company "pulled down a great messuage in Puddle Wharf, which was sometimes the house of the Lady Saunders within the precinct of the Blackfriars." They began "erecting a new playhouse in that place" according to the complaint filed by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen in the Privy Council.
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The complaint described the property as "in Puddle Wharf" and argued that the playhouse would "adjoine so neere vnto" the Church of St. Anne as to be a constant source of disruption to services.
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Sir Thomas Cawarden had pulled down the original Church of St. Anne around 1555. Queen Mary required him to provide a place of worship for the parishioners. Cawarden created a chapel from the "lodging Chamber above the staire, which since that time, to wit, in the yeere 1597, fell downe, and was again (by collection therefore made) new builded and enlarged in the same yeere, and was dedicated on the eleventh of December." (Stow, ed. 1618, p. 655).
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Cawarden built the church, according to Irwin Smith, "at or near the east end of his mansion house, formerly the South Dorter, and on the upper floor." (Shakespeare's Blackfriar's Playhouse, p. 122).
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Lord Chief Justice Coke found that, as the precinct of Blackfriars was no longer "in the suburbs of London" but rather had been taken into the city, the Royal Patent was invalid in respect to the property. The Privy Council ordered the project abandoned 26 September 1615.
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Ignoring the Privy Council's order, plays were performed in the new playhouse. When published, The Scornful Lady and Amends for Ladies both identified the playhouse as "Blackfriars" rather than "Puddle Wharf" or "Porter's Hall", thus indicating its local association with the precinct.
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When in 1617 the King ordered the playhouse closed, it was identified as existing "near unto his Majesty's Wardrobe."
What we have, then, is evidence giving us the playhouse location as follows:
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Properly in the precinct of Blackfriars;
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Adjoining (or nearly adjoining) St. Anne's Church;
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Near the King's Wardrobe.
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In Puddle Wharf (which could mean the street leading down to Puddle Wharf, also called St. Andrew's Hill); clearly on the Eastern side of the precinct.