2.1 Pre-History of the Globe (The Theatre)

In 1574, James Burbage became the first Englishman to obtain a theatrical license, and in 1576 he signed a lease with Giles Alleyn for a parcel of land just outside the city of London, on the north shore of the Thames River. It was important that the theatre was to be built outside of the city because this allowed Burbage to avoid contention with city authorities who would later outright ban theatre within city limits (1598).

Burbage entered the lease with a partner, his father-in-law, John Braynes, who was not otherwise affiliated with acting. Although the lease was only for 21 years, it provided for the possibility of extension, as well as giving Burbage the right to take down anything he might construct upon the land.

Burbage's theatre, simply named "The Theatre," was an immediate success. However, in the years to follow, James Burbage would be plagued by financial difficulties including a "contentious" partnership with his brother-in-law, Brayne, a mortgage which he was unable to discharge, and a failure to secure continuation of his lease. The lease provided for an extension, yet Alleyn met every request with evasions and half-promises. Finally, two months before the end of the 21 year old lease, James Burbage died, leaving his theatre, and all of its difficulties, to his two sons, Richard and Cuthbert. When the end of the lease came and went, Alleyn decided that since the theatre had not been removed before the expiration of the lease, it was now his. He refused to give the younger Burbages either a new lease, or the chance to take away their building.

Late one night, right around Christmas, 1598, Richard and Cuthbert, along with a number of the Lord Chamberlain's Men (as the acting company was known) and a master builder, Peter Streete, snuck onto the grounds of The Theatre, dismantled it, and took it to a sight on the south bank which the Burbages had discretely acquired a few days prior. The fact that Peter Streete, one of the most skilled and most sought after contractors of the time, was involved suggests that this was not merely a matter of rebuilding an exact copy of the former theatre. Rather, it is very likely that a number of improvements were made. When James Burbage, a carpenter in his own right, was building The Theatre, he was working in a new field, building something that had never been built before. However, by 1598, many other theatres had been constructed, and it is likely that Streete used what he could learn from all of these efforts to improve upon The Theatre's design.

When Alleyn learned of the demolition, he promptly sued Streete and the Burbages for trespass and theft of the building materials. However, after three years in the courts, the case simply faded away. Neither Streete nor the Burbages were ever required to re-compensate Alleyn in any way.