While a great many scholars were present at the conferences mentioned above, most of the research and decision making about aspects of the design of the Globe was actually conducted by a few individuals. Scholars Richard Hosely, C. Walter Hodges and, later, John Orrell were mainly responsible for evaluating what little evidence existed about the original theatre, while architect Theo Crosby and, later, builder Peter McCurdy were responsible for actually drawing the theatre, and making sure that everything made sense from the construction side.
Many of the decisions about the design of the theatre were made before the discovery of the original Globe's foundations, through the analysis of drawings of the Globe and Swan Theatres, the contract for the Fortune Theatre (Appendix 2), and various recorded descriptions of the theatre, including the text of Shakespeare's plays. While these sources were extremely limited, they provided some important insight into the design of the theatre. For example, there was only one document showing a contemporary view of the inside of a theatre, the deWitt Sketch of the Swan Theatre (Figure 7). Yet this sketch gave incredible insight into the decoration of the theatre, including the detailed work on the wooden posts of the stage (Figure 21), which were described as being "painted in such excellent imitation of marble that it is able to deceive even the most cunning (de Witt)."
Figure 21: Picture of Globe Stage, featuring wooden posts, 1997
The contract of the Fortune was especially significant since the Fortune was contracted to be built by Peter Streete "like unto the stadge of the …plaihouse called the Globe …with a shadowe or cover over saide stadge." Thus, it is likely that with the exception of a few indicated differences, the design of the Fortune greatly resembled that of the Globe.
While many decisions were made based on evaluating these documents and others like them, none of these sources could be verified. In fact, evidence was never found that Visscher, on whose drawing John Cranford Adams model was based, was ever in London. Rather, there is evidence that he created his drawing by assembling information from a variety of other maps and drawings that were available at the time. The only verifiable source of information came in 1989 with the discovery of the Rose and Globe Theatres. The excavations of these sites served to confirm the dimensions of the theatre, as well as provide insight into some of its features. For example, the banisters in the new Globe were styled directly after those that were uncovered at the Rose site. Water reed was also found at this site, giving insight into the question of what material had been used for the thatch roof.
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| Lesson 5.1 |
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Lesson 5.3 |