Globe Theatre London Roof

400 years later live cannons may no no longer used in theatres but shakespeare s canon is being performed here in original performance conditions.

Globe theatre london roof. The modern thatch is well protected by fire retardants and sprinklers on the roof ensure further protection against fire. Discover things to do and watch from shakespeare s globe in london. The seats are simple benches though cushions can be hired for performances and the globe has the first and only thatched roof permitted in london since the great fire of 1666. The globe theatre was a theatre in london associated with william shakespeare it was built in 1599 by shakespeare s playing company the lord chamberlain s men on land owned by thomas brend and inherited by his son nicholas brend and grandson sir matthew brend and was destroyed by fire on 29 june 1613.

The building has several features recreated just like the original elizabethan structure shakespeare s globe has the first and only thatched roof permitted in london since the great fire of 1666. Built of english oak like the original shakespeare s globe theatre was constructed with absolutely no structural steel. Swift reconstruction did take place and the globe reopened to the public within a year with the addition of a tiled roof. A second globe theatre was built on the same site by june 1614 and closed by an ordinance.

Shakespeare s company built the globe only because it could not use the special roofed facility blackfriars theatre that james burbage the father of their leading actor richard burbage had built in 1596 for it inside the city the elder burbage had a long history as a theatrical entrepreneur in 1576 he had built the first successful amphitheatre known as the theatre in a london suburb. On june 29 1613 during a performance of henry viii a misfired canon ball set the globe s thatched roof on fire and the whole theatre was consumed. The thatched roof of the new globe was a subject of much debate as roof thatching had been outlawed after the great fire of london in 1666. In 1613 during a performance of henry viii wadding from a stage cannon ignited the thatched roof and the original globe was burnt to the ground.