ABSTRACT
In 1587, in a move which was both risky and significant, Philip Henslowe, speculator and entrepreneur, opened a theatre on the south bank of the Thames. It was a deliberate move away from the other amphitheatres to the north of the city and considerably closer to the metropolis than the old Newington Butts playhouse. With financial backing from John Cholmley, Henslowe erected the new Rose Theatre on Rose Alley at the corner with Maiden Lane, beyond the reach of the Lord Mayor of London. This was the ‘Liberty’ of the Clink (a ‘clink’ being a prison), nominally though distinctly not actively controlled by the Bishop of Winchester. It was a notorious and even dangerous area. Bull- and bear-baiting were already favourite pastimes here, but its real disrepute stemmed from its long line of brothels which faced the Thames waterfront, for it was London’s main red light district.
