Globe Theater Thatched Roof

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.

Globe theater thatched roof.

The globe theatre opened in 1997 was modelled on the rose which was. Built of english oak like the original shakespeare s globe theatre was constructed with absolutely no structural steel. 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. The elder burbage had a long history as a theatrical entrepreneur.

When shakespeare s globe opened in 1997 it was the first thatch roofed building permitted in the british capital since the great fire of london in 1666. The use of thatch was a crucial component in sam wanamaker s vision to strive for a faithful reconstruction of shakespeare s theatre. 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 modern thatch is well protected by fire retardants and sprinklers on the roof ensure further protection against fire.

Though it features a few modern adjustments like. Swift reconstruction did. Thatchers this week start work repairing the roof of shakespeare s globe on bankside with 800 bundles of sedge from the norfolk broads and 10 000 english hazel spars. Certainly when the king s men banded together to pay 1 400 for the erection of the new globe which took a year to build this time with a fireproof tiled roof shakespeare was not among them having apparently sold his shares in the company in the interim.

When it was built in 1996 the replica of the original theatre became the city s first thatched. In 1996 the bankside playhouse became the first thatched building in london since the great fire 330 years earlier. 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 was the primary home of shakespeare s acting company beginning in late 1599 and it is a possibility that as you like it was written especially for the occasion.