Elizabethan London - River Thames and London Bridge
The River Thames provided an excellent means of transportation for Elizabethan Londoners. London Bridge provided access from the affluent north of London to the poorer areas in the South of London - famous for the Fleet prison and the Butts where Elizabethan Londoners practised archery on a Sunday. Trade was extremely important and London Bridge in the Elizabethan era boasted numerous shops, a good site for merchants to sell their wares. Another addition to London Bridge was the severed heads displayed on poles on London Bridge itself - a gruesome reminder of what happened to traitors during Elizabethan times. Beheading was the means of execution for lords and nobles. The lower classes suffered other forms of execution. A common site along the banks of the River Thames were common criminals who were chained to the banks of the river and to the delight of onlookers were washed over with the filthy, smelly water of the three tides. Elizabethan London Guilds
The City of London was a great commercial centre of England and home of the famous London Guilds.The Elizabethan London Guilds played a major role in the lives of the people in the city. The members of the Elizabethan Guilds were powerful and controlled the way in which trade was conducted in the city of London. The guilds effectively ran the city and controlled commerce. The members of the Elizabethan London Guilds were also involved with civic duties and were appointed to influential positions in the community. The other members of the Guilds became the burghers of London. Each guild had its own hall and their own coat of arms, but there was also the Guildhall where representatives of all the various Elizabethan London guilds met together.
Elizabethan London - Entertainment
As of today, Elizabethan London was a great centre of entertainment. Londoners enjoyed a variety of different leisure activities. Performances of plays could be enjoyed at Inn-yards and the new theaters that were springing up all over the city of London. The old London Map shows the location of the Globe Theater and its proximity to the Bear Garden. The Bear Garden was a great sporting and gambling entertainment center. Bull and Bear baiting was patronised by all classes of Elizabethans including Queen Elizabeth, her courtiers and foreign ambassadors. Queen Elizabeth I even had a Bear baiting arena built in the grounds of her palace at Whitehall. Jousts and Tournaments, Games, Sports, Gaming and Gambling all played a major part in Elizabethan entertainment. Poor, lower class Londoners enjoyed entertainment from acting troupes, mystery plays, festivals, jousts, dancing, trained animals, mummers (dancers), mystery plays, jugglers and strolling players. Fairs were also and important form of entertainment for Elizabethan Londoners. 
Part of Claes Van Visscher's circa 1613 Bankside Map Elizabethan London - The Liberties
The City of London Authorities imposed strict regulations on the Inn-yards which provided venues for theatrical productions in 1574. Moving just outside the city of London boundaries to the 'Liberties' allowed unregulated activities. The 'Liberties' were areas outside the City of London notorious for rogues, vagabonds, thieves, brothels, stews, taverns and bear and bull baiting pits. The Liberty of Southwark was extremely popular when the city quarantined, but also permitted, these dubious pursuits of pleasure. The Elizabethan theatres were therefore viewed as subversive institutions which were linked by a disregard for laws and regulations together with their close proximity to the forbidden pleasures of the Liberties. |
