10 Things I Used To Hate About English

London in the 16^th Century

Like Stratford, London lies along a river, The Thames, which formed London’s Southern boundary. The traffic was constant, whatever time or tide. Over the Thames was a large London Bridge, jammed to overflowing with houses and shops, heavy laden customers and peddlers. In fact, the bridge was so over built that it could not support the weight and began to fall down. A popular song originated from this:

          “London bridge is falling down, falling down,   

          falling down

          London bridge is falling down, my fair lady

          Build it up with sticks and stones, sticks and

          stones, sticks and stones.

The roads were narrow and very crowded, only wealthy people used carriages. Streaming up the river, along side the boats available for public hire, were the large, elegant barges of the Queen, the court and the men of wealth and title. On the bridge and jetty were placed the skulls of noblemen executed for treason. The muddy London streets reeked of the garbage that was thrown out of second story windows. On the ground floors of houses were shops where merchants sold their goods. By the time Shakespeare arrived, London was beginning to free itself from its medieval bonds. Three buildings, designed specifically for the acting of plays had just been constructed. They were the only ones of their kind in England. James Burbage built the first playhouse which was completed in 1576. The property on which the playhouse stood had formally belonged to the church and was beyond the control of the London Council, which was precisely why Burbage had chosen it. The Londoners enjoyed attending plays but the Puritans and the members of the city council deemed it a sinful activity, so many restrictions were placed on actors in London.

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