THE MIRROR
OF
LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
| Vol. XIX. No. 540.] | SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 1832. | [PRICE 2d. |
BANKSIDE.—OLD THEATRES.
The ancient topography of the southern bank of the Thames (or Bankside)between London and Blackfriars bridges is peculiarly interesting to thelover of dramatic lore, as well as to the inquirer into the sports andpastimes of our ancestors. It appears to have been the Arcadia of theolden metropolis, if such a term be applicable to a place notorious forthe indulgence of brutal sports.
The Cut in the adjoining column represents Bankside in 1648, from which itappears to have been then in part waste and unenclosed. "It was landbelonging to the crown, and on various parts of it stood the Globe Theatre,the Bear Garden, and other places of public[pg 194]show; here were also the PikeGardens, some time called the Queen's Pike Gardens, with ponds for thepreservation of fresh-water fish, which were said to be kept for thesupply of the royal table, under the inspection of an officer, called theking's purveyor of pike, who had here a house for his residence."1 Onthe Bankside, prior to the above date, were also the ancient Bordello, orStews, which, according to Pennant, were distinguished by their respectivesigns painted against the walls, one of which, in particular, was theCardinal's Hat; and a small court, now or till lately called Cardinal'sHat Court, still exists on the Bankside, and probably shows the precisesite of the mansion of depravity. In like manner we find on Bankside,Pike Garden, Globe Alley, and in the vicinity a public-house with thesign of the Globe. On Bankside also stood an ancient Hall and Palace ofthe Bishops of Winchester, stated to have been built by William Gifford,Bishop of Winchester, about the year 1107, on a piece of ground belongingto the Prior of Bermondsey, to whom was paid a yearly acknowledgment. Thegreat court, at one time belonging to this palace, is still known by thename of Winchester Square, and in the adjacent street was, some timesince, an abutment of one of the gates. Near this Palace, on the south, atone time stood the Episcopal Palace of the Bishops of Rochester; which issupposed to have bequeathed its name to Rochester Street. The whole ofthe Bank shown in the Cut is now densely po