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ANNALS OF THE LIVERPOOL STAGE

ANNALS OF THE

LIVERPOOL STAGE

FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME

TOGETHER WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF

THE THEATRES AND MUSIC HALLS

IN BOOTLE AND BIRKENHEAD

R. J. BROADBENT

AUTHOR OF 'STAGE WHISPERS* 'A HISTORY OF PANTOMIME'

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LIVERPOOL

EDWARD HOWELL

1908

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MAR 9.3 10.70

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PREFACE

It is not a whit surprising that although the annals of most of the other provincial theatres of importance have long been pubHshed, no one hitherto has written any record of the Liverpool stage. The difficulties of the task lie in the fact that data are at once too sparse and too abundant. Owing to the incompleteness of the collection of playbills in the Liver- pool Free Library, there are many gaps in the story of the Liverpool Theatres which it is well-nigh impossible to fill- This is all the more regrettable as the remoter period in the annals of our local drama is much more individual and char- acteristic than the record of the last half century. Of the era which came in with the dawn of the touring system data are superabundant ; on the whole the period is colourless and unpicturesque, and its records caU for rigid compression and deft selection. It has been my aim to take a rapid bird's-eye view of the whole panorama, noting everything vital, and preserving vivid colour where it presented itself, I cannot hope under the serious Umitations of matter and space to have fully succeeded in my labour of love. My fellow-towns- men must take the will for the deed.

Ample acknowledgment must be frankly and freely made to those who lent a willing hand in furtherance of the task. My gratitude is due to that learned stage historian, Mr. W. J. Lawrence, for his great assistance in kindly furnishing a mass of valuable material, as well as for his expert advice on many moot points. I also extend my thanks to Mr. Ronald Stewart-Brown, Mr. B. R. Dibdin, Mr. Peter Entwistle, Mr. George T. Shaw, and to Mr. Peter Cowell and the assistant librarians of the Liverpool Free library, for much help kindly and courteously given.

R. J. BROADBENT.

LivERPOOi,, November, 1908.

CONTENTS

The Early Theatrical History of Liverpool

The Cockpit Yard Theatre

The Blackberry Lane Theatre

The Old Ropery Theatre

The Drury Lane Theatre . .

The New Drury Lane Theatre

The Theatre Royal

The New Theatre Royal

The Olympic Circus and Adelphi Theatre

The Liver Theatre

The Sans Pareil Theatre

The Amphitheatre and Royal Court

The Hop

The Zoological Gardens Theatre . .

The Prince of Wales Theatre (VauxhaU Road)

The Penny Hop

The Royal Colosseum and Queen's Theatres . . The Bijou Opera House

The Royal Park Theatre

The Prince of Wales Theatre

The Rotunda Theatre

The Alexandra Theatre (afterwards the Empire Theatre)

The Sefton Theatre

The Royal Victoria Theatre

The Shakespeare Theatre . .

The New Theatre Royal (Breck Road)

The Stanhope Theatre

The Lyric Theare

THE CONCERT HALLS.

The Music Hall The Portico Rooms Hime's Music Hall . . The Royal Assembly Rooms The Philharmonic Hall The Concert Hall

PAGE

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35 52 108 177 206 215 220 252

255 256 256 257 262 267 268 294 303 323 325 325 331 331 332

334

334

335

335

33<S^

336

CONTENTS

THE VARIETY STAGE. " T PAGE

The ' Free and Easies ' and Concert Rooms . . 338

The Star Music Hall and Theatre 342

The Parthenon Music Hall . . . . . . . . . , 346

St. James's Hall and the New Tivoli Palace of Varieties .. 349

Hengler's Cirques and the Royal Hippodrome . . 353

Master Humphrey's Clock .. .. .. .. .. 359

The Malakofi Music Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

The Royal Casino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

The Apollo Music Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

The Liver Music Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

The Eagle Music Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

The Vine 360

The Casino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

The Royal Alhambra Music Hall (Kirkdale) 361

Bell's English and American Hippodrome and Circus . . 361

The Oxford Music Hall 361

The Alhambra Music Hall . . . . . . . . . . 362

The Cambridge Music Hall . . . . . . . . , . 362

The Constellation Music Hall . . . . . . . . . . 363

The Gaiety Theatre 363

The I/Ondon Music Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

The Continental Music Hall . . . . . . . . . . 365

The Pembroke Hall 365

The Haymarket Music Hall . . . . . . . . . . 366

The Westminster Music Hall . . . . . . . . . . 367

The Paddington Palace 368

Kieman's Olympia Hippodrome and Grcus . . . . . . 368

The Roscommon Music Hall . . . . . . . . . . 368

The Park Palace 369

The Olympia 369

The New Pavilion Theatre \, .. . . . . . . 370

The Theatre Royal, Garston 371

BOOTLE.

The Royal Muncaster Theatre . . . . . . . . . . 372

The Royal British Circus 375

BIRKENHEAD.

The Music Hall 378

The Theatre Royal 379

The Argyle Theatre of Varieties 3^5

The Theatre Metropole 385

Annals of the Liverpool Stage

THE EARI.Y THEATRICAI. HISTORY OF IvIVERPOOI..

Long before the Norman Conquest there stood at West Derby, Liverpool, an ancient castle, whose origin is lost in antiquity. Probably it was there when the Danes were driven out of Lancashire by Athelstane and Edmund, the grandsons of Alfred the Great. The site of this old castle, and of the manor house which succeeded it in the reign of Henry III, can yet be identified. It is on the north side of the lane ^now known as Meadow Lane Pleading from West Derby Village towards Croxteth Hall. Curiously enough, the groimd upon which the old castle was built is known to this day as ' Castle Field.'

To the Castle of West Derby during Danish, Saxon, and Norman times, doubtless, came wandering minstrels, who sang to their own accompaniments stirring songs of chivalry. There, also, in all probabihty, the jester played his merry pranks, and with his ' quips and quiddities ' caused the old oaken rafters to ring again with the loud laughter of the Baron and his re- tainers.

A few years after the Norman Conquest, Earl Roger de Poictiers (according to Camden's ' Britannia ') is said to have erected in 1073, on a portion of the site now occupied by the Queen Victoria Memorial, a baronial castle. There is no evidence to support this assertion. It seems more feasible to infer that the castle occupied (but not erected) by Roger de Poictiers was that of the ancient Castle of West Derby. ' It was, probably,' says Baines,* ' the chief place in the district during the Danish as well as the Saxon dominion '; and, I may add, during the early part of the Norman period.

Here Earl Roger, doubtless, kept his minstrels, and in imitation of his royal master, a jester. The Conqueror's life,

* 'History of the Commerce and Town of l4verpool,' p. 34.

2 ANNALS OF THE LIVERPOOIv STAGE

when Duke of Normandy, was saved by his jester, Goles. The accounts of the household expenses of our kings contain many payments and rewards to jesters, both foreign and domestic. These early disciples of Thalia excited the mirth of kings and beggars the hovel of the villein and the castle of the baron were exhilarated by their jokes. The names of many of these buffoons are still preserved; for they were associated with the English court down to a late period.

The reUgious mystery series of plays out of which grew our English drama inaugurated in the year mo by the monks of this country to bring home with dramatic effect to untaught minds the solemn truths to be deduced from that unique and grand inspirational tragedy enacted on the hill of Golgotha, were, for several centuries, given in the neighbouring city of Chester, It is not unhkely that these performances were largely attended by the inhabitants of Catholic Liverpool and neighbourhood, for their spiritual welfare. That this was so, is highly probable, as for many years, the Priors of Birken- head Priory* sat in the Parliaments of the Earls of Chester, and the monks had considerable intercourse, both commer- cially and otherwise, with Liverpool town.f Again, the monks of St. Peter and St. Paul, Shrewsbury, had continuous asso- ciation with Walton, for at one time they held the advowson of that place. Evidence of their connection with Wavertree and Childwall can also be traced. Be it noted, also, that through Liverpool pilgrims journeyed to the shrine on Hilbre Island, and that Liverpool's first known ecclesiastical building St. Mary's del Key ^was of monastic origin.

The Chester Mystery plays usually began on Whit Monday, and continued imtil the following Wednesday. In the four- teenth century permission to perform them in EngUsh had more than once to be asked of Pope Clement, who granted an indulgence of a thousand days, and the then Bishop of Chester a further indulgence of forty days to ' every person resorting in peaceble maner with good devotion, to heare and see the sayd playes, from tyme to tyme as oft as the shall be played within the sayd citty.' t

* Founded 1150 by Hamon de Masci, third Baron of Dunham, the remains of which— Hinnira to the Corporation of Birkenhead are still in an excellent state of preservation.

t They had the right of ferryage from I,iverpool to Birkenhead for over two hundred years.

t Harleian MSS., 3013.

ANNALS OF THE LIVERPOOIv STAGE 3

The pageant, or mumming-play of St. George and the Dragon had a prominent place in the Mystery plays of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This mumming-play supplemented the festivities of our forefathers at Christmas and Easter. It was known not only in Lancashire (and, of course, Liverpool), but also in other counties. The Easter or Pace-egg play so called from its being performed in con- nection with the well-known custom of pace-egging ^was generally on the subject of St. George and the Dragon. Its origin can be traced to Pagan times. It is, in fact, an example of the skill with which the Church supplanted the Pagan Pan- theon. Thirty years ago I saw several performances of the old Pace-egg play at Kirkby, in Lancashire, where it had been annually performed for many years.*

The number of characters in the play varied from six to a dozen. They included St. George, Slasher, Prince of Para- dine, Doctor, King of Egypt, Hector, Fool, Beelzebub, Devil- Doubt, and one rejoicing in the singular name of * Toss-Pot.' The performance commenced with one of the characters draw- ing a circle with a wooden sword, and all that followed took place within that circle. After the various characters had been introduced in a song with a doggerel rhyme there was a fearsome combat between St. George and Slasher, in which the latter was woimded. The Doctor then revives Slasher and bids him fight again. This was the sum and substance of the play as I saw it.

At the Castle of Liverpool (erected early in the thirteenth century), during its occupancy by the Molyneux family, and at the Tower (built circa 1252), in Water Street, formerly belong- ing to the Lathoms of Lathom, afterwards to the Stanley and Derby famiUes, theatrical entertainments to amuse the * lord and his lady,' their retainers and neighbours, were, doubtless, given by players and others when passing through Liverpool on their way to Chester, and the southern towns. As late as 1734 James, the tenth Earl of Derby, entertained at the Tower. ' It is ascertained,' mentions J. G. Underbill in his impublished MSS., in the archives of the Liverpool Free Library, * that at a remote period, probably in the days of Queen Elizabeth, an apartment in the Castle was fitted up for the performance of

* An interesting account of the Face-Egg Mummers will be fouad in J. Harland and T. T. Wilkinson's volume, ' I<ancashire I,egends,' p. loi.

4 ANNALS OF THE LIVERPOOL STAGE

plays for the amusement of my lord Constable and the officers of his retinue. It is also most likely that out of courtesy the mayor and the principal inhabitants were occasionally invited to partake of these diversions, but it does not appear if this primitive hall of Thespis was open for all who chose to resort thither.'

That Liverpool in the middle ages favoured itinerant per- formers is shown by the bestowal of the name Juggler upon one of the then principal streets of the town. With reference to the derivation of the name that erudite historian, Mr. W. Fer- gusson Irvine says : ' The only one the writer has ever heard of is that, as a large empty space lay on the west side of the street, it gained its name from the jongleurs who performed for the edification of mediaeval Liverpool.'* It is from the poet- musicians of the Normans, formerly comprehended in France under the general title of jongleurs, that we derive the word juggler. Juggler Street was situated on the east side of the present Town Hall. The street formed the jimction between Castle and Tithebam Streets, and was in a direct line with Old Hall Street. Juggler Street is first mentioned in a deed dated August i8, in the sixteenth year of the reign of Henry VI. t

After the dissolution of the monasteries there came the dissolution of the four chantries in connection with Liverpool's first-known ecclesiastical building, St. Mary's del Key, which was situated on the quay -side in close proximity to the Tower in Water Street. In 1552 a list was made of the sacred vessels and vestments belonging to St. Mary's. These chattels and properties were not then appraised, and they were, probably, left for disposal by the Corporation of Liverpool, who afterwards instituted an enquiry as to what had become of certain of the vestments, which, apparently, had been misappropriated. In connection with this one finds the following entry in the Corporation Records : ' John Rile alsoe beyng Scholem' in this Towne acknowledgyth hym to have in his custodie Mor twoe Coops the wheche he made in Apparrell for M'- Maior's Sonne Willi* Cross & Thom's Burscough w"* others to playe theyr paidances in —more not.' ' Paidances ' it is conjectured, mean ' plai-dances,' so that these copes once used in Catholic

* Vide ' I^verpool in King Charles the Second's Time ' (edited by W. Fergusaon Irvine), P- 37.

t Harlaan MSS., 2043, p. 380.

ANNALS OF THE LIVBRPOOL STAGE 5

times for Divine Service were afterwards requisitioned for stage dresses for the acting of children's plays.*

The Corporation Records for the year 1571 contain the following entry : ' Item. We agree that no players of inter- ludes, jugglers, gesters, or wandering people brjmgyng into this towne any monstrouse or straunge beasts, or other visions voyde or vayne, to theyre lucre and distresse of the q"" subjects without licence of Mr. Maior tyme be3aig.'

It is stated in the Records that some imlucky itinerants described as * the wanderers with the hobby horse,' were ordered to be put in the stocks at the High Cross, t Apparently they had given a performance ' without licence of Mr. Maior tyme beyng.'

In Queen Elizabeth's reign other itinerant performers ihet with a similar, or, perhaps, worse treatment. At that time ' Stage players, were declared to be Rogues and Vagabonds by the three Estates of England met in Parliament, and ordered to be sent to the House of Correction to be imprisoned, set on the Stocks, and whip'd, and if they continued to Play notwithstanding, that they should be burnt with an Hot Iron of the breadth of an English Shilling with a great Roman R in the left shoulder which should there remain as a perpetual mark of a Rogue. If they continued obstinate they were to be Banished, and if they retum'd again, and continued incorrigible they were to be executed as felons,' The italics are mine. Yet to this and other Acts, both before and after, the law gave exceptions, as in the case of the companies of Royal players, and to those who were specially licensed to perform as servants of the several noblemen, such as the Earls of lycicester, Essex and others.

According to the Corporation Records for the year 1571 ' pleyes of dawnsyng ' were given in the * comyn hall,' called * (as) of old time Lady Hall 'X in order to supplement

The John Rile referred to was John Royle, who was appointed about 1592 master of the free grammar school of Wverpool. Money at that time was somewhat scarce, as, in addition to being the schoolmaster he was required to act also as the ' clerk and ringer of the curfew,' at the reduced stipend of f,7 14s. 8d. The school, which was for ' poore chyldren y' have no socour,' was afterwards held in the disused chapel of St Mary's del Key. This chapel was in existence before 1257. Chapel Street, which has always been associated with St. Nicholas's, was really so called in connection with St Mary's, long before St Nicholas's was built

t The High Cross was located near the site of the present Town Hall.

j Porte Mote, I, 14.

6 ANNALS OF THE LIVERPOOL STAGE

wedding and other festivities.* The following is the entry referred to : ' We fiynd necessarie for the uphold5mg better and long continewyng of oure comyn hall of this towne in good order of reperacion of the same, that noe licence be or shall be granntyd and gyvyn to make any weddyng diners or 'pleyes of dawnsyng therein to the damagyng, decayng, or falling of the floore of the same, and if it chaunce upon any urgent cause or earnest request not deniable, any licence to be gyyyn therein, that there by the same licence the partie or parties soe obteyning licence shall pay to the comyn cooflfer for everie such licence fyve shilytigs usual money.' And in the following year this charge was made and received for four ' Brydalls.' In 1555 the charge made for a wedding dinner in the hall was 3s. 4d., and in 1558, is. 4d.

' Pleyes of dawnsyng ' were those primitive masques which were frequently given in those days in connexion with the marriages of the better classes. This is proven by the fact that a masque was the only sort of ' play ' of dancing that could be given on the floor of the hall. All other sorts of plays required a raised platform, f

At court, even so late as 1630, all the dancing in the masque took place on the floor of the hall. This is all the more curious seeing that masques at that time had a regular stage with movable scenery, and a proscenium front. All the characters appeared first on the stage, and spoke there, but they came down subsequently by fronting steps to dance on the floor. The King and Queen were ranged at the other end of the hall. But in 1571, and thereabouts, the masques had not yet attained to the dignity of a stage, and everything was done on the floor of the hall.

Theatrical performances during the sixteenth century seem to have been regularly given before the Derby family at Knowsley and Lathom, but, notwithstanding the magnificence of Edward, the third Earl of Derby, his household had no company of players like other great nobles of his time.

In the diaryt of William ffarington, comptroller of the household to the third and fourth Earls of Derby§ one finds

* This was the second Town Hall, and like its predecessor, the religious hospice of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was also situated on the east side of Juggler Street, after- wards High Street.

t A picture of a wedding masque can be seen in the National Portrait Gallery, the festivities being in celebration of the marriage of Sir Henry Unton, who died in 1596.

t Chetham Society's publications, vol. 31.

§ Margaret, wife of Henry, the fourth Earl of Derby, was the patroness of two dis- tinguished writers of the time Thomas I,upton and Kobert Greene.

ANNALS OF THE LIVERPOOL STAGE 7

the following entries relating to theatrical performances at Knowsley :

September, 1589 ' Queen's players came, and played at nyghte, my L? of Essex'^ came.'

September, 1589 ' Sondaie, Mr. Leigh preached and the Queen's Players played in the afternoone, and my L. of Essex'* at nyghte.'

February and June, 1590 ' Players again at New Park and Knowsley.'

Although ffarington does not mention that the Earl of Leicester's company played at Knowsley, it is very probable that they did, as the diarist states that they twice performed at Lathom House, Lathom, near Ormskirk, in July, 1587. It is well known that Shakespeare was a member of the Earl of Leicester's company, and it is, therefore, not impossible that he, together with the Burbages and other players of the period, visited, and performed in Liverpool. Charles Knight in the second edition of his ' Shakespeare '* gave it as his opinion that the poet must have seen * The Nine Worthies 'f a pageant peculiar to Chester. To reach Chester from this part of Lan- cashire, Shakespeare would probably pass through Liverpool as being the nearest point for departure.

The mention of Shakespeare reminds me that many good people relying upon internal evidence and alleged ciphers, cling tenaciously to the idea that Sir Francis Bacon wrote our poet's plays. Bacon, it is interesting to note, represented Liverpool in Parliament from 1588 to 1592.

Shakespeare's connexion with the house of Stanley is shown by an epitaph on the monument erected to the memory of Sir Thomas Stanley, Knight, second son of Edward, third Earl of Derby, in Tong Church, Salop, and attributed to the English Sophocles on the authority of Sir William Dugdale. Sir Thomas Stanley died December 21, 1576. The inscription referred to is on the east end of the monument, and is as follows :

'No monumental stone preserves our fame Nor skye-aspiring pyramids our name. The memory of him for whom this stands, Shall outlyve marble, and defacer's hands, When all to time's consumption shall be geaven, Standley, for whom this stands, shall stand in heaven.*

Vol. 1, p. 317. ^ Love's Labour's Lost, Act V, Sea.

8 ANNALS OF THE IvIVERPOOI. STAGE

On the west side of the monument :

* Ask who lyes here, but do not weep ; He is not dead, he dooth but sleepe. This stony register is for his bones. His fame is more perpetuall than theise stones ; And his own goodness, with himself being gon. Shall lyve when earthlie monument is none.'

The beginning of the first line, * Ask who lyes here,' is reminiscent of that on Combe ' If any man ask who lies in this tomb.' That the writer knew his ' Shakespeare ' is shown by a similar sentiment which the Bard of Avon has introduced into Henry VIII :

* Ever belov'd, and loving may his rule be ! And when old time shall lead him to his grave, Goodness and he fill up one monument.'

However, Eyton, the great Shropshire antiquary, doubts if the last six lines were from the pen of Shakespeare. He considers that they were the work of an inferior poet.' The monument to Sir Thomas Stanley was not erected until long after his death. It is also a monument to his son, Sir Edward Stanley, who died about 1632, in which year the monument was probably erected, for it speaks of his daughters, Frances and Venetia, as ' yet living,' and the latter died in 1633.

It is well known, that Ferdinando, lyord Strange, took great interest in the drama and lent his patronage and his name to a troop of actors. When he became fifth Earl of Derby, he still kept up his company of players, and allowed them to ply their calling in other counties besides lyancashire.

In 1579 Lord Strange's players performed in Shakespeare's own town of Stratford-on-Avon, as the following account shows : * Item paid to my Lord Strange men the xi"* day of February at the comaundement of Mr. Bayliffe . . . v*.' This sum was paid out of the funds of the Corporation of Strat- ford for theatrical performances. Lord Strange's men were a little better paid than ' my Lord of Worcester's players ' at Stratford in 1577, as they only received three shillings and fourpence.

ANNAI^ OF THE LIVERPOOIv STAGE 9

In 1579 the gratuity bestowed at Stratford-on-Avon upon * the Countys of Essex's players ' was fourteen shillings and sixpence, but in the following year ' The Earle of Darbyes* players' only obtained eight shillings and fourpence. In 1569, when John Shakespeare (our poet's father), was chief magistrate of Stratford a payment of nine shillings was made to the Queen's players, and of twelve pence to the Earl of Worcester's Players. In 1573 the Earl of Leicester's players received six shillings and eightpence, and the following year (1574) Lord Warwick's company received as much as seventeen shillings, t It must, of course, be remembered that money then had at least five or six times its present purchasing power.

About 1590 the players who performed under the patron- age of Ferdinando, I^ord Strange, appeared in a play, entitled Fair Em, the Miller's Daughter of Manchester: With the Love of William the Conqueror, The author of this ' pleasant comedie' is unknown, but it has been attributed to Shakespeare. In Act III, Sc. 4, of the play, Mountney, one of the characters, says : ' Since fortune hath thus spitefully crost our hope, let vs leaue this quest and harken after our King, who is at this daie landed at Lirpoole.' This, it is interesting to note, is the earUest reference in an English dramatic work to Liverpool. It is also worthy of note that Shakespeare was a member of Lord Strange's company. This is shown by an account of the year 1593, belonging to the Treasurer of the Chamber, in which our poet's name appears after that of Kempe, and before that of Burbage.

Robert Greene, the dramatist, dedicated to Ferdinando, Earl of Derby, his poem Ciceronis Amor. Tullies Loue. To this nobleman and his Countess, Spenser, Nash, Harrington, Davies, Marston, and at a later period Milton, all recorded their attachment and respect.

Ferdinando died in 1594 a victim, it was believed, to the potent powers of witchcraft, but he was more probably poisoned. He was succeeded by his brother, William, the sixth Earl of Derby, J who was not only a patron of the drama, but also a writer of plays. To the latter one finds a very in- teresting reference in a letter from George Fermer to his

Henry, fourth Earl of Derby.

t Accounts of the Chamberlain of Stratford-on-Avon.

X Elizabeth, wife of Earl William, performed in Marston's entertainment at Ashby-de- la-Zouche in 1607 : and in Ben Jonson's masques of Blackness (1603), Beauty (1608), Qu**ns (1609), and in Tethys Festival (1610).

lo ANNAI.S OF THE UVERPOOIv STAGE

partner, Balthazar Gybels, at Antwerp, under date June 30, 1599. It is as follows : ' Our Earl of Darby is busye in pen- ning commodyes for the commoun players.'*

Earl William has been claimed by James Greenstreet in ' The Genealogist 't as the author of Shakespeare's most import- ant plays. Of the truth of this statement Mr. Greenstreet felt fully convinced after painstaking research among the State Papers.

Bidston Hall, Cheshire, was built by Earl William soon after he succeeded to the estates. Subsequently he made over the most of his property to his son, I^ord Strange, and passed the summer months at Bidston Hall, and the winter at Chester, until his death in 1642.

In 1630, Lord Strange, performed in Ben Jonson's masque of Love's Triumph Through Calipolis, and in the same year Charlotte de la Tr^moille, Lady Strange, was one of the fourteen nymphs in the masque of Chloridia by Ben Jonson. After he had become the seventh Earl of Derby this member of the family played a prominent part in the Civil War, and closed his noble career on the scaffold at Bolton. The name of his Countess is familiar to most of us as the brave defender of Lathom House.

Prince Rupert, who engineered the siege of Liverpool in 1644, had, it is interesting to note, several players in his army. Three of them were Burt, Shatterel, and handsome and digni- fied Charles Hart. The latter was to become the first lover of ' pretty, witty ' Nell Gwyn. This was before Mistress Gwyn became the favourite of Charles II. Hart, who was Shakespeare's grand-nephew,had been the apprentice, or ' boy,' of one Robinson an actor contemporary with Shakespeare who met his death at the taking of Basinghouse in 1645.

A theatre is mentioned by Troughton X as existing in Liver- pool as early as the seventeenth century. He says : ' Dur- ing the reign of Charles the First, a small building for the exhibition of dramatic entertainments stood in a court at the bottom of St. James Street ; but at the time of the Civil War it was shut up, and continued unoccupied until the Res-

state Papers, Domestic Series, Elizabeth, Vol. 271, No. 34.

t Vide ' A Hitherto Unknown Noble Writer of Elizabethan Comedies ' (Vol. VII, Part 4) , ' Further Notices of William Stanley, sixth Earl of Derby, K.G , as a Poet and Dramatist ' (Vol. VIII, Part i) ; ' Testlmooies against the Accepted Authorship of Shakespeare's Plays (Vol. VIII, Part 3).

X ' History of I4verpool,' p. 98.

ANNALS OF THE I^IVERPOOIv STAGE ii

toration.' Sir James Picton* denies Troughton's assertion, simply because no such named street existed in the reign of Charles I. It is quite true that James Street and St. James Street were not in existence in the time of Charles I, in fact, they were not made until some considerable period later.

Now Troughton's ' Liverpool ' is dated 1810, and at that time James Street had been some years in existence. There- fore, when he referred to a theatre which ' stood in a court at the bottom of St. James Street,' I think he intended to convey the idea that it was located near the bottom of what is now known as James Street. That Troughton meant James Street, and not St. James Street, is shown in his reference to the great storm of 1768, when he states that the cellars of the houses in Water Street, Moor Street, and St. James Street were flooded, all these streets being in close proximity to one another.

Stonehouse in his ' Streets of Liverpool 'f says that ' in or about the time of Charles the First there was an uncovered theatre of some sort, at the bottom of Redcross Street. It stood on the site of part of the Carron Iron Warehouse in James Street.' As a matter of fact the Carron Company never had an establishment in James Street.

Stonehouse in an article on the ' Dramatic places of Amuse- ment in Liverpool a Century ago'J f u rther elaborated Troughton's original statement by maintaining that ' The first theatre, or building devoted exclusively to dramatic performances, of which there is any positive mention made, was erected about 1641 [temp. Charles I), on the ground now (1852-3) occupied by a portion of the Coalbrookdale Company's premises, at the back. It stood between the present James Street and Redcross Street, or Tarleton's New Street, as it was formerly called. This building, of which, however, we have but very imperfect notice, was constructed of frail materials, and was only u.sed by strol- ling companies, who came to Liverpool from the north on their road to Chester and other places. The interior of this theatre would present to view the same aspect as do all the prints of the Globe (?) on the Bankside, where we find the most distinguished of the audience seated in a sort of boxes at the

"Memorials,' Second edition, Vol. II, p. 90.

t Third edition, p. 58.

j Transactions of the I<ancashire and Cheshire Historic Society, Vol. V, p. 192.

12 ANNALS OF THE LIVERPOOIv STAGE

side, or on chairs on the stage, while the pit is unboarded, and the audience there are standing on the bare ground.'*

The hypothetical Liverpool theatre dealt with by Stone- house is also referred to in the Annals in ' Gore's Directory ' as being in existence in 1640. All these uncorroborated statements have been based on the few lines written by Troughton. Apart from the fact that neither Troughton nor Stonehouse gives any authority for his statements I am of opinion that there was no structure in Liverpool exclusively set apart for the exhibition of dramatic entertainments at the period dealt with.

About the middle of the seventeenth century the three streets of the town towards the river side, Moor Street, Water Street, and Chapel Street, were but scantily covered with build- ings Redcross Street was not opened until about 1674, and James Street not for some years later. Troughton's statement gives one the impression that there were a goodly number of buildings in and about James Street. That the theatre, if it ever existed, should have been in a court when there was plenty of vacant ground thereabouts is not very conceivable. Besides, at that time there was no need for the establishment in the town of a permanent Temple of Thespis, as Troughton presumed it to have been. Visiting players were glad enough to perform anjrwhere. All they wanted was a remunerative audience. That the town possessed an early, but primitive theatre, I shall endeavour to prove. But like the first theatre in Drury Lane, London,t its primary institution was not due to a love for the drama, but to a taste for the ancient sport of cockfighting.

THE COCKPIT YARD THEATRE.

In 1567, it was ordered by the local authorities that ' For further and greater repair of gentlemen and others to this town we find it needful that there be a handsome cockfight- pit made.' X

stonehouse must have drawn upon his imagination for some of his facts. No authentic view of the interior of the Globe is known of by the most expert stage liistorians.

t This theatre was called the Cockpit. When it was first used as a playhouse is not known. It was a private, and, therefore, an aristocratic theatre. On Shrove Tuesday, 1616-17, the London apprentices sacked and set fire to the house. It was afterwards re- built, and named the Phoenix.

t Corporation Records.

ANNALS OF THE LIVERPOOL STAGE 13

The cockpit referred to is identical with the one which was located in Cockpit Yard, between Moor Street and the Old Ropery.* Cockpit Yard, I may mention, was a thorough- fare between the end of Drury Lane and Moor Street, f afterwards built up.

Sir James Picton observes in his ' Memorials' J that * on taking down some old buildings at the top of Shaw's Brow, in 1868, the remains of a cockpit, having a simk area, with tiers of benches round, cut in the rock, were laid bare. This may probably have been the reHcs of the one in question.' As a matter of fact, the cockpit ordered to be made in 1567 was for the ' further and greater repair of gentlemen and others to this town.' The town at that time, and for many years afterwards, did not extend eastward as far as Shaw's Brow. That the town was only of small extent in 1567 is proven by the following entry in the Corporation Records : ' The Cattle Market to be held at the Castle, and not in the town.'

When the cockpit in Cockpit Yard was first used for dramatic entertainments I am tmable to say. It may have been so employed as early as the sixteenth century, certainly not later than the seventeenth. Mains continued to be fought as a relief to Thalia and Melpomene until a late period.

According to that mine of information, the unpublished MSS. of John Holt and Matthew Gregson,§ the Cockpit Yard playhouse was the first humble building in which were exhibited theatrical entertainments. The italics are mine. It is sig- nificant that these authorities make no mention of the theatre referred to by Troughton and others as being in a court at the bottom of James Street in the reign of Charles I.

The size of the Cockpit Yard Theatre was 50 feet by 20 feet. It had a gallery, while further accommodation, as in other early English theatres, was provided by benches placed

This Cockpit ' says John G. UnderhiU in his unpublished MSS. in the I4verpool Free library, ' was in Moor Street. After it fell into disuse, a more cxmunodious place was provided in Cocltspur Street, Vauxhall Road.'

t ' In this street,' mentions W. G. Herdman in his ' Pictorial Relics of Ancient Liverpool ,' ' dramatic entertainments were exhibited soon after the reign of the first Charles.' Herd- man infers tliat performances took place in a large mansion in Moor Street. Dramatic entertainments may have been given in the house referred to by Herdman, but there is no evidence to show that it was ever used as a regular theatre.

X Second edition, Vol. I, p. j6.

§ The MSS. are now in the Liverpool Free Library. John Holt, who was schoolmaster of Walton , was bom in 1 74 3 and died in 1 80 1 . He bequeathed his collections for a local history to Matthew Gregson, who died in 1824, aged 75.

14 ANNALS OF THE IvIVERPOOL STAGE

on either side of the stage. The walls of the auditorium were whitewashed, and candles were the only illuminants used.

It may have been the Cockpit Yard Theatre that Nicholas Blundell, the Squire of Crosby Hall, visited on May 13, 1706. In his diary* he does not state where the theatre was situated, but simply records his visit in the following manner : ' My wife and I went to I<everp ; and saw Acted The Earl of Essex. We came home about two of y^ clock in y* morning.' On July 29, 1708, he ' saw y* Souldier's Fortune Acted in Ri: Harris: Bam,' (Crosby)t On August 13, 1708, ' the actors of The Souldier's Fortune came hither (Crosby) and sung the Gigg.' On May 27, 1709 : ' The She Gallats was Acted imperfectly in ye Hall' (Crosby). In Liverpool, on June 15, 1710, he witnessed Sephonisba ; or Hanihall's Overthrow. The entry for February 25, 1712, states that ' The Souldier's Fortune was Acted at Mrs. Arm Rotherwell's in this Town (Crosby). My wife went with me both to ye Play and Gigg. The actors of ye Play were : Thos. Farer (Sir Davyd Dunce), W" Marrow (Captain Bewgard), Watty Thelw : (Sir Jolly Jumble) &c.' On April 21, 1712, ' My wife and I saw part of ye Play called ye Schoole of ComplimentsX Acted at He : Bushell's by a Company as came from towards Scarisb(rick).' Here we have direct evidence that Lancashire in the early eighteenth century was occasion- ally visited by itinerant players.

June 23, 1712. ' I went to Leverp : and saw Acted in ye Castle the Play called ye Yeoman of Kent.'^ This performance doubtless took place in that portion of the Castle which was used as an assembly room. This is the first time the diarist records the place where he saw a play acted in Liverpool. He also records that on October 12, 1714, ' One from Leverp : brought a Ticket for my Wife of the Play as is to be acted there to-morrow.' To bring a ticket for the Squire's wife was per- haps an ingenious ruse on the part of the players to secure the patronage and presence of the Squire himself at their perform- ance. On the following day (October 13), he writes : . . .

Blundell's Diary,' edited by the Rev. T. Ellison Gibson, Liverpool, 1893.

t The Soldier's Fortune was a cxwnedy by Thomas Otway (168 1).

X The School of Compliments was a comedy by James Shirlej' (1658). Its original title •was Love Tricks ; or the School of Compliments. For details of the plot see Genest's ' Some Accoimt of the Kngll'Oi Stage,' Vol. IX, p. 543.

S P. 103.

ANNALS OF THE LIVERPOOL STAGE 15

* Then went to ye New Market where we saw a Play Acted called Mackbeth.'* The New Market was formerly the Old Castle of Liverpool, then altered for the purpose of a market.

The Cockpit Yard Theatre was, probably, the old crazy warehouse, referred to by Charles Lee Lewes in his 'Meraoirs.'f Lewes also mentions that a company under the leadership of John Heron, of intriguing memory, performed in Liverpool. He further tells us that * the company's success was great, exceeding the receipts of any former season. During a run of The Tempest for five nights, they seldom took less than twenty pounds ; and at the benefit of Tottenham Wright,