The Dorset Garden Theatre, on the Thames. It was fashionable and convenient for the audience to arrive by boat, avoiding the crime-ridden neighbourhood of Alsatia.

The Dorset Garden Theatre (also known as the Duke of York's Theatre, the Duke's Theatre and Dorset Gardens) was a theatre in Restoration London. It was the fourth home of the Duke's Company, one of the two patent theatre companies, from 1671 to 1682, and continued to be used by the United Company until 1695. It was renamed the Queen's Theatre in 1689, in honour of Queen Mary. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (700x642, 99 KB) The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (700x642, 99 KB) The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Several places exist with the name Thames, and the word is also used as part of several brand and company names Most famous is the River Thames in England, on which the city of London stands Other Thames Rivers There is a Thames River in Canada There is a Thames... Information Capital: Strasbourg Population  - Total  - Density 1,734,145 (1999 census) 1,793,000 (1. ... King Charles II, the first monarch to rule after the English Restoration. ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... The patent theatres were the theatres that were licenced to perform spoken drama after the English Restoration of Charles II in 1660. ...

The theatre was demolished in 1720^[1] and the site was used as a timber yard, and the City of London gas works. The site was the playground for the City of London School from 1883 to 1987. Coat of arms The City of London is a small area in Greater London. ... The present red-brick City of London School beside the River Thames. ...

Background

After years of being banned in the Interregnum, theatre was again permitted on the Restoration of Charles II with the grant of two Letters Patent to two companies to perform "legitimate drama" in London. The Duke's Company was patronised by the Duke of York (later James II); the other patent theatre company, the King's Company enjoyed the patronage of his brother, Charles II. Both companies were briefly based, from 1660, in an old Jacobean theatre, the Cockpit Theatre (also known as the Phoenix Theatre) in Drury Lane. After a short period in the Salisbury Court Theatre, the Duke's Company moved in 1662 to Lincoln's Inn Fields, to a building on Portugal Street that was formerly Lisle's Tennis Court. This building burned down in the Great Fire of London in 1666 but was soon rebuilt and the company remained there until 1671. Meanwhile, the King's Company moved to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where they stayed. An interregnum is a period between monarchs, between popes of the Roman Catholic Church, emperors of Holy Roman Empire, polish kings (elective monarchy) or between consuls of the Roman Republic. ... The name Charles II is used to refer to numerous persons in history: Kings Charles the Fat (also known as Charles II of France and Charles III of the Holy Roman Empire) Charles II of England Charles II of Naples Charles II of Navarre Charles II of Romania Charles II... Letters Patent by Queen Victoria creating the office of Governor-General of Australia Letters patent are a type of legal document which is an open letter issued by a monarch or government granting a right, monopoly, title, or status to someone or some entity such as a corporation. ... The title Duke of York is a title of nobility usually given to the second son of the British monarch, unless the title is already held by an earlier monarchs son who is still alive. ... James II can refer to: James II of Scotland James II of England James II of Aragon James II of Cyprus This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The term Jacobean refers to a period in English history that coincides with the reign of James I (1603 – 1625). ... Drury Lane is a street in the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. ... Lincolns Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. ... London, as it appeared from Bankside, Southwark, During the Great Fire — Derived from a Print of the Period by Visscher The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the City of London from September 2 to September 5, 1666, and resulted more or less in the... The present-day Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, sketched when it was new, in 1813. ...

Following the death of the leader of the Duke's Company, the Poet Laureate, Sir William Davenant, in 1668, Thomas Betterton, a leading actor of the Duke's Company, took control of the company. He and the Davenant family decided to create a new purpose-built theatre, at a cost of some £9,000. Betterton had been to Paris and studied the grand baroque tragédies en machines that were the current sensation of the French theatrical scene, and the new theatre was designed to be a "machine house", capable of staging Restoration spectaculars. A Poet Laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events. ... William Davenant Sir William Davenant (February 28, 1606 - April 7, 1668), also spelled DAvenant, was an English poet and playwright. ... Thomas Betterton (c. ... GBP redirects here. ... The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city For other uses, see Paris (disambiguation). ... Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens: dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint. ... This naval battle was one of the sets for Elkanah Settles Empress of Morocco (1673) at the theatre in Dorset Garden. ...

The theatre

Inside the Dorset Gardens Theatre, with the set for Elkanah Settle's The Empress of Morocco, performed in 1673.

The theatre was built in the former grounds of Dorset House. The site was formerly occupied by a building owned by the Bishops of Salisbury, known as Salisbury Court; the Salisbury Court Theatre was close by. The property had been acquired by the Earls of Dorset in the early 1600s, but Dorset House was destroyed in the Great Fire. The site for the new theatre, by Dorset Stairs in Whitefriars next to the Thames, was slightly upstream from the outlet of the Fleet River. Its position by the Thames permitted the patrons of the theatre to travel to the theatre by boat, avoiding the nearby crime-ridden neighbourhood of Alsatia. Inside the Dorset Gardens playhouse, scenes for Elkanah Settles The Empress of Morocco. ... Inside the Dorset Gardens playhouse, scenes for Elkanah Settles The Empress of Morocco. ... Elkanah Settle (January 1, 1648 - February 12, 1724), was an English poet and playwright. ... Arms of the Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. ... The title Earl of Dorset has been created at least four times in the Peerage of England. ... The Order of Our Lady of Mt. ... Several places exist with the name Thames, and the word is also used as part of several brand and company names Most famous is the River Thames in England, on which the city of London stands Other Thames Rivers There is a Thames River in Canada There is a Thames... The River Fleet is the largest of Londons subterranean rivers. ... Information Capital: Strasbourg Population  - Total  - Density 1,734,145 (1999 census) 1,793,000 (1. ...

It is not known who designed the new theatre building, which opened on 9 November 1671, though tradition ascribes it to Sir Christopher Wren. It contained a central "pit", two tiers of seven boxes each holding twenty people, and an upper gallery. Its proscenium arch was decorated with sculpture by Grinling Gibbons. Betterton lived in an apartment on an upper floor. November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... Events May 9 - Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. ... Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller, 1711. ... A proscenium arch is a square frame around a raised stage area in traditional theatres. ... One of the many bookcase carvings Gibbons made for the Wren Library, Cambridge. ...

Another set for Elkannah Settle's The Empress of Morocco in 1673. Settle's play employed numerous spectacular stage effects.

The theatre was a great investment by the Duke's company. The interior was decorated in a very ornate style, but also contained many technical innovations. The Duke's Company had already been using moveable scenery to good effect in their previous playhouses, since it was first used by Davenant at Rutland House, using shutters in grooves, which could be quickly opened or closed to reveal a new backdrop, but Dorset Garden was also equipped to fly at least four people independently, and had some very complex floor traps (Milhous, p. 46). It was designed for staging Restoration spectaculars, and was the only playhouse in London capable of the effects these orgiastic spectacles required. It was used for this purpose until the last of the spectaculars, Henry Purcell's The Fairy-Queen (1691-1692), showed that the huge expense of putting on such productions had become impossible to recoup. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1060x1579, 1456 KB)The stage of Dorset Garden Theatre set for Elkannah Settles The Empress of Morocco in 1673. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1060x1579, 1456 KB)The stage of Dorset Garden Theatre set for Elkannah Settles The Empress of Morocco in 1673. ... This naval battle was one of the sets for Elkanah Settles Empress of Morocco (1673) at the theatre in Dorset Garden. ... Theatrical scenery is things that are used as setting for a theatrical production. ... William Davenant, owner of Rutland House. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This naval battle was one of the sets for Elkanah Settles Empress of Morocco (1673) at the theatre in Dorset Garden. ... Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (IPA: [1][2]; September 10, 1659–November 21, 1695), a Baroque composer, is generally considered to be one of Englands greatest composers — indeed, he has often been called Englands finest native composer. ... The Fairy-Queen (Z.629) is a masque or semi-opera by Henry Purcell. ...

For non-musical drama, however, Dorset Garden was thought to be an inferior venue to its rival, the King's Company's playhouse at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. After the Duke's Men merged with the King's Men in 1682 to form the United Company, Dorset Garden was used for opera, music, and spectaculars exclusively, and from the 1690s it was used for other entertainments, such as wrestling, until it was demolished in the early 1700s. The present-day Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, sketched when it was new, in 1813. ...

A number of eminent people lived nearby: Aphra Behn in Dorset Street; John Dryden in Salisbury Square from 1673 to 1682; John Locke in Dorset Court in 1690. The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... John Dryden John Dryden (August 9, 1631 – May 12, 1700) was an influential English poet, literary critic, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known as the Age of Dryden. ... John Locke (August 29, 1632 – October 28, 1704) was an influential English philosopher and social contract theorist. ...

Notes

1. ^ One source incorrectly says 1709

References

• Milhous, Judith (1979). Thomas Betterton and the Management of Lincoln's Inn Fields 1695–1708. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press.

External links

• The Dorset Garden Theatre
• Restoration Theatres
• Extracts from The Cambridge History of British Theatre
• Theatre sites
• London c.1676 - Restoration Theatres
• Streets South Of Fleet Street