Globe Theater A Thatch Roof

Work to replace the thatched roof of the iconic shakespeare s globe theatre in london has begun.

Globe theater a thatch roof.

Thatchers this week start work repairing the roof of shakespeare s globe on bankside with 800 bundles of sedge from the norfolk broads and 10 000 english hazel spars. The thatched roof of the new globe was a subject of much debate as roof thatching had been outlawed after the great fire of london in 1666. The seats are simple benches though cushions can be hired for performances and the globe has the first and only thatched roof permitted in london since the great fire of 1666. Built of english oak like the original shakespeare s globe theatre was constructed with absolutely no structural steel.

In 1996 the bankside playhouse became the first thatched building in london since the great fire 330 years earlier. In this picture the labels were swapped around. For example the roof of the theatre was thatched with reeds not covered with more expensive tile. They were given a second chance to transfer full time to the blackfriars in 1613 when the globe burned to the ground its thatch accidentally set alight by a cannon during a performance of henry viii.

This engraving of bankside made in 1644 shows the tiled roof and large tiring house and stage roof like an upside down w of the second globe. The globe theatre the globe has been rebuilt in london and you can now see shakespeare s plays performed live there. By then the blackfriars was already beginning to bring better profits than the globe since the smaller house size was more than compensated by its higher prices. The use of thatch was a crucial component in sam wanamaker s vision to strive for a faithful reconstruction of shakespeare s theatre.

Shakespeare along with other actors was not the owner but a shareholder. The modern globe theatre is one of the few thatched buildings in london others can be found in the suburb of kingsbury but the globe s modern water reed thatch is purely for decorative purpose and actually lies over a fully waterproofed roof built with modern materials. It burned down in 1613 when a stage cannon set fire to its thatch roof. The modern thatch is well protected by fire retardants and sprinklers on the roof ensure further protection against fire.

Thatch dried reeds would have been used in elizabethan times to cover the roof. Certainly when the king s men banded together to pay 1 400 for the erection of the new globe which took a year to build this time with a fireproof tiled roof shakespeare was not among them having apparently sold his shares in the company in the interim. The theater was rebuilt by the company while shakespeare was still alive and remained successfully in operation until 1642 when the puritans under oliver cromwell closed it down. Shakespeare festivals thatched roof.

Two years later it was torn down completely and tenement housing was built over the spot.