Lecture on "Shakespeare's London"

Professor Baker delivered a lecture on "Shakespeare's London" in the Fogg Lecture Room yesterday afternoon, describing the condition of the city proper and Westminster. The stereopticon illustrations were taken from old wood-cuts of the palaces and public buildings of the time.

In London from about 1590 to 1600, said Professor Baker, no public theatres were built, the plays being given in the yards of the inns and churches. London Bridge at this time was a great street lined on both sides with shops and houses, and it became a business centre where Shakespeare probably obtained many ideas for his low-comedy characters. Professor Baker next described the turbulent "White Friar" region, and the "Black Friar" district, where a curious building was situated, which was probably the famous Black Friars Theatre where Shakespeare's company performed.

The nave of Westminster Abbey, said Professor Baker, was used during the reign of Elizabeth as a great social promenade, even while church services were being held in another part. Here was another place where Shakespeare's keen observation found room for free play. Close by the side of the church was the Convocation House, in the yard of which St. Paul's choirboys acted their plays. Another theatrical centre was St. John's Gate, where the properties for the court plays were kept, and where the playwrights gathered. Lastly, the Great Exchange, the business centre for all merchants, gave ample scope for observation of the character and methods of business men.