Fortune (London)

• Theatre ID
  3382
• Built / Converted
  1600
• Dates of use
  • 1600 - 1621: first building on site
  • 1623 - 1649
• Current state
  Demolished
• Current use
  demolished
• Address
  Whitecross Street/Golden Lane, Islington, London, EC1, England

Details

The Fortune was built on the opposite side of the Thames from the Globe by Philip Henslowe and his actor son-in-law Edward Alleyn. The theatre (for which the original contract and a great deal of other documentation survives) was based on the Globe, but was rectangular on plan with an open tiled roof. Like the Globe, it was timber-framed with plaster infill. The stage was constructed of oak with a canopy. This building was destroyed by fire in 1621 and replaced two years later by a ‘round brick building’ with a tiled roof. This continued in use after the general Parliamentary prohibition until it was forcibly dismantled in 1649. Blatherwick considers that the site, if it could be firmly located, would have considerable archaeological potential.

---

Hide further details

• Events
  • 1600 - 1621 Use: first building on site
  • 1623 - 1649 Use:
  • 1600 Design/Construction:
    • Peter Streete - Architect
  • 1623 - 0 Design/Construction: rebuilt on same site but to different form.
    • Thomas Wigpitt (bricklayer) and Anthony Jarman (carpenter) - Architect
  • 1600 Owner/Management: Philip Henslowe and Edward Alleyn, lessees
  • Owner/Management: The Lord Admiral's Men (and successors) occupied the Fortune from 1600 to c.1618
  • 1599 Owner/Management: Philip Henslowe and Edward Alleyn, lessees
  • 1616 - 1626 Owner/Management: Edward Alleyn; afterwards Dulwich College
• Listings
  • Grade Not listed
• Unreliable anecdotes
  Despite the mass of documentary evidence, there is no reliable illustration or precise map location for either theatre. A misleading engraving purporting to be ‘the Fortune Theatre, Golden Lane’ published in 1810, led to an unfounded tradition that the theatre fabric survived into the nineteenth century.