Sam Wanamaker
In 1949, when Sam Wanamaker came to London for the first time, he looked for the site of the original Globe and was disappointed not to find a more lasting memorial to one of the greatest playwrights in the world.
In 1970 he founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust, dedicated to the experience and international understanding of Shakespeare in performance. Itrs work celebrates the fact that the greatest dramatic poet in the English language lived and worked in London and that the cradle of English theatre was on Bankside by the River Thames.
In 1987, building work began on site when the six-metre deep foundations were laid. In 1993, the construction of the Globe Theatre itself began.
Sadly, Sam Wanamaker died on 18th December 1993. At that time, twelve of the fifteen bays had been erected. The plasterwork and thatching began the following year and were completed in 1997.
Theo Crosby
Theo Crosby was the architect of Shakespeare’s Globe. A founding partner of Pentagram Design Ltd, he became involved in the Globe project in 1969 and began designs for the site in 1986. He died in 1994. Since then, his work has been continued by Jon Greenfield, who first joined the project in 1987.
The Globe Theatre
The original site of the Globe Theatre lies about 200 yards from its reconstruction on Bankside. The foundations were discovered in 1989 under a Grade II listed Georgian terrace and Southwark Bridge Road.
Archaeological excavations, panoramas, maps, building contracts, contemporary accounts and remaining buildings have each contributed to a body of knowledge that informed the reconstruction of the Globe Theatre. There are no remaining plans or construction drawings that clearly depict the form of the theatre itself.
Key facts:The original architect of the Globe was Peter Street. The new Globe had as its mastercraftsman Peter McCurdy www.mccurdyco.com
The Globe Theatre is 33ft high to the eaves (45ft overall)
6,000 bundles of Norfolk Water Reed were used on the Globe’s roof
36,000 handmade bricks were used
90 tons of lime putty were used for the Tudor brickwork
180 tons of lime plaster went into the outer walls
168,000 metres of oak laths were used for both sides of the walls
The Globe’s pillars, which hold up the roof over the stage, are 28ft high and weigh a total of 3 tons.
Official website http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/ (3/16/2005)
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