Historical London Shakespeare Walk

Visit London's Globe Theatre, Southwark Cathedral and Historic Pubs

Aug 4, 2008

Take a London Shakespeare walk using a booklet to guide you to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Southwark Cathedral and the George Inn, one of the city's oldest pubs.

Louis' London Walks publish an excellent series of booklets to enable visitors to do self-guided walks. These inexpensive pocket guides cover subjects like the Beatles in London, Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes, Princess Diana and this: An Historical Walk Through William Shakespeare's London.

This London Shakespeare Walk is a light and slim 16-page booklet in A6 size, so fits neatly into the pocket or handbag. It will even go in the back pocket of a pair of jeans. Yet it gives you everything you need, including detailed directions, to make a self-guided walk through the many London sites associated with William Shakespeare from the years when he lived in London.

The walk begins at Blackfriars Underground Station, which is on the north bank of the river although most of the walk takes place on the south bank. There is a reason for this, which is that as you cross Blackfriars Bridge you get a good overview of Bankside, which was London's disreputable theatre district when Shakespeare lived here in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

One of the sites that interests most people in Shakespeare's London is of course the Globe Theatre. The New Globe theatre is an authentic reconstruction of the original Globe Theatre that Shakespeare knew, and which is located only about 200 yards (220m) away. The walk takes you to both of these, and to the nearby Bear Gardens. There was another theatre here when Shakespeare first arrived in London, the Hope Playhouse, but it closed in 1614 and the area then had several bear-baiting pits.

From here the Shakespeare walk takes you to the site of the Rose Theatre, where it's thought that Shakespeare worked when he first arrived in London from Stratford-upon-Avon. The Rose was built in 1587, the first theatre to be built on Bankside and the main rival to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Historic London Pubs

No London walk would be complete without some historic London pubs, and the first one comes conveniently about half-way through: The Anchor Inn. Shakespeare drank here often, as it was close to the original Globe Theatre and was at least a hundred years old when he first visited it. It was modernised in the 1700s, and one of its many claims to fame is that it was from outside here that Samuel Pepys watched the Great Fire of London on the far side of the River Thames, and he mentioned the Anchor Inn in his diary. Dr Johnson drank here too while compiling his dictionary – not the last writer to have worked in his local pub.

Other sites described in this first class booklet include the site of the Clink Prison, the remains of Winchester Palace, Southwark Cathedral, which was Shakespeare's London church and which has a stained glass window showing the Bard of Avon, Borough Market (just as busy in Shakespeare's day as it is now), and the wonderful George Inn. This is the only galleried coaching inn in London, and dates back to 1552. Shakespeare often drank here, and in the summer there are performances of Shakespeare plays in the courtyard.

This Louis' London Walks guide to the London of Shakespeare's day is highly recommended, and excellent value for money.

Practical Information

The Historical Walk through William Shakespeare's London is published by Louis' London Walks at £2.50 plus postage, and available from their website.

The copyright of the article Historical London Shakespeare Walk in England Travel is owned by Mike Gerrard. Permission to republish Historical London Shakespeare Walk in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.