The Blackfriars Theatre was the name of two separate theatres located in the City of London on the site of a dissolved 13th-century Dominican monastery.

Dominican Monks from a Medieval MS at J. Paul Getty Museum.

The original Dominican monastery had been established between the River Thames and Ludgate Hill in 1275. The estates of the priory came to be commonly known as "Blackfriars" due to the black vestments of the Dominican monks. The friars had gained permission from the London City authorities to have the whole of the Blackfriars precinct be a "liberty", outside City jurisdiction, though within the City walls. Blackfriars enjoyed this status until 1608. In addition to its function as a monastery, the site also served as a meeting place for many Parliaments, as well as for the Privy Council. Blackfriars was the location of many momentous events, such as the repudiation of Catherine of Aragón by Henry VIII, and the voting of the Parliament to charge Cardinal Wolsey with treason.

In 1538, with the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, the monastery was closed and the estates, which were comprised of many buildings and beautiful gardens on a large area of land, were divided up. In 1576, in the reign of Elizabeth I, some of the buildings on the western side of the property were leased to Richard Farrant, Master of the Children of the Chapel, so that the Children could rehearse and perform their plays in private before performing at court. This was the first Blackfriars theatre. The Chapel Children, as well as other children's companies, continued to perform there until 1584, when the theatre was closed because the plays were too politically daring.

The First Blackfriars.  Reconstruction by Effie W. Best.  The stage is set for a performance of Lyly's Campaspe. Courtesy of Michael Best, Shakespeare's Life and Times.

The Blackfriars was also a popular place for the gentry—many noble residences were built on the grounds, including those of the French ambassador, and of Henry Brooke, Lord Cobham. It was also a resort of sorts, where the nobility went to play tennis and to while away time in the many gardens.

In 1596, another part of the old Blackfriars was bought by James Burbage, owner of the Theatre and father of famed actor Richard Burbage, for £600 from the estate of Cawarden, late Master of Revels. This set of rooms, cellars, and yards was near the Pipe office, next to the house of Sir George Cary. Burbage spent an enormous sum to convert these rooms into a private indoor playhouse. The residents of Blackfriars got an injunction against the theatre being used by an adult troupe and Burbage had to lease the playhouse to children's companies—around 1597, the Chapel Children are found in residence.

Model of the second Blackfriars Theatre        at  the  Shakespeare's  Globe  Museum.       Courtesy of Amy Ulen.

Richard Burbage, the principal actor with the Chamberlain's Men, Shakespeare's company, inherited the second Blackfriars Theatre in 1597. In 1600, he leased it to Henry Evans at an annual rate of £40, for a term of 21 years, and the children's performances continued. The Children of the Chapel were renamed Children of Queen Anne's Revels after the accession of James I in 1603. After the performance of Eastward Ho (1605), a collaboration between Jonson, Marston, and Chapman, the Children lost their royal patronage, because of a passage about Scots in Act III which offended King James so much that he had the authors briefly imprisoned. The playhouse ceased to be productive, and Burbage took back the lease from Evans.

Reconstruction of the second Blackfriars        at  the  Drawing by J. H. Farrar.

In 1608, Burbage, along with actors from his company, formed a company of housekeepers, or owners, and began to use the playhouse. The King's Men, as the Chamberlain's Men were now known, played at the Blackfriars during the winters. Later works by Shakespeare, as well as works by Beaumont and Fletcher, were performed there.

In 1619, Blackfriars residents again tried to close the theatre, citing it as a public playhouse, but the Privy Council intervened and confirmed its use. The King's Men performed there without interruption until the closing of the theatres with the English Civil War in 1642. The Blackfriars playhouse fell into disrepair, and was demolished on the 6th of August, 1655. The site is still commemorated by Playhouse Yard, close to Apothecaries' Hall.

• Dominican or Black Friars in Renaissance England
  
• Location Map of Elizabethan London
  

• Blackfriars Theatre - The Encyclopedia Britannica
  
• The First Blackfriars - UVictoria
  
• The Second Blackfriars - UVictoria
  
• The Blackfriars - The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
  
• The Children at the Blackfriars - The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
  
  

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