Landmark · England · Demolished

Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre was a timber-framed, open-air playhouse on Bankside in Southwark associated with William Shakespeare and the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Built in 1599, it had a thrust stage, an open yard for standing spectators and three tiers of covered galleries before being destroyed by fire in 1613 and later demolished in the 1640s.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Its prime

1599

Today

Demolished

As it stood in 1599

What Globe Theatre looked like in its prime.

A roughly circular (likely 20-sided) three-storey timber amphitheatre about 30 m across, with an open central yard and a rectangular thrust stage projecting into it. The outer walls are timber-framed with wattle-and-daub infill and closely spaced gallery gables; the galleries have jettied overhangs. A flagstaff rises from the roof; the stage rear is recessed under a roofed proscenium whose underside (the "heavens") is painted as a sky. The building sits on a raised earthen wharf beside the Thames, with boats at the shore.

Step inside

9 places to explore in 1599.

The record describes 9 distinct spots at Globe Theatre, including 7 interiors: the open yard (groundlings), at the front edge of the stage, tiring house (backstage) and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more photos, more angles and more of the immersive experience.

Exterior approach from the Thames/BanksideThe open yard (groundlings)At the front edge of the stageTiring house (backstage)Stage balcony / musicians' galleryCellarage beneath the stageThird-tier gallery (upper seating)Under the painted 'heavens' above the stageRaised wharf and approach

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