Literary Traces in Bridewell and Bethlem, 1602–1624

The Minute Books of the Court of Governors of Bridewell and Bethlem Hospitals make reference to a number of persons associated with early seventeenth-century drama. The actor Christopher Beeston, a member of the earl of Worcester's men, and a former member of the Lord Chamberlain's men, st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Review of English studies 2005-06, Vol.56 (225), p.379-385
Main Author: Salkeld, Duncan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alchemy
Allusion
English literature
European history
Governors
Hospital libraries
Hospital records
Hospitals
Minute books
Patients
Poverty
Prisoners
Theater
Whetstones
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Summary:The Minute Books of the Court of Governors of Bridewell and Bethlem Hospitals make reference to a number of persons associated with early seventeenth-century drama. The actor Christopher Beeston, a member of the earl of Worcester's men, and a former member of the Lord Chamberlain's men, stood accused at Bridewell on 5 November 1602 of raping Margaret White. Beeston denied the charge and brought ‘players’ to a subsequent hearing who ‘vehemently demeaned themselves to the governors’ and ‘much abused the place’. Subtle, in Jonson's The Alchemist, makes a brief topical reference to ‘an alehouse darker than deaf John's’, and entries in the Minute Books identify deaf John as a poor inmate of Bridewell. In Bartholomew Fair, Jonson has an allusion to ‘Whetstone’ at Bedlam. A 1624 census of Bethlem inmates confirms the identity of this character as William Whetstone, a notorious lunatic. Another Bethlem patient, John Gibbons, is recorded as owner of a playhouse on Bankside. This article identifies the playhouse concerned as the Hope.
ISSN:0034-6551
1471-6968
DOI:10.1093/res/hgi056