# The Theatre in Shoreditch is dismantled on 28 December 1598 for rebuilding as the Globe

Date: 1598

## The fact

On 28 December 1598, during the twelve days of Christmas, Cuthbert and Richard Burbage, carpenter Peter Street, and armed associates dismantled the Theatre in Shoreditch. Legal complaints followed. The timbers became the Globe. Shakespeare is a company sharer, not named in every complaint as swinging a bar.

## Context

Giles Allen owned the ground; the Burbages claimed the building. English property law supplied courts; the company chose speed. Later legend about a frozen Thames night-raid is not required. The dated demolition is enough.

## Evidence and sources

Later lawsuits and the Folger/Birthplace narratives based on those suits establish the date and the parties. They do not prove [Shakespeare](/people/william-shakespeare)'s personal presence with a weapon. Wikipedia is not used as a causal source.

## Significance

The offset is that the Globe resulted.

## What is established and what is not

Established: 28 December 1598 dismantling in a lease fight. Not established: Shakespeare's personal violence; that Allen was paid. Confidence high on the demolition, medium on Shakespeare's hands-on role.

The event remains dated 1598-12-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare was a Chamberlain's Man whose company, led by the Burbages, took down the Theatre during a lease fight with Giles Allen. Self-help demolition during a ground-lease dispute is extra-judicial recovery of building materials. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-12-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare was a Chamberlain's Man whose company, led by the Burbages, took down the Theatre during a lease fight with Giles Allen. Self-help demolition during a ground-lease dispute is extra-judicial recovery of building materials. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-12-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare was a Chamberlain's Man whose company, led by the Burbages, took down the Theatre during a lease fight with Giles Allen. Self-help demolition during a ground-lease dispute is extra-judicial recovery of building materials. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-12-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare was a Chamberlain's Man whose company, led by the Burbages, took down the Theatre during a lease fight with Giles Allen. Self-help demolition during a ground-lease dispute is extra-judicial recovery of building materials. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-12-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare was a Chamberlain's Man whose company, led by the Burbages, took down the Theatre during a lease fight with Giles Allen. Self-help demolition during a ground-lease dispute is extra-judicial recovery of building materials. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-12-28. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare was a Chamberlain's Man whose company, led by the Burbages, took down the Theatre during a lease fight with Giles Allen. Self-help demolition during a ground-lease dispute is extra-judicial recovery of building materials. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

## People

- William Shakespeare: https://factrail.ai/people/william-shakespeare

## Drivers

- Judicial independence erosion (court capture): https://factrail.ai/drivers/justice-judicial-independence-erosion

## Sources

- https://www.folger.edu/blogs/shakespeare-and-beyond/raising-globe-theatre/
- https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-globe-theatre/

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/shakespeare-theatre-dismantled-1598