THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.

VOL. XIX. No. 540.] SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 1832. [PRICE 2d.



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BANKSIDE.--OLD THEATRES.

[Illustration: BANKSIDE IN 1648.]

[Illustration: BULL AND BEAR-BAITING THEATRES.]

[Illustration: BEAR-BAITING--ROSE--GLOBE.]

The ancient topography of the southern bank of the Thames (or _Bankside_)
between London and Blackfriars bridges is peculiarly interesting to the
lover of dramatic lore, as well as to the inquirer into the sports and
pastimes of our ancestors. It appears to have been the _Arcadia_ of the
olden metropolis, if such a term be applicable to a place notorious for
the indulgence of brutal sports.

The Cut in the adjoining column represents Bankside in 1648, from which it
appears to have been then in part waste and unenclosed. "It was land
belonging to the crown, and on various parts of it stood the Globe Theatre,
the Bear Garden, and other places of public show; here were also the Pike
Gardens, some time called the Queen's Pike Gardens, with ponds for the