Bridge,  we  find  a  nest  of  such  small  theatres  :  the
Hope,  originally  a  bear-garden  ;  the  Rose,  and  the
Swan,  so  called  from  their  signs.  Newington  Butts
was  the  title  of  a  house  erected  for  the  convenience  of
archers  and  pleasurers  in  that  suburb.  On  its  boards
'  The  Jew  of  Malta,'  the  first '  Hamlet,'  the  '  Taming  of
the  Shrew,'  and '  Tamburlaine,'  were  brought  out.  The
yard  of  the  '  Red  Bull '  had  long  been  employed  for
occasional  performances,  before  the  erection  of  perma-
nent theatres.  Late  in  Elizabeth's  reign  it  was  con-
verted into  a  playhouse  of  a  rough  and  somewhat
boisterous  type  ;  though  excellent  playwrights,  like
Heywood,  wrote  for  it.  The  Cockpit,  or  the  Phoenix,
in  Drury  Lane  was  also  turned  into  a  theatre  early  in
the  reign  of  James.  It  too  enjoyed  no  favourable
reputation,  being  surrounded  with  houses  of  ill  fame,
which  exposed  it  in  1616  to  partial  demolition  by  the
prentices  on  Shrove  Tuesday.  Whitefriars  and  Salis-
bury Court  could  also  boast  their  theatres.  But  we
have  reason  to  believe  that  these  two  houses  may  have
occupied  the  same  site,  for  Whitefriars  ceased  to
exhibit  before  Salisbury  Court  came  into  notice.
