Category:Berkeley's

Patrons and Performances

Henry Berkeley (REED PP), 7th Baron Berkeley, sponsored companies of players as early as 1557 and as late as 1611-12. Several spellings of the family name are associated variously with these players (REED PP): Lord Bartholomew's Players, 1581; Lord Barlett's Players, 1582-1610; and Lord Barlys' Players, 1605. Two sets of entries in provincial records name the company as Lord Berkeley's players: one, in 1584 and 1611-12; and a second in 1557 and essentially continuously from 1577-1609.

Here, the company identified with 39 events by REED is the focus (REED PP). One of the most active and ubiquitous of the provincial companies, and certainly one of the most long-lived in terms of stable patronage, Lord Berkeley's players visited nearly every venue in rural England, especially in the South, Central, and Western regions: Southeast (Dover, Canterbury), Midlands (Coventry), Southwest (Bath, Bristol), Southwest (Lyme Regis, Totnes, Dorcester), West Midlands (Gloucester, Leominster, Ludlow), and Northwest (York). As provincial companies routinely did, the companies played most frequently in civic halls. However in Dorset in 1607, the company performed at the George Inn (REED PP).

A couple of details associated with companies designated by variant forms of "Berkeley" round out the provincial record. Taken together, these companies add the following towns to locations on tour: Exeter, Barnstaple, Hythe, and Fordwich (REED PP); Bridgewater (REED PP); and Newcastle upon Tyne (REED PP). There are also additional venues. In 1611-12, one of these companies performed at Caludon Castle, Coventry, in conjunction with a dinner attended by the mayor and other Coventry VIPs (REED PP). Another performed at Merchants' Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, in 1581 (see above).