Shoreditch, London

The Oxford Arms, near Shoreditch
circa 1900The home of James Burbage's The Theatre and The Curtain, Shoreditch lies a mile outside the old walls of London on the road that passed through Bishopsgate. Being beyond the jurisdiction of the city proved useful in a time when the Puritans viewed actors on the stage as an affront to the Protestant religion.

Shoreditch was a rough area where visitors would be well advised to wear a sword at all times. Bars and theatres attract many revelers and, along with them, the ubiquitous prostitutes, thieves, cutpurses and con men.