TER XX

THE COCKPIT-IN-COURT, OR THEATRE ROYAL AT WHITEHALL

On birthdays, holidays, and festive occasions in general the
sovereigns of England and the members of the royal family were wont to
summon the professional actors to present plays at Court. For the
accommodation of the players and of the audience, the larger halls at
Hampton, Windsor, Greenwich, St. James, Whitehall, or wherever the
sovereign happened to be at the time, were specially fitted up, often
at great expense. At one end of the hall was erected a temporary stage
equipped with a "music-room," "players' houses of canvas," painted
properties, and such other things as were necessary to the actors. In
the centre of the hall, on an elevated dais, were provided seats for
the royal family, and around and behind the dais, stools for the more
distinguished guests; a large part of the audience was allowed to
stand on platforms raised in tiers at the rear of the room. Since the
plays were almost invariably given at night, the stage was illuminated
by special "branches" hung on wires overhead, and carrying many
lights. In the accounts of the Office of the Revels one may find
interesting records of plays presented in this manner, with the
miscellaneous items of expense for making the halls ready.

Usually the Court performances, like the masques, were important,
almost official occasions, and many guests, including the members of
the diplomatic corps, were invited. To provide accommodation for so
numerous an audience, a large room was needed. Hampton Court possessed
a splendid room for the purpose in the Great Banqueting Hall, one
hundred and six feet in length and forty feet in breadth. But the
palace at Whitehall for many years had no room of a similar character.
For the performance of a masque there in 1559 the Queen erected a
temporary "Banqueting House." Again, in 1572, to entertain the Duke of
Montmorency, Ambassador from France, she had a large "Banketting House
made at Whitehall," covered with canvas and decorated with ivy and
flowers gathered fresh from the fields. An account of the structure
may be found in the records of the Office of the Revels. Perhaps,
however, the most elaborate and substantial of these "banqueting
houses" was that erected in 1581, to entertain the ambassadors from
France who came to treat of a marriage between Elizabeth and the Duc
d'Anjou. The structure is thus described by Holinshed in his
_Chronicle_:[656]

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