affected the manufactures of the city, and an order of Council, dated the 27th May, 1623, was accordingly despatched to the Mayor, requiring him not to suffer any companies of players, tumblers, and the like sort of persons, to act any plays, or show feats in the city until further order."

This order, on its arrival in Norwich, early in June, appears to have had but an ill reception at the hands of the players, for when read to Nicholas Hanson, on the 14th of the month, he gave answer that he would play, unless he saw the King's hand to the contrary; while, on 26th April, in the following year, Francis Wambus, one of the Princess's servants, being brought before the Mayor, said he would play, whatsoever had been said to the contrary, and accused Mr. Mayor to his face that he contemned the King's authority, and when it was told him that the order of the Council was the King's authority, he said, notwithstanding that he would play, and taxed Mr. Mayor very falsely and scandalously with untruths, and being demanded to find sureties for his good behaviour, he said he would find none, whereupon he was committed to prison until the ensuing sessions, or until further order should be received from the Lords of the Privy Council, concerning him. On the 24th May, following, poor Francis Wambus was still in durance vile, but the Mayor, acting possibly on a hint from the Privy Council, offered, inasmuch as he was a stranger, and could not readily find bail, to discharge him on his own bond to appear at the sessions, and, when that offer was declined, he said Wambus might be "enlarged" without any bond whatever for further appearance. Wambus

thereupon asked that he might have time to deliberate with his fellow players, with the result that two days later a warrant for his discharge was signed by the Mayor.

7 See Eastern Counties Collectanea, p. 152, for full text of the order.

In his introduction to "Rhodon and Iris," a play presented at the Florists' Feast, held in Norwich on the 3rd May, 1631, Ralph Knevet, the author, referring to the civic dislike of the feast, says, "many sanctimonists, that, like the men of China, thinke themselves wiser than all the world beside, doe inveigh against it," and warming with his subject, his indignation against the Norwich Puritans bursts forth in verse:

"But some there be that are so pure and sage,

That they doe utterly abhore a stage,

Because they would be still accounted holy,
And know the stage doth oft bewray their folly.
You could but wonder to see what distaste

They tooke to see an Hypocrite uncas'd.

Oh, had they power, they would the Author use
As ill as Bacchus' Priests did Orpheus."

Expostulation and contumacy were however, of little avail against the growth of the spirit of Puritanism, which pervaded all ranks, and found converts even among the players themselves, for in 1633 certain clergy in the diocese of Norwich were inhibited by Bishop Corbet for Puritanical proclivities, one of whom, to use the words of Archbishop Laud, "is no graduate, and hath been a common stage player."

In March, 1633, the Court of Mayoralty (prompted perhaps by the ill-conduct of one Perry and his company) decided to petition the King and Lords of the Council "against the common use of stage plays in this city, by reason that the maintenance of the inhabitants herein doth consist of work and making of manufactures," and Mr. Anguish and others were desired to attend the Bishop for his advice.

Possibly it was in consequence of this petition that in March, 1635, the players in the city were required to send in their names, to the end that thereupon a certificate may VOL. XIII.]

с

sen.,

be considered of, to be sent to the Council. Accordingly Geo. Stutvile appeared, and gave a note of the names of the rest of his company, viz., John Yonge, Edward May, William Wilbraham, William Cartwright, William Cartwright, jun., Christopher Goade, Timothy Reade, Thomas Bourne, John Robinson, Thomas Lovell, Thomas Sands, Thomas Jordan, Walter Williams, John Barret, Thomas Loveday, John Harris, Anthony Dover, Richard Kendall, Roger Tosedall, Elis Bedowe, Marovin, Misdale, John Sketch, Henry Field, George Willans, James Ferret, and Anthony Bray, and thereupon they were absolutely forbidden to play any longer in the city.?

In the year 1635 a few permissions to perform comedies were granted, one company desiring the Mayor to "appoint an officer, whom they will content for his pains, to see that poor people, servants, and idle persons may be restrained";. but for the most part, only puppet shows and acrobats appear to have been tolerated.

The last entry in the court books, relating to any recognised company of actors, is under date 22nd August, 1638, when John Mountsett and eleven members of his company were refused permission, by reason of the increase of the infection in many places of this city.

The above is the only full list of members of a Company visiting Norwich which I have met with, and it is interesting to note that the first few names are nearly all those of well-known actors of the time. George Stutvile was in 1635 a member of the Queen's Company, as also were William Wilbraham and Christopher Goade a few years earlier. Edward May had been one of Prince Charles' players prior to 1632. William Cartwright, sen., was a member of the Elector Palatine's Company in 1612, and was one of those to whom Edward Alleyn leased the Fortune Theatre in 1618, while William Cartwright, jun., was a member of Prince Charles' Company, turned bookseller during the Civil Wars and the Commonwealth, but resumed his old profession at the Restoration.

The days of the stage players in Norwich were now quickly drawing to a close, and in March, 1640, a warrant was addressed to the Mayor, requiring "all players within the city to forbear playing, and to depart in convenient time; and, in case of disobedience, to punish the foresaid players, or any of them so offending, and them, or any of them, to commit to ward, until they, or any of them, shall conform to the warrant; and likewise, to take from the said players, or any of them, any licence they, or any of them, shall produce in that behalf." 8

On the 2nd September, 1642, was issued the ordinance of both Houses of Parliament, for the suppression of stage plays, but had that ordinance never been published, the players would have had apparently little chance of earning a livelihood here in the then temper of the citizens. The Puritanical feeling of dislike to any outward manifestation of pleasure or rejoicing, is well illustrated by the order of St. George's Company, in the year 1645, "that at the procession on the next Guild or Feast day, there should be no beating of drums or sounds of trumpets; no snap dragon, or fellows dressed up in fools' coats and caps; no standard with the George thereon, nor no hanging of tapestry cloath, nor pictures in any of the streets."

No wonder then, that Mr. Brampton Gurdon, a gay young spark, scarce out of his teens, was driven, when at Norwich, in August, 1658, to seek his amusements at the gardens, and in the music, rather than at the playhouse, in the company of our old friends the players, who were thus banished from the city until after the Restoration.

NOTE. Since the foregoing paper has been in type, several notices relating to our Norwich Players have

• See Eastern Counties Collectanea, p. 152, for full text of this Warrant.

appeared in the Notes and Queries Column in the Norfolk Chronicle. In the issue of 2nd May, 1896, Mr. Mark Knights contributed a copy of an interesting resolution passed at the Norwich Assembly held on the 10th Febuary, 1589 (31st Elizabeth) which ran as follows:-"Whereas heretofore divers game players have resorted to this City of Norwich, playing their games and interludes upon the Sabbath days, as well in times of preaching as other Divine Service, to the profaning of the Sabbath day, in great offence of Almighty God and the commonwealth, and at the same plays also some quarrels and brawls have arisen, whereby murder hath ensued, as experience hath taught, to the great displeasure of Almighty God, offence of good people, and breach of her Majesty's peace; and also for that the same plays and interludes be but provocations and allurements to vices and sins, for reformation whereof be it this day ordained and enacted by the whole assembly, that from henceforth no freeman of this city shall go to or be present at any play or interlude within the said city or liberties thereof, upon pain of 16d. for everyone offending, whereof 12d. to be to the poor of this city, and 4d. to the presentor, to be levied by distress by Mr. Mayor's sergeant, and to be sold within three days. by the taker, and for want of a distress the party offending to be committed to prison by Mr. Mayor till the same paid."