The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. It was the first of several playhouses to be situated in Bankside, Southwark, in a "liberty" outside the jurisdiction of London's civic authorities.

The Rose was built in 1587 by Philip Henslowe and John Cholmley. It was enlarged a few years later. It was polygonal in shape, about 21 metres in diameter and may have held well over 2000 people.

The Rose was home to the Admiral's Men for several years. Henslowe had interests in other theatres, including the Fortune (built in 1600), and when the lease ran out on The Rose in 1605 it was abandoned.

In 1989, the remains of the Rose were threatened with destruction by building development. A campaign to save the site was launched by several well-known theatrical figures, including Peggy Ashcroft and Laurence Olivier, aIts remains were uncovered during development work in 1989. Threatened with destruction, it was eventually decided to build over the top of the theatre's remains, leaving them conserved beneath.

The handling of the Rose Theatre by government, archaeologists and the developer provided impetus for the legitimisation or archaeology in the development process and led the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher to introduce PPG 16 in an attempt to manage archaeology in the face of development threat.

In 1999 the site was re-opened to the public, underneath the controversial development. Work continues to excavate the site further and to secure its future.

External links

• Rose Theatre