This does not purport to be complete. All are in London except where stated. The list does not include Francis Kirkman‘s The Lame Commonwealth.
In addition a propmpt copy of the play survives, for which. see F. Bowers, ‘Beggars Bush: a reconstructed prompt-book and its copy’, Studies in Bibliography, 27 (1974) 113-136.
See also the Performance History. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: May 15th, 2011 | Filed under: The Play | Tags: The Play | No Comments »
The Beggars Bush play is important for the both the maintenance and the distribution of the phrase, and therefore its availability as a place name. The text was available not only as a printed source, for which see the Publication History and for example, William Godwin, but also in manuscript form. Although the play is now forgotten it was widely performed, both in London and the provinces. Records of early performances of plays are fragmentary and incomplete; they depend on the chance survival of ephemeral records. When playbills were published and then plays advertised in newspapers records become better for London. We know that plays were performed in the provinces, initially by the main London companies when on tour or when the theatres in London were closed, and then by provincial companies. Even when performed in new editions the play playbills still showed The Beggars Bush. I have compiled a Chronology of Performances, available below. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: May 15th, 2011 | Filed under: The Play | Tags: Francis Kirkman, The Lame Commonwealth, The Play | No Comments »
Beggars Bush Lane is adjacent to the canal, near Cassiobury Park, which was the home of the Earls of Essex from c.1800. It is possible to connect George Capel-Coningsby, the 5th Earl of Essex (1757-1839) who remodelled the house from 1799 with the revival of the play The Beggars Bush as The Merchant of Bruges in December 1815. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: April 24th, 2011 | Filed under: Places | Tags: Drayton Beauchamp, Hertfordshire, The Play, Watford | No Comments »
A play in three acts produced by the White Rose Company in Harrogate during the week beginning Monday 22 April 1940. A proposed London run never took place. The play was never published. A copy of the script was located in November 2007 in the Lord Chamberlain’s Archive at the British Library where it had been submitted for censorship. A revival is scheduled for October 2011. As with the play The Beggars Bush by Fletcher and Massinger the eponymous place is just that, and no more. It appears to have been an attractive name, but no more. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: April 10th, 2011 | Filed under: Writers | Tags: James Joyce, Literary, The Play, Victor Canning, W H Auden | No Comments »
Another source which would have kept the phrase alive is Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler, one of the most popular of all English books, and one with much interest to the countryman. It was first published in 1653, and continuously reprinted into the twentieth century.
In the second edition (1655) a group of beggars who, being unable to resolve an argument amongst themselves, decide to refer the dispute for resolution by “old father Clause, whom Ben Jonson in his Beggars Bush created King of their Corporation”. There is no doubt this is the Fletcher & Massinger Beggars Bush, which Walton has misattributed. It shows, and may have helped sustain, the popularity of the play and of the character Clause. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: April 10th, 2011 | Filed under: Writers, The Play | Tags: Ben Jonson, Clause, Francis Kirkman, Izaak Walton, James Mabbe, Literary, The Lame Commonwealth, The Play | No Comments »
“Since the King of the Beggars was married to the Queen of the Sluts at Lowzy-Hill near Beggars-Bush, being most splendidly attended by a ragged Regiment of Mumpers.”
The entry is characteristic of the Poor Robin almanacs, reporting the fictional event in splendid style. “Mumper” is a Cant word for beggar. At this time “slut” did not necessarily imply sexual licence, but encompassed slovenly, untidy or disorderly women generally: in this context all are implied I see no reason to assume that this is a reference to a real event. The King of the Beggars was a common character, not just from the Beggars Bush play by Fletcher & Massinger. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: April 9th, 2011 | Filed under: Writers | Tags: Dublin, Francis Kirkman, John Taylor, Literary, Poor Robin, The Play, William Winstanley | No Comments »
“I will take home the Lady to my Charge,
And these her Servants, and leave you my Cloke,
To travel in to Beggers Bush!”
Ben Jonson stood at the centre of the theatrical and literary life early modern England. He was connected with many writers who used the phrase Beggars Bush. Beggars Bush is mentioned in his late play when the character Peni-Boy senior reveals himself to his errant son, Peni-Boy junior. The usage is characteristic of the literary use of the phrase by Jane Anger and others. Peni-Boy junior, expecting an inheritance will instead fall into penury through his own folly. It is a state of being, not a geographical location.
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Posted: April 9th, 2011 | Filed under: Writers | Tags: Ben Jonson, Dutch, Henry Chettle, Henry Porter, Izaak Walton, John Day, John Taylor, Literary, Londons Ordinary, Philip Henslowe, The Oath, The Play, Thomas Nashe, canting, pubs | No Comments »
The popular author and doctor used the phrase Beggars Bush in Christian Morals (written before 1682, though not published until 1716). He uses the phrase in the standard literary sense, but in an unusual classical context. His usage establishes the the usage of the phrase outside the vernacular. The most likely origin is through the play by Fletcher & Massinger; there is evidence that his son saw it. There is no direct evidence that Browne saw or read it and there are other sources from which he may have acquired the phrase. His and his son’s library included the works of Ben Jonson. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: April 7th, 2011 | Filed under: Writers | Tags: Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, Literary, Sir Thomas Browne, The Play | 1 Comment »
This site is recorded in many sources, and is now connected to a house near a crossroads, and there is another Beggars Bush nearby. There is also a naming story involving Charles I, which would provide an earlier date for the name. However, the story is doubtful, and doesn’t actually use the phrase Beggars Bush, though the context is consistent with the literary usage. It is better evidence of the distribution of the literary phrase than of the place name.
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Posted: April 4th, 2011 | Filed under: Places | Tags: Evenjobb, Powys, Presteigne, The Play, naming story | 7 Comments »
The satirical verse On the Dominical Nose of O[Liver] C[Romwell] contains evidence of the popularity and distribution of the play The Beggars Bush. It refers to the character Higgen, the Orator Beggar.
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Posted: March 30th, 2011 | Filed under: The Play | Tags: Henry Tubbe, The Lame Commonwealth, The Play | No Comments »
