Ok, so what is Drury Lane?
Beyond the home of the muffin man, I presume it is in London, and I have heard reference to the fact it is (or was) perhaps where the rich (or high society) could be (or were) known to associate?
There is a street in central London called Drury Lane, but it’s no more or less remarkable than any other street. For myself and I expect most other Londoners, it only tends to crop up in conversation when people refer to the Drury Lane theatre, a major West End theatre that hosts lots of big productions and headline shows. Other than that, I’m sure it has various fascinating bits of history associated with it, just like every other street in the capital. But to walk along it - well, it just looks like a nice little street, nothing obviously special about it.
Its fame is almost entirely due to the Theatre Royal. Although the present building isn’t the original one, the Theatre Royal can claim to be the oldest surviving London theatre, as there has been a theatre called the Theatre Royal on the site since the re-opening of the London theatres in the 1660s. It was originally just one of two theatres in London and was under the direct patronage of the king (hence the name). It is therefore a big part of the popular image of Restoration London (Charles II, the first actresses, Nell Gwynne, Pepys etc.).
At that time the surrounding area, north of the Strand and around Covent Garden and Lincoln’s Inn Fields, was indeed rather fashionable. But the whole area later went into sharp decline as the West End developed.
Moreover, the layout of surrounding streetplan has since been altered in a big way. Originally Drury Lane was the road that linked Fleet Street (via Wich Street) to Holburn and so was one of the major approaches to the City from the north-west. All that changed with the construction of Kingsway in the early 1900s. That reduced Drury Lane to a backstreet. Buildings subsequently constructed on Drury Lane have tended to reflect that.
Probably, most people outside London are familiar with Drury Lane solely from the Monty Python album that was recorded there.
In the olden days before Monty Python, people were familiar with a series of mysteries written by “Barnaby Ross,” which was a pseudonym of Ellery Queen. They featured a former actor who had to quit the stage went he went deaf. His name: the picturesque Drury Lane.
So its US equivalent would be something like Broadway, as in Give My Regards To … or 42nd Street. Theater, and all that.
On a tangetal note, an assassination attempt on George III happened on May 15, 1800 on Drury lane.
Was it the Muffin Man?
Broadway has its equivalent in ‘the West End’. APB is right, in theatrical situations, Drury Lane is a euphemism for the Theatre Royal. Somebody can be described as appearing on ‘Drury Lane’ in the same way as they could be ‘in the West End’ or ‘on Broadway’. Just there’s not as many theatres.
Actually, it was James Hadfield. At his trial, he was found to be insane.
My daughter is reading “Johnny Tremain” (circa 1940) which is rich in historical facts. There is a mention of Drury Lane (back in England) as if it were the place where the elite meet. Maybe it is more of a fictional image of Drury Lane?
As for me, I never knew of the Muffin Man who lives there…until the past 10 years. Does this nursery rhyme (or song) have older roots than I am aware?
- Jinx
Try reading APB’s post all the way to the end.
Hence the expression “beware the Ides of May”.
Exactly; and since G3 later thought he was a smal rutabega, the circle is complete.
According to the London Encyclopedia, which I happen to have handy right here, Drury Lane was an ancient roadway originally known as Via de Aldwych, and was renamed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I after Sir Thomas Drury, who built his house there. It was a fashionable street during the 16th and 17th centuries, with various Earls having town homes there (also Oliver Cromwell, John Donne, and Nell Gwynne). By the 18th century, however, it had become a run-down neighborhood, and notably rowdy with gin shops and street prostitutes (Plate 3 of Hogarth’s “The Harlot’s Progress” is set in Drury Lane), and it was a slum area during the Victorian era. The slums were cleared away with the construction of the Kingsway.
Well, it’s certainly more than 10 years old. According to Wikipedia, it was included in a book in 1888, and I imagine that it’s origin is earlier still.
It’s also mentioned in an old sea chantey, Bell Bottom Trousers: