Welcome to REED Online

Here you can search through the surviving records of drama, secular music, and other popular entertainment in England from the Middle Ages until 1642, when the Puritans closed the London theatres. New collections of records will be added to this growing resource. Please check back for updates.

Search the Records

A Fête at Bermondsey, c 1570 (oil on panel), Gheeraerts, Marcus, the Elder (c 1520–90) / Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, UK / Bridgeman Images
Woodcut image of a bearbaiting from William Lily's Antibossicon, 1521 / Folger Shakespeare Library, Digital Image Collection
HOW TO

New to records research?

These records are only the written traces left behind by the original events but they will help you to answer key questions: who? what? when? where? how? how much? and, perhaps even, why? Try searching in various ways.

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NEW COLLECTIONS
Bear Gardens/Hope Playhouse
The Bear Gardens/Hope Playhouse, edited by Stephanie Hovland and Sally-Beth MacLean, is REED's seventh collection of digital records and was uploaded in February 2024.
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