On this site was built the Davies Amphitheatre 1662-1682 the last bear-baiting ring of Bankside visited by Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn. To the north from mid 16th century was the Bear Gardens, a bear-baiting ring visited by Queen Elizabeth I and replaced by The Hope Playhouse 1614-1656, built for plays and bear-baiting where Ben Jonson's play 'Bartholomew Fair' was first performed

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