Patent Theatres

Patent Theatres, the Theatres Royal, Drury Lane and Covent Garden, which operate under Letters Patent, or Charters, given by Charles II in 1662 to Thomas Killigrew for Drury Lane and Sir William Davenant for Lincoln's Inn Fields, whence it descended in 1732 via Dorset Garden to Covent Garden. These were for the establishment of two companies to be known as ‘the King's Servants’ and ‘the Duke of York's Servants’ respectively. The company at Drury Lane was technically part of the Royal Household, and some members of it were sworn in as Grooms of the Chamber, being given an allowance of scarlet cloth and gold lace for their liveries. The charters, which in the course of the next 200 years changed hands many times, fluctuating sharply in value, are still in existence and form an integral part of the leases of the theatres. They rendered the two theatres independent of the Lord Chamberlain as licenser of theatre buildings, though until the abolition of the theatre censorship in 1968 they still remained accountable to him for the plays which they put on. The monopoly in ‘serious’ or ‘legitimate’ acting established by Charles II and reinforced by the Theatres Act of 1737 was finally broken in 1843.