THE COCKPIT

Looking north up St Andrews Hill towards the Cockpit pub. To the left is Ireland Yard and it is in this location that one William Shakespeare purchased a property in 1613 as a sale and leaseback contract. It seems he is unlikely to have lived here but the purchase may have had something to do with the Blackfriars Theatre since this is the location of the Blackfriars Gatehouse...A man of property. What is known of Shakespeare biographically is known through legal documentation since this was a litigious period in history partly driven by the large amount of property dealing that was part of the economy of the time...But if Steven Spielberg were to be remembered in name only as a director through his credits and business dealings would we question any less his authority to intellectual copyright..?