Dear wick18-ga,
I believe you are referring to the Mermaid Tavern, which, it is
though, was frequented by Shakespeare. The evidence for this is mainly
based on the identity of a William Johnson, the landlord of the tavern
in 1613, who, it is thought, was the same person as one of
Shakespeare?s trustees.
These are some sources for this answer.
?Mermaid Tavern
famous London meeting place of the Friday Street Club, of which
William Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh, John Donne, and Ben Jonson
were notable members. It stood to the east of St. Paul's Cathedral,
with entrances in Bread Street and Friday Street.?
http://search.eb.com/shakespeare/article-9052154
?In March 1613 William Shakespeare was in the city, completing the
purchase of a gatehouse in the theatre district of Blackfriars.
Shakespeare put up the money, but it was actually a co-purchase in
company with three other men, one of whom was John Heminges. Another
was William Johnson, landlord of the nearby Mermaid tavern. Although
the story of Shakespeare and Ben Jonson engaging in wit combats at the
Mermaid is probably apocryphal, landlord Johnson's part in the
gatehouse purchase shows that Shakespeare was a Mermaid man and lends
credibility to the claim that he and Ben Jonson were drinking
companions within its walls.?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/muchado/readings/bate.html
On amazon.com, for the below books, use the search inside feature with
the words: ?Mermaid Tavern?
?Those meetings at the Mermaid Tavern in which Shakespeare lifted a
tankard with Ben Jonson and others, including Raleigh, may be only
legend?
Shakespeare's Tragic Skepticism by Millicent Bell
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300092555/ref=sib_rdr_dp/102-4433700-2870505?%5Fencoding=UTF8&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&no=283155&st=books&n=283155
Shakespeare: A Life by Park Honan
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0192825275/amzna9-1-20/ref=nosim?dev-t=D26XECQVNV6NDQ%26camp=2025%26link_code=xm2
?If, as seems likely, the William Johnson who acted as Shakespeare's
trustee in 1613 was the host of the Mermaid tavern, and Shakespeare
wrote commemorative verses for Elias James, a member of a prominent
brewing family...?
Myriad-Minded Shakespeare : Essays on the Tragedies, Problem Comedies,
and Shakespeare the Man
by E. A. J. Honigmann
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312177534/ref=nosim/102-4433700-2870505?camp=2025&dev-t=D26XECQVNV6NDQ&link%5Fcode=xm2&n=283155
The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare by Michael Dobson, Stanley Wells
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198117353/ref=sib_vae_dp/102-4433700-2870505?%5Fencoding=UTF8&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&no=283155&st=books&n=283155
I hope this answers your question. If it does not, or the answer is
unclear, then please ask for clarification of this research before
rating the answer. I shall respond to the clarification request as
soon as I receive it.
Thank you
answerfinder
Search strategy
Shakespeare "tavern" writers
"Mermaid Tavern" shakespeare "william johnson" black friars
http://a9.com/%22Mermaid%20Tavern%22%20shakespeare%20%22william%20johnson%22%20blackfriars |
