Theatre lovers of the Elizabethan era potentially owe a debt of gratitude to Sir Rowland Hill.
In the 1540s and 1550s, the regulation of drama within the City of London was within the jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor and the city fathers. Records such as the Minute of Court of Aldermen show that, as Lord Mayor, he adopted a more relaxed approach to regulating plays and performances within the city limits. This shift helped pave the way for the flourishing of London’s theatre scene, eventually leading to the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
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We can see Hill’s lively involvement in the London arts scene. A record exists (in the household book of Lady Long of Hengrave, Suffolk) describing King Henry and Jane Seymour joining Sir Rowland Hill at Mercers’ Hall to watch the Midsummer Watch, the grandparent of today’s Lord Mayor’s Show.
This was far more than a routine event. The Midsummer Watch had actually been prohibited by a royal order in the years before, due to its excessive lavishness that strained the finances of previous Lord Mayors. Sir John Gresham and Sir Rowland Hill defied the ban, reviving and funding this pageant on a spectacular scale. Imagine 15,000 citizens, decked out in gleaming armor and fancy clothes, parading through the streets of London!
Hill’s patronage and commissioning extended to his native Shropshire. Records show that he provided renewing funding for the St. Catherine’s Fair in Ludlow.
It should not be forgotten that this support for the arts was overtly a political act, serving a dual purpose: both as physical stimulus and a tool for propaganda and statecraft.
Sir Rowland Hill was a cousin by marriage to Mary Arden, Shakespeare’s mother.
He also counted playwright Sir Thomas Lodge (Sr) as a friend, with Lodge even transfering the Soulton manor to him in 1556. Thomas Lodge Jr. wrote Rosalynde (1590), which is, as is well know Shakesperare’s source text for As You Like It… set in the Estate of… Old Sir Rowland de Bois (‘of the Forest’).
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So, the next time you hear about Sir Rowland Hill, remember him not just as a mayor, Bible publisher and statesman, but as a cultural influencer who helped shape the vibrant world of Elizabethan London.
