The Globe Theatre Fire: One Of The Most Famous Thatch Fires

Class A Fire Rating

The Globe Theatre in London was where Shakespeare’s playing company the Lord Chamberlain’s Men performed. The Globe Theatre was built in six months beginning in 1597. It opened in 1599 and could seat almost 3,000 people. Additionally, it had space for another thousand people at the base of the stage. It’s among the most famous of thatched roof structures and it was also the site of one of the most famous, isolated thatch fires too.

1613 Thatch Fire At The Globe Theatre

The players used cannons, fireworks, and smoke effects for effects and paid little attention to fire safety. See, the roof of the balcony was made of straw thatch! In 1613, on June 29th, cannons fired for a scene in Henry VIII. Then, one misfired and the thatching was set ablaze! Within just a couple of hours, the entire house was ruined.

Recreating History

In 1997, around the same time Endureed launched, Shakespeare’s Globe was built. Honoring history, this theater is a safer reconstruction of the historic Globe Theatre. Still, it only seats less than half the people its predecessor did. Shakespeare’s Globe featured the first thatched roof permitted in the city of London since the Great Fire of 1666. It is regularly treated with flame retardants and features installed sprinklers.

The Safest Thatched Roof

At Endureed, we find also beauty in historic thatched roofs. We engineered our roofing products to fully replicate the look at feel of historic thatched roof structures like The Globe. See, we also strive to honor history, but with an even greater emphasis on safety. Our synthetic thatch earned a Class A Fire Rating. Plus, it outperforms treated natural thatch and competitor’s synthetic thatch in fire safety tests.

There are many reasons why we first created synthetic thatching. See, its history as a beautiful backdrop in human society will always appeal to people at a deep ancestral level. Yet, its historic failings, such as the famous thatch fire that destroyed The Globe, demanded a safer material. The fact remains that thatch fires are still incredibly dangerous, even with proper flame retardant use. Endureed synthetic thatch roofing materials allow this piece of our collective human history to persist while satisfying modern safety requirements.

We committed ourselves to designing the most authentic-looking thatch possible, so that this historic building material didn’t fade into antiquity. And we succeeded.