Page "Blackfriars Theatre" Paragraph 5

For his playing company, Farrant combined his Windsor children with the Children of the Chapel Royal, then directed by William Hunnis.

On Farrant's death in 1580, Hunnis took on John Newman as a partner and they subleased the property from Farrant's widow, putting up a ₤ 100 bond on the promise to promptly pay the rent and to make needed repairs.

But the venture did not go well financially, which put Farrant's widow in jeopardy of defaulting on the rent to More.

In November 1583, Farrant brought suit against Hunnis and Newman for default on the bond.

To escape a suit by her or More, Hunnis and Newman transferred their sublease to Henry Evans, a Welsh scrivener and theatrical affectionado.

This unauthorized assignment of the sublease gave More an excuse to bring suit to retake possession of the property, but More used legal delays and finally escaped legal action by selling the sublease to Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, sometime after Michaelmas Term ( November ) of 1583, who then gave it to his secretary, the writer John Lyly.