In 1649 the arrears of the lessees having reached the sum of L974 5_s._ 8_d._, the authorities of the College took formal possession of the playhouse. From certain manuscript notes[477] entered in the Phillipps copy of Stow's _Annals_ (1631), we learn that "a company of soldiers, set on by the sectaries of these sad times, on Saturday, the 24 day of March, 1649," sacked the Salisbury Court Playhouse, the Phoenix, and the Fortune. The note states that the Fortune was "pulled down on the inside by the soldiers"; that is, the stage and the seats were dismantled[478] so as to render the building unusable for dramatic purposes. [Footnote 477: Printed in _The Academy_, October 28, 1882, p. 314.] [Footnote 478: See _The Journals of the House of Commons_, July 26, 1648.] In the following year, 1650, the inhabitants of the Parish of St. Giles "represent that they are poor, and unable to build a place of worship for themselves, but think it would be convenient if that large building commonly known by the name of the Fortune Playhouse might be allotted and set apart for that purpose." The request was not granted.[479] [Footnote 479: Warner, _Catalogue_, XXXI; Greg, _Henslowe's Diary_, II, 65.] By July, 1656, the condition of the old playhouse was such that the Masters and Wardens of the College appointed two experts to view the building and make recommendations. They reported "that by reason the lead hath been taken from the said building, the tiling not secured, and the foundation of the said playhouse not kept in good repair, great part of the said playhouse is fallen to the ground, the timber thereof much decayed and rotten, and the brick walls so rent and torn that the whole structure is in no condition capable of repair, but in great danger of falling, to the hazard of passengers' lives"; and they add: "The charge for demolishing the same will be chargeable and dangerous. Upon these considerations our opinion is that the said materials may not be more worth than eighty pound."[480] [Footnote 480: The entire report is printed in Greg, _Henslowe Papers_, p. 95.] The authorities of Dulwich took no action on this report. However, on March 5, 1660, they ordered that the property be leased, making a casual reference to the playhouse as "at present so ruinous that part thereof is already fallen down, and the rest will suddenly follow." Accordingly, they inserted in the _Mercurius Politicus_ of February 14-21, 1661, the following advertisement: "The Fortune Playhouse, situate between Whitecross Street and Golding Lane, in the parish of St. Giles, Cripplegate, with the ground thereto belonging, is to be let to be built upon."[481]