Our most humble duties to your Grace remembred. Whereas by the daily and disorderlie exercise of a number of players and playing houses erected within this Citie, the youth thereof is greatly corrupted and their manners infected with many evill and ungodly qualities by reason of the wanton and prophane devises represented on the stages by the said players, the prentices and servants withdrawen from their works and all sorts in generall from the daylie resort unto sermons and other Christian exercises to the great hinderance of the trades and traders of this Citie and prophanation of the good and godly religion established amongst us. To which places also do usually resort great numbers of light and lewd disposed persons as harlotts, cutpurses, coseners, pilferers and such like and there under the colour of resort to those places to hear the playes devise divers evill and ungodly matches, confederacies and conspiracies, which by means of the oppotunitie of the place cannot bee prevented nor discovered, as otherwise they might bee. In consideration whereof we most humbly beseach your Grace for your godly care for the refourming of so great abuses tending to the offence of Almightie God, the prophanation and sclaunder of his true religion and the corrupting of our youth, which are the seed of the Church of God and the common wealth among us, to vouchsafe us your good favour and help for the refourming and banishing of so great evill out of this Citie, which ourselves of long time though to small purpose have so earnestly desired and endeavoured by all means that possibly wee could. And bycause we understand that the Queen’s Majestie is and must bee served at certen times by this sort of people, for which purpose she hath graunted her letters Patents to Mr. Tilney, Master of her Revells, by virtue whereof he beeing authorised to refourm exercise or suppresse all manner of players, playes and playing houses whatsoever, did first license the said playing houses within this Citie for her Majesty’s said service, which before that time lay open to all the statutes for the punishing of these and such lyke disorders. We ar most humbly and earnestly to beseech your Grace to call unto you the said Master of her Majesty’s Revells, with whom also we have conferred of late to that purpose, and to treat with him, if by any means it may be devised that her Majesty may be served with these recreations as hath been accustomed, which in our opinions may easily be done by the private exercise of her Majesty’s own players in convenient place and the Citie freed from these continuall disorders, which thereby do grow and increase daily among us. Whereby your Grace shall not only benefit and bind unto you the politic state and government of this Citie, which by no one thing is so greatly annoyed and disquieted as by players and playes and the disorders which follow thereupon, but allso take away a great offence from the Church of God and hinderance to his gospell, to