But some few years later the parish clerks of London, who had been incorporated by Henry III., performed at Skinner's Well, near Smithfield, in the presence of the king, queen, and nobles of the realm, a play which occupied three days in representation.

As Warton remarks, however, in his "History of English Poetry," the parish clerks of that time might fairly be regarded as a "literary society," if they did not precisely come under the denomination of a religious fraternity.
The religious or miracle plays soon extended their boundaries, became blended with "mummings," or "disguisings," and entertainments of pageantry.

Morals, interludes, and masques were gradually brought upon the scene.

Dancers, singers, jugglers, and minstrels became indispensable to the performances.

The Church and the Theatre drifted apart; were viewed in time as wholly independent establishments.