Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

London’s Alleys and Passages - Archive Articles

A long-running series of articles about the many tiny alleys and passages that can be found all over London.

London’s Alleys: Padbury Court, E2
London’s Alleys: Padbury Court, E2

London’s Alleys: Padbury Court, E2

This mixed passageway in Bethnal Green echoes many post-war areas, lined with cobbled paving and remnants of old buildings, but also a long row of 1960s flats.

Mar
18
London’s Alleys: Red Cow Yard, EC1
London’s Alleys: Red Cow Yard, EC1

London’s Alleys: Red Cow Yard, EC1

This is an exceptionally short stump of an alley on Old Street that resembles a post-war gap where a house wasn't rebuilt until you spot the street name sign and realise it's the remains of a once slightly longer passage.

Mar
11
London’s Alleys: Coach House Yard, NW3
London’s Alleys: Coach House Yard, NW3

London’s Alleys: Coach House Yard, NW3

This small covered entrance to a small Hampstead courtyard seems to have slipped through history, leaving barely a disturbance in its wake.

Mar
04
London’s Alleys: Miniver Place, EC4
London’s Alleys: Miniver Place, EC4

London’s Alleys: Miniver Place, EC4

This is a very short alley just to the south of Mansion House tube station that was recently refurbished but also sealed off.

Feb
26
London’s Alleys: Angel Alley, E1
London’s Alleys: Angel Alley, E1

London’s Alleys: Angel Alley, E1

This is a short, characterful, dead-end alley in Whitechapel with a very rich history.

Feb
19
London’s Alleys: Streatley Place, NW3
London’s Alleys: Streatley Place, NW3

London’s Alleys: Streatley Place, NW3

This busy back alley winds through Hampstead with lots of steps and a distinctive chimney landmark to look out for.

Feb
12
Londons Alleys: Anchor Yard, EC1
Londons Alleys: Anchor Yard, EC1

Londons Alleys: Anchor Yard, EC1

This short cobbled passage off Old Street is the surviving remnant of a once much longer alley.

Feb
05
London’s Alleys: Rose and Crown Court, EC2
London’s Alleys: Rose and Crown Court, EC2

London’s Alleys: Rose and Crown Court, EC2

This is an alley close to St Paul's Cathedral that owes its origins to a long lost churchyard.

Jan
29
London’s Alleys: Cree Church Buildings, EC3
London’s Alleys: Cree Church Buildings, EC3

London’s Alleys: Cree Church Buildings, EC3

This covered passage near Aldgate leads to a courtyard that was once a garden for the neighbouring church, St Katherine Cree.

Jan
22
London’s Alleys: Old Brewery Mews, NW3
London’s Alleys: Old Brewery Mews, NW3

London’s Alleys: Old Brewery Mews, NW3

This is a Hampstead alley that gives away its history the moment you look at it, with a covered entrance proudly announcing a brewery was here.

Jan
15
London’s Alleys: White Horse Yard, EC2
London’s Alleys: White Horse Yard, EC2

London’s Alleys: White Horse Yard, EC2

This is an alley in the heart of the City that likely has been around since the Great Fire of London, but seems to have left barely an echo in the historical records.

Jan
08
London’s Alleys: Well Court, EC4
London’s Alleys: Well Court, EC4

London’s Alleys: Well Court, EC4

This is an alley near Bank in the City of London with two very different appearances because until recently, it was two separate alleys.

Dec
18
2023
London’s Alleys: Christchurch Passage, NW3
London’s Alleys: Christchurch Passage, NW3

London’s Alleys: Christchurch Passage, NW3

This is a narrow passage in Hampstead that, unsurprisingly for its name, runs past a large church, and then over a hill and back down past blocks of housing.

Dec
11
2023
London’s Alleys: Tavistock Court, WC2
London’s Alleys: Tavistock Court, WC2

London’s Alleys: Tavistock Court, WC2

This is an alley in Covent Garden I suspect many readers will know when they see it, even if they never noticed its name -- as it runs alongside the London Transport Museum.

Dec
04
2023
London’s Alleys: Golden Yard, NW3
London’s Alleys: Golden Yard, NW3

London’s Alleys: Golden Yard, NW3

This is a very well hidden and pretty courtyard space that can be found off another alley just moments from Hampstead tube station.

Nov
27
2023
London’s Alleys: John Milton Passage, EC4
London’s Alleys: John Milton Passage, EC4

London’s Alleys: John Milton Passage, EC4

This is a short modern passage near St Paul's Cathedral, obviously named after the English poet, John Milton, most famous for his 1667 epic, Paradise Lost.

Nov
20
2023
London’s Alleys: Well Passage, NW3
London’s Alleys: Well Passage, NW3

London’s Alleys: Well Passage, NW3

This is a steep alley between grand houses in Hampstead, and is notable for the medicinal well at the bottom of the slope.

Nov
13
2023
London’s Alleys: Church Path, SW14
London’s Alleys: Church Path, SW14

London’s Alleys: Church Path, SW14

This is the remains of a once much longer path that later lost its southern half and would once have linked two main roads running through Mortlake in south London

Nov
06
2023
London’s Alleys: Globe Yard, W1
London’s Alleys: Globe Yard, W1

London’s Alleys: Globe Yard, W1

This is a narrow slip of a passage that runs behind some of the posh shops on Mayfair's South Molton Street.

Oct
30
2023
London’s Alleys: Cockpit Yard, WC1
London’s Alleys: Cockpit Yard, WC1

London’s Alleys: Cockpit Yard, WC1

This is a rough looking former stables mews that today is a mix of municipal yard and arts centre.

Oct
23
2023
London’s Alleys: Buckingham Arcade, WC2
London’s Alleys: Buckingham Arcade, WC2

London’s Alleys: Buckingham Arcade, WC2

This covered passage runs through a block of buildings on Strand, giving access to the grander buildings behind.

Oct
16
2023
London’s Alleys: St Michael’s Alley, EC3
London’s Alleys: St Michael’s Alley, EC3

London’s Alleys: St Michael’s Alley, EC3

This winding passage snakes around a cluster of alleys in the City and is probably more famous for the former coffee house that can be found here.

Oct
09
2023
London’s Alleys: Plumtree Court, EC4
London’s Alleys: Plumtree Court, EC4

London’s Alleys: Plumtree Court, EC4

This is a fairly wide modern rebuild of an old alley near Holborn that came into existence around 300 years ago.

Oct
02
2023
London’s Alleys: Langley Court, WC2
London’s Alleys: Langley Court, WC2

London’s Alleys: Langley Court, WC2

This is an annoying alley in Covent Garden that's been here for centuries and left scarcely a mark in the history books.

Sep
25
2023