London’s Alleys and Passages - Archive Articles

London’s Alleys: Barnard’s Inn, EC1

Through a small gap in the line of shops and offices of Holborn can be found a medieval enclave of learning.

London’s Alleys: Turk’s Head Yard, EC1

This rather shabby looking car park of an alley is a lingering remnant of a time when the area was filled with old warehouses and factories.

London’s Alleys: Marigold Alley, SE1

This is a short modern alley that's actually much older than it looks, and in the wrong place. Oh, and gargoyles.

London’s Alleys: Wilks Place, N1

This is a tiny stump of a lane that was once much longer, and vastly busier, for on it was the entrance to a Victorian music hall. Wilks Place first seems to appear on a John Rocque map of 1746,…

London’s Alleys: Frimley Street, E1

This short narrow alley seems oddly named, for streets tend to be large and wide -- but it's actually a lingering remnant of a lost road.

London’s Alleys: Nun Court, EC2

This is an alley with a very grand entrance that leads to a tiny dead end back passage that seems at first glance quite insignificant.

London’s Alleys: Crown Court, EC2

This dead-end of a rather posh looking alley is claimed to have royal connections in medieval times.

London’s Alleys: Queen’s Yard, W1

At the top of Tottenham Court Road this most appropriately named alley was until recently home to the government's private art collection.

London’s Alleys: Argyle Walk, WC1

Sometimes you come across an alley that looks interesting, but is probably new, but turns out to be ancient.

London’s Alleys: Crawford Passage, EC1

This alley just around the corner from Farringdon Station is the famous one with the weird double yellow lines.

London’s Alleys: Moorgate Place, EC2

A short alley with a narrow covered passage that then curves around to a grand street with impressive buildings.

London’s Alleys: Tokenhouse Yard, EC2

This alley is both long and grand, but also has an utterly delightful narrow tunnel at one end.

London’s Alleys: Barbers Alley, E13

This long wide alley was an alley turned into a road and now back into an alley and passes to the north of a now demolished Tudor mansion in Plaistow.

London’s Alleys: Corbet Place, E1

This is a narrow passage in Spitalfields that's the legacy of slum clearances in Victorian times.

London’s Alleys: Long’s Court, WC2

This is one of those alleys that exist today purely to give access to back entrances and store rubbish. Yet it was once lined with houses and offices, and a very famous occupant.

London’s Alleys: St Benet’s Place, EC3

The alley is named after the former parish of St Benet de Garscherche, later St Benet Gracechurch, a long since demolished City church.

London’s Alleys: Dollar Bay Place, E14

This is an old alley route through the docks, with a name that's both a WW2 legacy, and a recently built tower block.

London’s Alleys: Crescent Row, EC1

This is a curving narrow lane that runs behind rows of houses and offices just to the north of the Barbican estate.

London’s Alleys: Keppel Row, SE1

Keppel Row is a formerly dingy alley in Southwark that's been recently refurbished.

London’s Alleys: Hand Court, WC1

This is a modern looking alley that runs off Holborn, but like many of the area can date its origins to medieval London.

London’s Alleys: Exchange Court, WC2

This is of the many little alleys that lead off from Strand as a legacy of the times the area was first developed.

London’s Alleys: Hare Place, EC4

What looks like a short gap under some shops is an alley that used to be so much longer than it is today.

London’s Alleys: Tower Court, WC2

This is a quiet little space just a heartbeat from the bustling Covent Garden.

London’s Alleys: Angel Court, SW1

You're looking at the picture below and thinking this alley is going to be all about the pretty pub, but no, it's the boring snoring office block next door that's the protagonist in this alley tale.