This alley has the distinction of being involved indirectly in King Henry’s break from Rome and appeared in Pepys’ diary. What makes it doubly interesting is that it is in the wrong place.
The alley though is named after a famous and long-lived pub that was located near the current site, the Popes Heade Tavern, which can be traced back to at least 1465, and lasted well into the 18th century. It’s said that the pub was renamed the Bishops Head for a short while during King Henry VIII’s break from Rome but renamed back when things calmed down.
Pepy’s Diary mentions the pub, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and later rebuilt, as a venue for some business dealings he had as well as dining with friends.
What’s most curious though is that all old maps show the alley as being directly opposite Post Office Court, but today it’s a few yards to the East. Comparing the old maps, the current site of the alley was fully occupied by other buildings, so no alley could have been there. The alley, in its correct location, was actually lined with a number of printers and shops, and had a reputation for being an area favoured by children for its early toy shops. The alley today is fairly blunt, a modern strip that offers a convenient shortcut of no huge significance.
However, it rewards a closer study.
From the rather grand carving of the alley name in the stone above the entrances, this is an alley where eyes should be elevated.
Notice the bronze carving of a Pope’s Head on side, and one the other a frieze of beehives, a traditional symbol associated with the Papacy.
What seems likely to be the remains of the late 1920s building with glazed tiles sits in the middle of the alley, with a good section of metal fencing illustrated with the image of a horse, probably from the time when the site was occupied by Lloyds Bank for their headquarters.
So this otherwise ordinary modern alley has a few interesting touches to it. I just wish we knew why it was moved, probably around the late 1920s when the current building was erected on the site. If the alley was important enough to preserve, why not important enough to preserve on its original location?
In fact, the distance between the old and new locations is the equivalent of an old block of houses, so there is a question as to whether it should have been given a totally new name — maybe “New Popes Head Alley” to clearly signify that it is not the old alley, which no longer exists.
Most odd.
I’m liking this series on London’s alleys a lot – thanks Ian. Can I make a couple of suggestions for future posts please? They would be the very practical elevated walkway on the east side of Charing Cross station that takes you away from the throng of Villiers Street and the alley that runs through the Harringey Ladder – a landmark in the locality, but only if you’re looking at a map.
I think the Mystery of Pope’s Head Alley is easily solved – looking at the Lombard Street elevation of the 1930’s building, it’s clear that the original alley was simply in the way of the new building which has an almost-symmetrical design, with the relocated Pope’s Head Alley at the western end and Change Alley at the eastern end. Perhaps there was an insistence or a gentleman’s agreement that the original name was retained? Incidentally the original alignment was demolished between 1927 & 1929 according to this book: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=sPLExnmXvCYC&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=pope%27s+head+alley+demolished+1927&source=bl&ots=4n0Jtmz0zz&sig=Kg1MpuBWi0BDHk1yX5nEDFYHkKc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6i4KYmODTAhUJ2yYKHavTAcUQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=pope's%20head%20alley%20demolished%201927&f=false
Looks like Lloyd’s Bank also produced a souvenir book about their new headquarters, which might mention something about Pope’s Head Alley: https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/twixt-lombard-street/author/lloyds-bank/
I really enjoy these bits of lost secret ways through the streets of London. They are terrific quests and excuses to wander…thank you.
Bee hives were also associated with thrift and appear as symbols on some older Cooperative shops and banks.
The Beehive was actually the original sign for Lloyds Bank
The Black Horse was used by Barnetts, Hoares, Hanbury & Co., which merged with Lloyds in 1884
As Lloyds themselves put it: ‘With the merger complete, [Lloyds] was happy to add this prestigious and ancient banking symbol to its own beehive logo. The two were used, often side by side, until the 1930s, when the beehive was finally eclipsed by the horse.’
https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/Our-Group/our-heritage/2015-our-milestone-year/250-years-of-lloyds-bank/life-at-lloyds-bank/at-the-sign-of-the-black-horse/
I used to live on Grotto Passage in Marylebone, the entrance to which has been described as the narrowest street in London — not sure if that’s true but it’s impossible for two people to pass through it at the same time. The name has been associated with the alleged location of a shell grotto on the site but I’ve never been able to verify that.
It was Pepys who wrote the diary which you quoted. His name’s wasn’t Pepy. So it should be Pepys’s or Pepys’ diary.