London’s Alleys and Passages - Archive Articles

London’s Alleys: Rose and Crown Yard, SW1

This is a large yard hidden behind a covered walkway in posh St James that may have been named after an old coaching inn, but no one is entirely sure.

London’s Alleys: Wild Court, WC2

This is a slip of a passage near Holborn that provides little today other than back doors and rubbish bins, but once lead to a grand mansion house.

London’s Alleys: Jerusalem Passage, EC1

This short passageway owes its origins to the Clerkenwell Priory that dominated the area and was home to the Monastic Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem (and try saying that in a hurry).

London’s Alleys: Orchard Place, SW1

This is a brand new alley in central London that sits on a former orchard and was much later the brutalist police headquarters of New Scotland Yard.

London’s Alleys: Underhill Passage, NW1

This is a busy alley off Camden's main shops that has a long and at times confusing history.

London’s Alleys: Havelock Walk, SE23

A short walk from Forest Hill station is this old mews that's now a haven for artists who have taken its long row of former warehouse buildings.

Sealed off Thames riverside path reopens to the public

A section of the Thames riverside that has been closed for 20 years reopened today and completed a long desire to open up the Thames path along the entire width of the City of London.

London’s Alleys: Cut Throat Alley, TW10

This is a long narrow alley near Richmond that's hemmed in with tall walls and certainly looks at first glance to be very deserving of its name of Cut Throat Alley.

London’s Alleys: Alan Cheales Way, NW5

This is an alley in Belsize Park that slips in between St Dominic's Priory Church and the neighbouring school, and dates from when they were built.

The 300th London alley article

It's hard to believe it, but last week was the 300th in a surprisingly long-running series on the history and description of London's alleys and passages.

London’s Alleys: Craig’s Court, SW1

This is a narrow passageway off bustling Whitehall leading to a large quiet courtyard and is reputed to be the location for a secret tunnel, and a parliamentary mishap.

London’s Alleys: Pigsty Alley, SE10

This is a very narrow and steep alley in the side streets of Greenwich, which was longer and steeper than it is today.

London’s Alleys: Jacob’s Well Mews, W1

This is a mixed mews near Oxford Street and hidden behind a 1970s office block that boasts some very odd architecture, and some Wombles.

London’s Alleys: Magpie Alley, EC4

This is a small alley just off Fleet Street in the City, but one that's richly decorated with historic tiles telling the story of the newspaper trade that used to dominate the area.

London’s Alleys: Kendall Place, W1

This is an alley that passes through a block to the north of Oxford Street, and half of the block is owned by a single family.

London’s Alleys: Bells Alley, SW6

This tree lined alley in Parson's Green is quite annoying as hardly anything seems to be known about it.

London’s Alleys: Queen’s Gate Place Mews, SW7

This is a grand looking mews that sits close to the Natural History Museum and is unusual in that it's one of the widest mews in South Kensington.

London’s Alleys: Dangoor Walk, NW1

This is a fairly new alley that opened up a route across land that had been closed to the public for over 140 years.

London’s Alleys: James Court, W1

This is a fairly new open courtyard and alleyway that replaced a small sealed off cul-de-sac as part of a large redevelopment of the former Foyles bookstore.

London’s Alleys: Sicilian Avenue, WC1

This avenue in Holborn is a modern addition to the area - by London's standards that is, as it dates from 1910. Before that, the area was a conventional block of shops and houses having been developed by the 1670s.

London’s Alleys: Bleeding Heart Yard, EC1

This is a cobbled yard in Holborn surrounded on most sides by old warehouse buildings and may have been named after an old pub, or a murder.

London’s Alleys: Stanhope Mews East, SW7

This is a former stables mews that's now expensive homes a stones through from South Kensington's museums.

London’s Alleys: Sedley Place, W1

This is a modern looking alley next to Oxford Street, that thanks to ancient debts, is owned by the City of London, but is also the site of possibly the most expensive clerical error in human history.

London’s Alleys: Langthorn Court, EC2

This is a short alley hidden around the back of city offices that has a very confusing history over the roughly 400 years it has existed.