London’s Alleys: Bartholomew Place, EC1
This little courtyard set back from the street has an obscure history, but is thought to have a late medieval origin.
Alleys
London’s Alleys: Fernsbury Street alley, WC1
Officially, this charming little alley has no name, but I am naming it Fernsbury Street Alley, as it was almost an extension of Fernsbury Street itself.
London’s Alleys: St Alfege Passage, SE10
Next to St Alfege’s church in Greenwich is a passage, not surprisingly named after the church, but that’s a relatively recent name for a much older path.
London’s Alleys: Sugar Loaf Walk, E2
This is a rather bland, if convenient footpath in Bethnal Green, but one that marks ancient boundaries.
London’s Alleys: Blue Boar Alley, E1
This is a relatively new addition to the streets of London, being a result of post-war clearance, and some recent upgrades.
London’s Alleys: White Rose Court, E1
This insignificant little alley nonetheless has on its corner a relic of Spitalfields Jewish past.
London’s Alleys: Artillery Passage, E1
This narrow picturesque alley in Spitalfields looks old and is indeed old, far older than it looks.
London’s Alleys: Bengal Court, EC3
One of the best hidden of the City’s alleys can be found through a small gap in a corner laying within a small maze of other alleys.
London’s Alleys: Puma Court, E1
This wide and ancient alley is today a haven of heritage next to the bustling and crowded Commercial Street.
London’s Alleys: Bear Alley, EC4
That rather unpromising looking alley may be today a facilities route for offices, but its heritage is ancient.
London’s Alleys: Nottingham Court, WC2
This semi-convenient bypass for tourist central is rather modest for something named after the owner of Kensington Palace.
London’s Alleys: Emerald Court, WC1
Welcome to London’s narrowest alley, and it’s not the one that most other people say is the narrowest alley in London.
London’s Alleys: Star Alley, EC3
An ancient alley, on a modern alignment that will soon shift sideways, this is the astronomically named Star Alley.
London’s Alleys: Hayward’s Place, EC1
This is a former road now split into a road and a pedestrianised footpath, linked by a covered walkway to St John’s Street, and the site of the former Red Bull Theatre.
London’s Alleys: Middleton Place, W1
The oldest surviving purely residential walkway in the West End, Middleton Place is actually a modern name for a much older passageway.
London’s Alleys: York Place (formerly Of Alley), WC2
Welcome to York Place, for that’s its modern name, yet it used to be curiously called Of Alley, and why is was so called is just as curious as the name itself.
London’s Alleys: Blue Anchor Alley, TW9
One of the ancient paths that used to slip between fields when all around Richmond was fields and Palaces.
London’s Alleys: Devereux Court, WC2
This is a passageway that wavers from wide open court to narrow rubbish filled alley, and is named after a traitor.
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