Talbot Court was next to the Talbot Inn until the Great Fire of London.
A ’talbot’ was a long-extinct large breed of hound and a favoured dog for tracking and hunting.
Nevertheless, there is no conclusive evidence to the origin of its name but the Talbot as it stood in Gracechurch Street was one of a whole array of inns and taverns, about ten in all, between here to Threadneedle Street.
Talbot Court is cobbled as it leaves Gracechurch Street through a modern square archway, turning southwards at a right angle to link with Eastcheap.
The Ship public house has now taken over dominance in the Court, a very popular resort on summery evenings when crowds of ale-swilling workers congregate and block the way.