The alleyways and courtyards of London: L

Lamb’s Passage EC1

Lamb’s Passage owes its origin – or rather its present name – to Thomas Lamb, who chose to earn his daily crust by the process of applying specially formulated gum to course linen material and was thus he was called a buckram maker. He took up residence here in the late 18th century when it went under the name of Great Swordbearers Alley – presumably identifying the home of some military gentleman – and moved on to pastures new (heavenly or earthly, I know not) in 1813, the year his name was applied to the Passage. It is beyond the limits of on-hand information to look up the financial rewards a buckram maker would expect to reap for his services but whilst he was in this quarter he was charged with an enthusiastic inspiration to assist the poor of the neighbourhood. By some means he raised sufficient funds to build a block of tenements on adjacent ground for their well being and comfort; they subsequently came to be known as Lamb’s Buildings.

Over the years Mr Lamb’s old stomping ground has descended a good few rungs on the pleasant places ladder and now rests somewhere between semi-neglected and dog-eared-with-potential. The dominating, characterless City and Islington College adds nothing to enhance the graces of the Passage but if its dismal walls were not here they would be casting a dark shadow on some otherwise cheerful little spot. Offering a somewhat more acceptable credential is the small office building of the Catholic Herald and adjacent to this, Priest’s House, the presbytery to St Joseph’s Roman Catholic church which lies to the rear of the house.

Lamb’s Conduit Passage WC1
UG: Holborn
Bus: 8 25 19 38 55 68 91 168 188 153 171 196 505
From Holborn Station cross to the north side of Holborn and cross to the east side of Southampton Row. Cross Catton Street and turn right into Fisher Street. At the end of Fisher Street, in Red Lion Square cross to the diagonal north-east corner of the Square by Conway Hall. Here is Lamb’s Conduit Passage.
In 1577 William Lamb, a clothworker by trade but musician by profession, repaired at his own expense of £1500 the old conduit, or water duct, which fed water to Smithfield, from a spring at Holborn. His generous deed is commemorated not only in the Passage but also in Lamb’s Conduit Street to the north of here.

On the corner of the Passage the foliage draped Dolphin Tavern provides outside tables for the clientele on those sweltering summery days. However, you must not expect the panoramic view to equal that of a quaint old village inn – this is after all only a few steps from the main thoroughfare of Theobald’s Road. Further along the Passage the British Humanist Association have their base and on the south-west corner is Conway Hall, home of the South Place Ethical Society, a liberal religious organisation formed in 1793.

From Conway Hall the Passage opens out into the long and narrow Red Lion Square, laid out in about 1684 by Nicholas Barbon. It took its name from the Red Lion Inn, a large thriving hostelry that occupied a site near to the Pearl Assurance Building in Holborn. In 1661 the bodies of Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton and John Bradshaw were exhumed from Westminster Abbey and carried to the Red Lion where they waited over night. The next day they were dragged on sledges to Tyburn, beheaded and burnt near to the gallows. At some stage this small piece of history was corrupted into the belief that Cromwell was buried in Red Lion Square – its only foundation is in the minds of those who were swayed by the tale.

Lancashire Court W1
UG: Bond Street
Bus: Any to Bond Street station
Lancashire Court is off the west side of New Bond Street, between Brook Street and Grosvenor Street, or about 280 yds south of Oxford Street.
It comes as something of a surprise when you find this little cluster of shops hiding behind the great jewellery houses of New Bond Street. On the right is the Little Mayfair Sandwich Bar and Bond Street Print and Graphics. The Court opens out into a small yard recently formed from a stretch of Avery Row. Here is the Chick Chack Café serving all day breakfasts and the Mayfair Hairdressing Salon. The origin of the name, Lancashire, is obscure but possibly originates from a trader having connections with that county.

Although short in length and totally devoid of ornamental buildings to show off, Lancashire Court is a pleasant place. It provides a temporary escape from the perhaps overpowering sparkle of New Bond Street. Here there are a couple of recently renovated gas lamps, now converted to electricity. There are also telephone kiosks in the Court.
Langley Court WC2
UG: Leicester Square
Bus: 1 14 19 24 29 38 176
From Leicester Square Station (Charing Cross Road east side) walk east along Cranbourne Street and continue across St Martin’s Lane into Long Acre. Langley Court is about 210 yds on the right.
Long Acre marks the northern boundary of the 40 acre convent garden of the Abbey of Westminster, acquired by the first Earl of Bedford in 1552. The Court, originally constructed about 1615 on land leased from the Earl, was first known as Blackamoor Alley and only a few years later it was recorded as Leg Alley. When Sir Roger Langley, a barrister of the Inner Temple, acquired the lease on a piece of land crossing Long Acre in 1715 he built his house on the site of Langley Street, on the opposite side of Long Acre. To the south of his house he built new properties and renovated old ones; Leg Alley was subsequently changed to Langley Court.

Although there are no relics of bygone days down Langley Court it is a moderately satisfying passage; not too narrow, yet not too wide. There ia a variety of about half a dozen shops along the way, as the Court passes unhindered by twist or turn towards Floral Street.

Lazenby Court WC2
UG: Leicester Square
Bus: 1 24 29 176
From Leicester Square station (Charing Cross Road east side) walk along Cranbourn Street and cross St Martin’s Lane. Walk down Garrick Street. On the left turn into Floral Street and cross Rose Street. Lazenby Court is then a few yds on the right.
lazenby.jpg (8022 bytes)Lazenby Court survives on one of the bits of land sold off by the fourth Earl of Bedford in 1635, although its name is of a later date. Squalor and poverty of the most terrible kind existed in the Court and the adjoining Rose Street right up to the late 19th century. Multiple families dwelt in the cellars of houses, each tiny room providing accommodation for up to twenty or more people. Illness and disease were common place and in the damp and filthy conditions child deaths occurred daily. For the few men who had work, the return for their unskilled efforts was meagre and wayside thugs usually stole what little they earned as they trudged home on pay-day. Women, on the verge of despair, nightly left their crying and frail children to earn a few pence in the brothels of Rose Street. In the mid 19th century it was reported that water was available on only four days of the week and that it was polluted and unfit for drinking. Understandably, the area was high on the list of London’s cholera infested districts.

When development of the area commenced, about 1639, one of the first buildings to be erected was on the site of the Lamb and Flag public house at number 33 Rose Street. In 1688, when Lazenby Court was constructed, this house was demolished and rebuilt in such a way as to accommodate the passage beneath the first floor rooms. However, the house existed as a private residence until 1771 when it opened as a tavern under the name of the Cooper’s Arms. So sordid was its reputation that it became known as the ‘Bucket of Blood’. It is reputed that John Dryden, the writer, only escaped murder by the skin of his teeth when, leaving the tavern one night, he was set upon by ruffians in the dark passage. But as Dryden died in 1700 his witnesses were probably as pie-eyed as he was and mistook the location; he quite evidently must have spent the evening in some other hostelry. That old trudger of London streets, Dickens, is said to have popped in at the Lamb from time to time, but then 90% of London’s pubs claim the honour and if all are to be believed, Mrs Chivery and Daniel Quilp would have remained a lost figment of his drunken imagination. The tavern was renamed the Lamb and Flag in 1833.

Lazenby Court remains today much the same as it always has; sufficiently narrow to hinder the progress of two people meeting along the way, and as for headroom, it will suffice to say that the lanky will duck or grouse. Along the passage a door opens into the saloon bar of the pub, the scene of many a bout of fisticuffs but now a most respectable place shielding the scars of bygone days beneath an ample camouflage of cheerful old-worldiness. With its close proximity to Covent Garden and St Martin’s Lane the Lamb and Flag attracts a variety of clientele, ranging from actors and opera singers to market traders and market browsers. Despite the confliction of dates the management have latched onto the Dryden episode and named a room after the author.

Leake Court SE1
UG: Waterloo
Bus: 70 76 155 171
From Waterloo Station walk south along York Road. Cross Leake Street and in about 100 yds turn left into Addington Street. Where the road bares right continue straight on and Leake Court is on the left
During the life of every man and woman there comes a time when the daily chores become so weighty and tedious, sometimes leading to despair. These are the times when we need to call a halt to the incoming pressures that increase hour by hour, overloading the system with an unrelenting burden hanging around the neck like a two ton millstone. Headaches, blurred vision, acute lethargy, inattentiveness, gross misery, despondence, severe depression – Oh the pain of it all. Before the standard of life reaches such a low, intolerable level and the amber warning light turns to red it is time to call a halt and take stock. At this juncture, in the modern world, we would probably drop everything and hop on the next flight to the Seychelles or some other exotic get-away-from-it-all resort, but 200 years ago that would not have been quite so flippantly achieved. Even a short journey to the countryside could be a counter-productive, stressful experience and if the day of departure was inclement, the wind, rain and cold might have had an adverse effect resulting in pneumonia and death. In an effort to combat the problem Dr John Leake founded a sort of holiday hospital which he called the General Lying-in Hospital, where a few days could be spent in gathering ones thoughts and taking it easy while someone else got wound into a frenzy looking after the ‘patients’ daily needs and listening to their incessant tales of woe.

The hospital first opened on a site near to Westminster Bridge in 1767 and was transferred to a site near to Leake Street on York Road in 1828. Leake Court is a tributary that runs beneath the railway arches of Waterloo Station and emerges into Addington Street.

Leicester Court WC2
UG: Leicester Square
Bus: 1 24 29 176
Leicester Court is off the north side of Cranbourn Street between Leicester Square Station and Leicester Square.
Much of the building work on the Duke of Bedford’s estate was carried out by one family, over three generations. Richard Ryder, the elder; Richard Ryder, his son and Richard Ryder, grandson of the elder. All three were employed by the Duke’s as estate surveyors. It was the last of the three Richard’s who held a building lease on a plot of ground to the north of Cranbourn Street in the late 17th century. Leicester Court, which was originally named Ryder Court after him, adopted its new name as recently as 1935.

Leicester Court is only a stones throw away from bustling Leicester Square and as though to put over an image of keeping up with its touristy rigged neighbours the southern part is neatly brick paved, whilst moving somewhat away from the beaten track it seems that dull Tarmac will do. It is a plain Court with no outstanding characteristics, save that of the Crystal Amusement Rooms on the corner of Cranbourne Street.

Leo Yard EC1
UG: Farringdon
Bus: As Passing Alley
Follow the directions for Passing Alley but continue along St John Street and cross Clerkenwell Road then cross to the east side of St John Street and Leo Yard is immediately on the right.
Many years ago the Red Lion Inn stood adjacent to this Yard, and now the site is occupied by a bead and breakfast establishment of somewhat different character – the Priory Hotel. Displayed in the window of the shop fronted facade a notice reads ‘rooms from £20 nightly’. It may not be the most palatial accommodation in London but would you really expect en suite and silver service for a few quid?

As the name sign on the wall tells us, Leo Yard was formerly Red Lion Yard; it was the delivery area of the inn, where empty ale casks were stacked and where the shaggy dray horses hauled the full ones for unloading. A typical feature of inn yards were the cobble stones set into the ground to prevent the horses from slipping. Whilst most of the yards which once belonged to inns and taverns now have modern paving, Leo Yard has been spared the Tarmac and still retains its cobbles.

When a thoroughfare has its name changed, we can very often assume that it has been done to avoid confusion with another place of the same name and in this case that other place was probably the yard of the Red Lion which once stood in Britton Street. However, when we consider that that tavern and its yard were demolished many years before the name change occurred, the mind gets just a little boggled. Perhaps the change was purely of an affectionate nature, or could it have been based on more learned thinking; every Latin scholar will know that ‘lion’ is the derivative of ‘leo’.

Leopards Court EC1
UG: Chancery Lane
Bus: 17 18 45 46 171A 243 259
From Chancery Lane Station turn into Gray’s Inn Road and in about 165 yds turn right into Baldwin’s Gardens. Leopards Court is about 160 yds on the left, just before Leather Lane.
A Court situated on the edge of Leather Lane Market, an area identified by John Stow in 1598 as being far from salubrious. Although lying a mere stride away from the jewellery mecca of Hatton Garden there is still a vaguely recognisable association with Stow’s observation. Traders have been setting up their stalls here since the 16th century and while Stow probably saw the rough edge of its teething problems, it now functions as a well-organised weekday event for about two hours either side of mid-day. Right up to the early part of the 20th century the problem of unlawful hawking hovered over the market, arising out of a clause in the traders agreement. Because of the narrowness at the southern end of Leather Lane there was a strictly adhered to ruling that market stalls were not to be erected along that stretch. Nevertheless, during the busy lunchtime period traders laid out their pitches there with an ever open eye for the copper on the beat. As soon as one was spotted they were gone as though in a mind-boggling sleight of hand.

To the north and west of Leopards Court the scenery is dominated by row upon row of council owned flats. They are partly on the site of a cluster of houses built in 1590 by Richard Baldwin, gardener to Elizabeth I. In 1690 the properties were sold to a Mr Leigh whose family maintained them until the early 1900’s – hence Leigh Place, almost opposite to the Court.

Try, as I have to discover the origin of Leopards Court, every turn has resulted in a vacant blank. I can only conclude that the identity of whoever or whatever instigated the naming of this Court must have submerged into the abyss of time and there it must rest.

Lime Street Passage EC3
UG: Monument
Bus: 8A 15A 25 35 47 48
From Monument Station take the underpass to Gracechurch Street/King William Street. Walk along the east side of Gracechurch Street and turn right into Fenchurch Street. In about 80 yds turn left into Lime Street. Pass Ship Tavern Passage and Lime Street Passage is immediately on the left.
This is a passage, which like a piercing needle leads right into the hub of Leadenhall Market – a sight not altogether expected in the centre of financial London. As it departs from Lime Street the introduction is gentle, having the air of a street market without the stalls. Sweeping round the gradual bend where unpretentious shops fit in haphazardly on either side the gentility takes a giant leap and turns to one magnanimous spectacle of ornamental iron-work, pillars and stone adornments.

Lime Street and its Passage first appeared in records in the late 12th century. A place where the building lime traders congregated.

Little Dorrit Court SE1
UG: Borough
Bus: 10 21 35 40 95 133 184
From Borough Station turn into Marshalsea Road. On the right cross Disney Place and then turn right into Redcross Way. Cross Disney Street and Little Dorrit Court is about 40 yds on the right.
Charles Dickens knew Southwark well and he must have walked the alleys and courts around here numerous times, for he featured many of them in his books. Only through personal knowledge could he have illustrated them in such accurate detail. Many of the landmarks of Southwark are also featured in Dickens. Not far from here is the church of St George the Martyr where his character, Little Dorrit was baptised and in later years married. ‘And they were married, with the sun shining on them through the painted figure of Our Saviour on the window.’ St Saviour’s Dock was Dickens choice of setting when he wrote ‘Oliver Twist’ and The White Hart, pulled down in 1889, was the place chosen for the meeting between Mr Pickwick and Sam Weller. His inspiration for writing ‘Little Dorrit’, centred so much around the Marshalsea prison, must have come from the time when his own father was detained there because of bad debts. During this time Dickens was working for a boot-polish maker and lodged in Lant Street so as to be conveniently near to the prison.

The ring of the name Little Dorrit Court kicks into action all the cerebral cogs to churn out a mental picture of beautifully kept old buildings, antique nick-nacks and old gentlemen in stovepipe hats. It might have once been that sort of place but the aura of Dickensian Southwark certainly does not cast its shadow along this path any more. Spoiling the only possible escape to pleasantries is an ugly iron grill separating the Court from a small grassed area with trees and seating, all enclosed by a depressing brick wall. Supplementing the greenery are the weeds sprouting from cracks in the plain rough concrete and dull modern flagstones. Unquestionably, a court of selective appeal

If you wander around the area to the north and west of Borough Station you will find several streets commemorating the famous characters of Charles Dickens; Quilp Street, Weller Street, Pickwick Street, Copperfield Street, Doyce Street, Dorrit Street and, of course, Little Dorrit Court.

Lombard Court EC4
UG: Monument/Bank
Bus: 9 10 15 23 25 40
From Monument Station walk north along the west side of Gracechurch Street. The court is about 80 yds on the left.
There can be few Britons who in the course of their happy wanderings about the City, browsing through the Sunday business section, or sorting out personal finances have never heard of big sister Lombard Street. And shame on the accountant who raises up hesitant doubts of immediate recognition at its mention, for Lombard Street is the alternative definition of banking. Here we are treated to a most colourful display of the decorative hanging signs representing most of the major banks.

It was all started in the 12th century by a community of Jewish traders who set up their businesses in the area as moneylenders. However, it was not all milk and honey; the Jews endured rough treatment from the public for what was seen as their profiteering methods. Successive governments had hated them, always seeking ways to put them down, and finally, in 1290, the entire community was banished from trading and expelled from the country. Over 10,000 families were sought out, their houses and possessions were all confiscated and the Crown made a handsome profit from the sale.

For the Lombards, the timing was just right; Italy was in the grip of severe problems and many countrymen fled to the shores of England, eventually settling in London. They were an enterprising lot and set up their old trades of Jewellers, gold merchants, and money lenders; all operating under ‘the sign of the three balls’, an emblem which has stuck with the like trade of pawnbroking until this day. They became London’s first bankers and for a substantial fee would make advances to local businessmen when times were hard. But the Lombards did not restrict themselves to these basic functions – they introduced a form of insurance scheme for London merchants; in fact they would turn their hands to anything at a price. At the height of their popularity, in the early 14th century, they boasted among their clients such gentry as noble lords and even royalty. The success of the Lombards was enormous but their days in London were numbered.

In 1565 Thomas Gresham turned up an idea inherited from his father, to build a common place where the merchants of Lombard Street could meet to carry out their business. Gresham already owned a shop in Lombard Street, trading as a moneylender and jeweller at the Sign of the Grasshopper, his family crest. The design of the building was intended to be styled on the Bourse in Antwerp over which Gresham had enthused some years previous. In 1566 his plan came to fruition; the foundation stone was laid in June of that year and four years later Queen Elizabeth I inspected the new building and proclaimed amid a fanfare of trumpets that it should be called the Royal Exchange.

The new central Exchange attracted an influx of fresh traders to the area bringing about healthy competition and lower interest rates. However, the Lombards were not moved by the newcomers tactics, they persisted in charging extortionate rates, which very soon made them unpopular among clients and they were forced to depart from the scene.

It seems that the Court has no direct association with the Lombards other than, in the search for a name it was simply called Lombard. It is not even a tributary of Lombard Street, but of Gracechurch Street.

At number eight Lombard Court, slotted in between multi-floored modern offices is The Red Lion, a typical City of London pub serving a wide range of beers and an ample selection of bar snacks. As you may expect, The Red Lion is always busy; its downstairs bar offering a more informal setting and the sparse ground floor bar where the order of the day is standing. It was in this latter where I once observed a young up-start clicking his fingers to attract the attention of the barman, and calling out ‘here my good man, fill this!’ His actions were not in jest and his vessel was replenished with a promptness unfitting of his behaviour. The Red Lion is not usually graced with such ill-mannered characters; it is a good house and well worth a visit. There are tables in the covered Court for all weather, out door drinking.

Long Yard WC1
UG: Russell Square
Bus: 68 91 168 188 to Russell Square
19 38 55 505 Lamb’s Conduit Street
From Russell Square Station walk east along Guilford Street, passing the side of the Children’s Hospital, for about 3rd mile. By the old water drinking point turn right into Guilford Place. Long Yard is about 75 yds on the left.
Shortly after Great Ormond Street was constructed in 1690 this yard was laid out to accommodate the stables for residents’ carriage horses. At that time it was an open-ended yard but has for many years been blocked off at the eastern end by buildings in Millman Street. The name of the Yard is simply a reflection of its original length of about 100 yards. There are no relics of great antiquity amid this mixture of residential and industrial properties. Also gone without trace are the beautiful cobbles which protruded from the earth over which the clatter of horses hooves were an every day sound.

During weekdays the atmosphere around the vicinity of the Yard is typical Bloomsbury, but at weekends the main activity comes from the two pubs in Lamb’s Conduit Street. Close by is the Lamb, a splendid Victorian house full of mahogany panelling and still retaining its original snob-screens. In something of a contrasting mode is the Sun at number 63 Lamb’s Conduit Street, on the corner of Great Ormond Street. This is a must for beer quaffing addicts, real ale enthusiasts, and the down to earth thirsty; the Sun is a lively freehouse where the only theme is beer, beer, beer. There is always a multiple choice of excellently conditioned ales here, an everlasting beer festival of brews from the country wide, dispensed by a couple of pulls from the forest of beer-engine handles on the counter. By prior arrangement you may even be treated to a tour of the cellar… How do you find it? Elementary, my dear friend, ask the man in the CAMRA ‘T’ shirt.

Long’s Court WC2
UG: Leicester Square
Bus: 1 24 29 176
From Leicester Square Station walk along Cranbourne Street and turn left at Leicester Square. On the south side of the Square between the Dental Hospital and the Leicester Square Theatre turn left into St Martin’s Street. Long’s Court is about 20 yds on the left.
From the reign of Richard II the area covering the approximate site of the present Trafalgar Square was the Royal Mews where the King’s hawks were kept and attended by the Master of the King’s Falcons, Sir Simon Burley. In 1534, during the rule of Henry VIII, after a fire destroyed the Royal stables in Bloomsbury the King enlarged the falconry, building stables and coach houses, and transferred the Bloomsbury activity to Charing Cross. In its new expanded proportions the stable yard was leased out to the King’s buddies and it so happened that at that time the Duke of Monmouth had his London billet in Hedge Lane, now Whitcomb Street, only a few yards to the west of Long’s Court. For convenience the Duke took possession of a portion of the yard, now occupied by Orange Street, for his private stabling, calling it Duke of Monmouth’s Mews. However, life was not so convenient for the Duke when James II ascended the throne; they did not quite see eye to eye and for his misdemeanour he was sought by the King’s men. Monmouth was found hiding in a ditch, captured, and sent to the gallows where a drunken executioner missed his aim and had to try again.

It was shortly after this time, about 1690, that the Court was laid out along its present line, running around the rear of a house built on the site of the present Central Reference Library. This house was the last London residence of Isaac Newton where he lived between 1710 and 1727. It later became the home Dr Charles Burney, friend of Samuel Johnson, where he lived with his daughter, Fanny. The present name was not applied until many years later, possibly during the 19th century, and most likely reflects the name of a resident or landlord.

Long’s Court is a plain alleyway departing from Orange street via a narrow passageway by the side of the Orange Street Congregational Church and turning through 90° around the rear of the Library to link with St Martin’s Street. Its only features of any note are the two working gaslights strategically positioned along a path that is surfaced with modern slabs.

Lumley Court WC2
UG: Charing Cross
Bus: Any to Charing Cross/Strand
Off the north side of the Strand, about 310 yds from Charing Cross ML Station, between Bedford Street and Southampton Street and just past Bull Inn Court.
When Richard Blome drew his map of this area in 1686 there were six alleys leading off the Strand between Bedford Street and Southampton Street; four of them continuing through to Maiden Lane. By 1746 this number had increased to ten, but still only four connected with Maiden Lane. From shortly after this time, periodic redevelopment of the site has forced the demise until today there are but three remaining; Exchange Court, Bull Inn Court, and Lumley Court. The first two of these courts are, in their entirety, originals as they were constructed in the 1630’s, i.e. they both connected the Strand with Maiden Lane. Lumley Court, although dating from the same period, was one of the cul-de-sacs that extended northwards from the Strand for about three-quarters of its present length. Presumably the way was blocked by a building restriction enforced by the Earl of Bedford whose house was only a few yards to the east. The Court was extended at roughly the same time as Maiden Lane was widened, in about 1872.

Lumley Court is little more than a crack in the wall; it is partly covered and rather spooky – certainly not the sort of place for the claustrophobic to explore in the dead of night. Approaching the northern end of the Court there are a dozen steps raising the level to emerge via a covered exit into Maiden Lane.

A little way to the east of the Court, in Maiden Lane, is the Roman Catholic church of Corpus Christi. It too was built at the same time as the Court was extended and the consecration took place prior to a High Mass in October 1874.


The alleyways and courtyards of London

This page is taken from Ivor Hoole’s defunct GeoCities site listing the alleys and courtyards in Central London, last updated in 2004 and now taken offline.
The Underground Map blog lists this information as is, with no claim of copyright.

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