Catherine Wheel Alley is an old alleyway here.
As the layout of roads around it have changed, the alley has remained.
It provided access by foot to the west side of the Old Artillery Ground from Bishopsgate Street. It was called Rose Alley on Rocque’s map and it dates from 1682 (the first mention) but probably much earlier.
The Catherine Wheel itself - first recorded in 1708 - was a galleried coaching inn that stood at the Bishopsgate end.
In 1895 the Catherine Wheel was partly destroyed by fire - the rest of the inn was demolished in 1911.
