Neal’s Yard is a small alley which opens into a courtyard between Shorts Gardens and Monmouth Street. It is named after the 17th century developer, Thomas Neale.
In 1976, activist Nicholas Saunders established the bulk Whole Food Warehouse. He had bought 2 Neal’s Yard, a derelict warehouse previously used by the former Covent Garden fruit and vegetable market a few years earlier. From this success, other enterprises grew in other buildings.
The area now contains several other health-food cafes and retailers.
