Not Avenues, but Alleyways: A Backstreet Guide Around Fleet Street

(33 reviews)

London audio tour: Not Avenues, but Alleyways: A Backstreet Guide Around Fleet Street

This is a 1.2mi walking tour

It takes an average of 75 mins to complete.

London

The United Kingdom

$9.99

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About the Tour

London was once a city filled with hundreds of labyrinthine alleys and courtyards, but sadly many have been lost to the developer’s axe. On this walking tour, we’ll track down the ancient thoroughfares that remain within the vicinity of Fleet Street while I share a few fascinating stories about the people that once trod these streets.

I’ll give you a peek into the history of Fleet Street, once the major entrance and exit to the city from the South West. You’ll learn about the area’s long association with the printing trade, its connection to several prominent writers and poets, and its ties to the legal profession.

Highlights along the way include:

Dr Johnson’s House, the birthplace of the modern dictionary
The place Shakespeare visited when in need of an Italian translation
One of Twinings Tea’s first stores
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a charming pub where Dickens, Mark Twain, Alfred Tennyson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were locals
A famous hangout of Tom Cox, known as the Handsome Highwayman

This tour takes you to some of the major historical landmarks in what was once the city’s outskirts. As you walk the streets that highwaymen, nobility, millionaires and everyday Londoners alike once called home, watch as this iconic part of the city comes to life.

Tour Producer

Steve Matthews

20 tours

I’ve been guiding in London since 2010, and in that time I’ve led thousands of people through the backstreets, river paths, and half‑forgotten corners that rarely make it into the guidebooks. My work is rooted in years of on‑the‑ground experience, a lot of digging through old maps and archives, and a genuine fascination with how London’s past still shapes the city we walk through today.

What began as a hobby has grown into a long‑standing practice of researching local history — from lost streets and vanished industries to the characters who left their mark on the place. I keep my tours updated with new findings, fresh angles, and the odd surprising detail that brings a street or story to life.

I specialise in the parts of London people often overlook, helping visitors and locals alike see the echoes and footprints hidden in plain sight. My aim is simple: to share the stories I’ve gathered over the years with accuracy, enthusiasm, and a real affection for this endlessly surprising city. Whether you’re joining me for the first time or returning for another walk, you can expect a well‑researched, engaging, and reliable tour shaped by more than a decade of experience.

Preview Location

Location 14

Crane Court

Our next alleyway is Crane Court. Please turn left into it. As we pass through the passage the court opens in front of us and we’ll stop outside number 3.

It was in rooms here that the satirical magazine Punch was founded and printed in 1841. The magazine ran until 1992.
... Our next alleyway is Crane Court. Please turn left into it. As we pass through the passage the court opens in front of us and we’ll stop outside number 3.

It was in rooms here that the satirical magazine Punch was founded and printed in 1841. The magazine ran until 1992.

In 1680 in this court lived a Squire Bradshaw. One of his servants Mary Dove, testified that she had witnessed James Baker holding Catholic masses in the house on several occasions. Her testimony was short and without corroboration, but Baker was convicted of being a Popish Priests or Jesuits and was therefore sentenced to death.

If you look back to the passageway from which you entered the court, you will see a light fitting above the arch that resembles the movement of Atoms. This is a small reminder that in 1710 the court became the home of The Royal Society, which was founded in 1660 to promote the advance of the sciences. The President at the time was Sir Isaac Newton. The Society had moved to the court from Gresham College in Holborn and some of the ruling council grumbled at the new house, and complained of it was small, inconvenient, and dilapidated. Nevertheless, Sir Isaac, who was not accustomed to opposition, overruled all these objections, and the society flourished in this Fleet Street "close" for a further seventy-two years.

Do you remember I mentioned earlier that the Great Fire of 1666 had been contained and had spread no further westward? That would be great if you lived in nextdoor Fetter Lane, but had you lived in Crane Court at the time your property would have been consumed by the fire as this was its most westwardly limit. One person who was a resident lived in a house at the back of the court known as the lock and key. This resident went by the unusual name of If-God-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barebon, known to his friends as Praise God Barebon.

He was a Member of the last Parliament before Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate, known as the Barebones Parliament. Its members were selected by Cromwell and his Army council rather than being elected. Barebon served as the nominee for the City Of London. He was a leather-seller, renowned anti-Royalist, mob-raiser and considered by some to be a general pain in the neck.

Let's keep going while I tell you more. Continue along the court.

After the fire, his Son, "If-Jesus-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned", better known as Nicholas Barebon, who was a property developer rebuilt the "Lock & Key" at the far end of the court in 1680.

Nicholas seems to have been a real chip off the old block with many of his Father's eccentricities. In the aftermath of the Great Fire, he helped to pioneer fire insurance and was a leading player in the reconstruction work, although his buildings were planned and erected primarily for his own financial gain. Unfortunately, numbers five and six fell victim to a fire in 1971 and were badly damaged; they were the earliest known survivors of post-Fire houses in London and the oldest examples of Nicholas Barebon's work.

Continue to the end of the court. When you reach it, climb the steps and exit onto Fetter Lane turning right as you do so. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Fleet Street
Dr Johnson's House
Royal Courts of Justice
Temple Bar Memorial

Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Arundel St, London WC2R, UK
Total distance

2km
Final location
The, Old Bailey, London EC4M 7EH, UK
Distance back to start location

738.39m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins outside of Temple Underground station in Temple Place. Temple Underground station is located on the Circle and the District Lines and is only a short walk south from The Strand.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Fleet Street has many restaurants, takeaways and pubs. I would recommend a visit The Old Cheshire Cheese pub, which you will pass on the tour.

Best time of day

From dawn to dusk.

Precautions

The area is safe but please be street smart and pay attention when crossing roads.

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App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”