Londonist's Back Passage

A tribute to the capital’s alleys, ginnels and snickleways.

10. Took’s Court

Where? Piddling little dogleg to the East of Chancery Lane. Yes, we’re back near Samuel Johnson Land again.

What? Surely London’s least grimy alley. Sandblasted and scrubbed to the point that you could eat your dinner off it whilst performing open heart surgery. The largely useless route was built just before the Great Fire by a chap called Thomas Took (and not the filthy little Hobbitsy). Over the years, it’s housed the poet Sheridan (in a debtor’s prison) and, briefly, Charles Dickens (but then he lived everywhere).

Why use? Fans of hidden London may wish to make a pilgrimage to this spot. Until recently one of two entrances to the semi-secret tunnels and bunker beneath Holborn could be found in Took’s Court. The visible infrastructure was demolished and redeveloped a couple of years ago, hence why everything looks so clinical, spangly and new.