London’s Alleys: Holly Walk, EN11

This is a long footpath in Broxbourne (yes, just outside London) that for once lives up to its name – there’s a lot of holly here.
It starts showing up on maps from the mid-1850s as a footpath through still largely undeveloped fields north of Broxbourne. However, with the arrival of the railway nearby, it wasn’t too long before the farms were sold for houses.
OS Map 1873
By 1895, the bottom few hundred yards of the footpath had vanished as it was widened into St Catherine&rsquo