London’s Alleys: Oriel Court, NW3

This is a short but charmingly cobbled little passage in Hampstead that unexpectedly leads to a cluster of hidden cottages.There is a hint in John Roque’s map from 1746 that the alley ran through the block to the road on the other side, although that could be a reference to Oriel Place or Perin’s Court, two longer alleys on either side of Oriel Court. It’s a tad difficult to be certain though.
Whatever its origins, today the alley is a short L-shaped dead-end passage. The name