London’s Alleys: Padbury Court, E2

This mixed passageway in Bethnal Green echoes many post-war areas, lined with cobbled paving and remnants of old buildings, but also a long row of 1960s flats.The area around the alley was still farmland, known as Swan Fields in the 1740s, but you can see in John Rocque’s map of 1746 that it’s starting to be surrounded by buildings which will soon cover the area.
John Rocque’s map of London 1746
Fifty years later, the outlines of the passage are visible as Princes Street, with