London’s Alleys: Percy Passage, W1

This alley just to the north of Oxford Street in the heart of Fitzrovia is a convenient shortcut through a block of shops and offices and is original from when the area was first laid out.William Franks, the developer who was responsible for the area was married to Mary Pepys, a relative of the diarist Samuel Pepys, and was granted a lease on the land in the 1760s to develop it into housing. In amongst the streets was a grand church, the Percy Chapel, with a small alley to the south side, Percy