London’s Alleys: Red Cow Yard, EC1

This is an exceptionally short stump of an alley on Old Street that resembles a post-war gap where a house wasn’t rebuilt until you spot the street name sign and realise it’s the remains of a once slightly longer passage.The alley first appeared in the 1680s as a gap between the houses facing Old Street (called Rotten Row) leading to the empty fields to the north. At the time, it seems to have been called simply Cow Court, and another alley nearby was later added and called Red Cow A