Cloth Fair, a narrow street off West Smithfield, home to the oldest residential building in London and where the outline of dark alleys can still be found

The charming narrow thoroughfare called Cloth Fair, running almost parallel to Long Lane (on the south side) in Smithfield has an unusual history. In the time when Bartholomew Fair was an annual ev…

When the area in this part of London was occupied by St Bartholomew's priory, there was a large garden on the south of their estate, and this alley pretty much follows the line of that long lost garden boundary.

This alley is a result of the dissolution of the Monasteries, as it sits within the lands owned by St Bartholomew's Priory.

This little courtyard set back from the street has an obscure history, but is thought to have a late medieval origin.

This is a short alleyway that runs behind St-Bartholomew-the-Great Church, and in front of a very modern Livery Hall.

This is a small side alley in Smithfield that's famous for the pub that dominates the corner opposite Great St Bart's church.

This is a short alley in Smithfield that has been on this site ever since the area was first developed and sits in an area with a cluster of small alleys to explore.

This is a narrow dark modern-looking alley that provides the only gap in a wall that gives access to the warren of streets behind a long row of unremitting office blocks.

Smithfield is not often frequented by tourists seeking out London’s rich heritage, even though it's an area that has copious amounts of history on view and deserves to be better known. Still in situ are the fourteenth ce...