There used to be dozens of courtyards with alleys leading to them, off the main streets of Smithfield. (One of the more memorable was Frying Pan Alley.) Most of the courtyards, and therefore the alleys leading to them, were demolished in the big reconstruction of the area in the late Victorian age.
One which survives is called Passing – or is it Pissing – Alley? Someone in the past went to a lot of trouble to make it “Passing Alley”. It’s carved into the lintel above the entrance on St John’s Lane, and again on a sign just inside.
But old historical maps of London, such as Ogilby & Morgan’s map of 1676 and Rocque’s map of 1747, show that it was called Pissing Alley.
It sounds like the Puritanical councillors of Islington Council renamed it Passing Alley – probably to stop the name being seen as an encouragement. So passing is permitted – just not passing water.
