This is a modern passageway rebuilt as part of the rebuilding of the rebuilding of the Paternoster development north of St Paul’s Cathedral.

An alley in this area was here early, as the City developed around the original St Paul’s Cathedral, and was certainly here in Tudor times. However at the time, it was a bit of winding passage through the houses and warehouses of the area north of the cathedral.

All that changed after the Great Fire of London, when the rebuilding saw a reasonably straight alley replace the old one.

William Morgan’s 1682 map indicates that the alley is called Queen’s Head Alley.

However, by 1799, it appeared on maps under its current name, Queens Head Passage. The name is recorded in A Dictionary of London as being named after the Queen’s Head Tavern, which sat in a courtyard space in the middle of the alley.

And so it remained, a narrow, half-covered alley in an area dominated by book sellers and warehouses. Maybe with a sense of humour, a pub at the northern corner of the Queens Head Passage was the King’s Head pub.

The southern end, leading onto Paternoster Row, was dominated by Bible sellers, most famous being Samuel Bagster, who you can see next to Queens Head Passage here, with reflectors above the windows that reflected sunlight into the shop.

However, the whole lot vanished during WWII when much of the area around the cathedral was flattened by enemy bombing raids. You can actually see the outline of the alley in the rubble if you zoom into this photo, just behind the surviving white curved building on Newgate.

Controversially, the area was rebuilt in a very 1960s style, which is to say lots of long narrow slabs of office blocks and raised walkways to keep the annoying pedestrians away from the important motorists.

By the end of the 1980s, many companies were moving into modern offices, and finally, it was time to redevelop. After more controversy over the plans, the current layout was built between 1998 and 2003.

And that’s when Queens Head Passage reappeared – restored back to the street level from the raised pedway that had been there before.

It’s a very modern space, lined with 20-year-old offices above a row of food outlets and a pub which, on my first, and last, visit served even by the standards of London prices, the most outrageously expensive pint of beer I’ve ever had in a pub.

It’s also part of the newish Green Link Walk, which is notable for a distinct lack of green in this part of town.

Candly, it’s pretty bland as a passage, but the redevelopment also created one of the better vistas of St Paul’s Cathedral, with the dome looming over the passageway.