Place Name
Named after Hare House, a property left to the parish in 1594. According to Walter George Bell in his book, Fleet Street in Seven Centuries, it was left in trust for 1,000 years, so that every Sunday 13 pennyworth of bread should be given to 13 poor people of the parish after the service in St Dunstan’s Church. The house was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. It was recorded as Ramme Alley in the 16thCentury and Ram Alley in 1746. This was place of sanctuary and in consequence became a resort for criminal types and a great source of annoyance to the inhabitants of the Temple precincts. First mentioned as Hare Place in 1875, it was changed to rid itself of the taint of criminality associated with the old name.
