An alleyway ran from Christ Church Lane (on the western edge of the cathedral) to the Courts’ rear. As dark as it was narrow, the passage, like a trench, lay partly below ground. Along the path, a door opened onto the central hall inside, just to the left of the Court of Exchequer. Owing either to the passage’s appearance or to its terminus, it was famously dubbed “Hell.” An advertisement for nearby lodgings announced the availability of “furnished apartments in Hell.” “They are well suited to a lawyer,” the ad declared.3

A. Roger Ekirch