Bleeding Heart Yard

The courtyard is probably named after a 16th-century inn sign dating back to the Reformation that was displayed on a pub called the Bleeding Heart in nearby Charles Street.

Two or three mighty stacks of chimneys, and a few large dark rooms which had escaped being walled and subdivided out of the recognition of their old proportions, gave the Yard a character.

It was inhabited by poor people, who set up their rest among its faded glories, as Arabs of the desert pitch their tents among the fallen stones of the Pyramids; but there was a family sentimental feeling prevalent in the Yard, that it had a character.

[5]Of poor Lady Hatton, it's needless to say, No traces have ever been found to this day, Or the terrible dancer who whisk'd her away; But out in the court-yard — and just in that part Where the pump stands — lay bleeding a LARGE HUMAN HEART!—The Ingoldsby Legends.

Many of the street names in the area, e.g. Holborn Circus, Farringdon Road and Hatton Garden remain unchanged, but many have been altered, in keeping with a long and respected tradition among novelists.