Mays Court in Covent Garden

Mays Court in Covent Garden

Mays Court is a short passage linking St Martin's Lane to Bedfordbury, set on the western edge of Covent Garden close to Trafalgar Square. It is a narrow service route rather than a shopping street, threading between the rear elevations of buildings that front the busier thoroughfares on either side. The court carries pedestrians and delivery traffic between the theatre district around St Martin's Lane and the quieter streets behind. Its character is functional and enclosed, with plain brick walls, back entrances and the everyday movement that keeps the surrounding restaurants and offices supplied. Foot traffic here is largely local and incidental, made up of people cutting through between the two larger streets it joins. There are no notable landmarks along its length, and its interest lies chiefly in its role as one of the many small connecting passages that stitch this part of Covent Garden together. The area immediately around it is dense with theatres, eating places and small businesses, and Mays Court forms part of the fine grain of routes that make the district walkable. Its position near St Martin's Lane places it within easy reach of Leicester Square and Charing Cross, though the court itself remains a quiet back way used mostly by those who know it.