A back lane, laneway, alley or back alley is a service or access road behind houses or, in a commercial district, which was created for deliveries and parking, amongst other things.1 In American "service alley rights-of-way are typically 16 feet–24 feet wide, measured from property line to property line".2 The name frequently survives as a street name in a much enlarged urban settlement (there is an example in Wheldrake), but it is common for the back lane to be reduced to a narrow pathway.
Back lanes were often found in a planned medieval village running parallel to the main street at the other end of burgage plots.34 There may be a back lane on each side of the main street which, together with the main street itself, provides a rectangular framework for the development of the village. Although the burgage plot was used for small-scale activities such as livestock or orchards, the back lane frequently divided the village from the main agricultural area such as the open fields.
References
References
- "Back Lanes". City of Surrey. Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- Strong Towns: The American Alley, Part 1: A Hidden Resource
- Slater, Terry R. (2004). "Planning English medieval 'street towns': the Hertfordshire evidence". Landscape History. 26 (1): 19–35. doi:10.1080/01433768.2004.10594560. ISSN 0143-3768. S2CID 129559866.
- Slater, Terry R (2004). "Planning English medieval 'street towns'" (PDF). School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences – University of Birmingham. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 6, 2004.