The Leaky Cauldron was present long before Charing Cross Road was even planned in the nineteenth century; its true address was number one, Diagon Alley, and it was believed to have been built some time in the early 1500s, along with the rest of the wizarding street.[2]
It was a popular historical theory that the second oldest building in Diagon Alley was Gringotts Wizarding Bank and that the other shops grew up around it.[5] However, there is a possibility that Ollivanders was the oldest building, records dating back to the early fourth century B.C.[1]
The bustle of Diagon Alley during the early 1990s
When the Statute of Secrecy was imposed Diagon Alley was hidden by the use of many powerful spells of concealment. The then Minister for Magic, Ulick Gamp, agreed to give the landlord of the day present at the Leaky Cauldron responsibility for letting people into Diagon Alley from his back yard.[2]
In 1926, one of the shops in Diagon Alley was burgled with the help of a Four-Headed Bird.[6]
