Hertford Street

I used to buy sugar mice and champagne truffles to hang on the Christmas Tree from that shop. they used to sell nice old fashioned sweets like cyrstallised violets.

I used to buy a 'roll' of Sharps toffees (it was actually a square roll and wouldn't roll at all) before attending the chaos that was the Saturday Morning Picture Show at the old Empire..

Am I getting to "my time" or do I remember the GPO used to be there?

Yes, Dreamtime - sadly now closed This photo from 2010 shows both the GPO and the City Tailoring shop referred to above by Ace

Thanks MR, of course I remember it when the road went straight through. Looks different altogether now. Great pictures you show us, thanks. I liked the old black and white also sepia photos of Hertford Street, not to mention the old wrought iron street lights shown, a lovely old feature. Now all the character has gone in the name of progress.

The last photo shows cars parked all of the way up, and I seem to remember cars parked both sides at one time. The street was congested at best and was used by the buses coming in from Green Lane and Fenside. I have to admit that when first closed off, the detour was a little inconvenient, but I don't remember Hertford Street being one of Coventry's high spots in my time.

Dreamtime, I agree, the old time character has gone, looking at the photo's of now, looks more like the entrance to an underground station. I don't recall the sweet shop especially, but do remember the G.P.O in the fifties, some days as much as a dozen times a day I would visit, so I was a little special there, then my fav barber was at the bottom of the street on the right, and on the left of the green, was the Y.M.C.A. and of course the cinema was the venue on Sundays. Nearly everyone in those days used to walk to the station down Hertford street. There was a time in the early fifties the fire brigade needed to throw a rope over those buildings for some reason or other, they parked in the lane behind the buildings, but couldn't get the rope over so they tied a great big knot in the end, gave it a mighty throw, the rope sailed over, the knot swung in and broke the great big pane of glass of a shop. lol

As I mentioned in a previous thread I was apprentice carpenter with H L Bates. My mentor was Wal Coplin from Longford and we had the task of replacing some of the panels in the counter of the Post Office that were infested with wood worm. This would have been 1947. I cannot recall a sweet shop but I remember a chemist opposite the PO where I would go and get Do Do tablets for Walter to ease his hacking cough, caused I would imagine by Walters clay pipe that was always in his mouth. A few doors toward Broadgate was a photographic supply shop where I would drool over the expensive cameras in the window. That was until my father gave me his Leica and then I would buy 35mm film from that shop. If they didn't have what I wanted Greens down the bottom of Hertford St would have it.

Yes, Kaga, it all seems years ago now since my mum dragged me into the food office further down Hertford Street, then sometimes walk down that way to the station one morning before Christmas and catch a train to Brum for some Christmas shopping. Years later having my own children went into Holbrooks for a beech and elm chest of drawers which is now standing in my daughter's bedroom here in Perth and that was truly money well spent. It is nice though to know they have retained Greyfriars Green, so I never want to hear that they have dismal plans for that too!

Was the sweet shop called Lovells?

"Loveitt & Bones"

From Perth to Perth Hello Dreamtime Noticed you referred to the Food Office, just found this letter from them in 1941.

The relative positions of the sweet shop, bus stops and the Empire were very important 'cos my mum said that if I got killed crossing the road, I wouldn't be allowed to go to the Saturday morning picture show again, and I couldn't get through the rowdy behaviour of the audience without my Sharps toffees.

There is already this thread regarding the "Food Office"

This one could have gone in any number of threads but courtesy of Debbie from the True Cov FB page - an unusual shot of the top of Hertford Street showing the building of Broadgate House and that 'bridge'.