Shops of yore

I remember in the late 80s or early 90s we did extensive renovations to the facade of Agers we repaired all the lintels above the windows and repaired the stonework as it was falling away from the brick sides of the building the metal straps securing the stonework can still be seen today at the top right hand side and the steelwork above the windows and all the stonework sandblasted and new red awnings which are still there today the confusing thing is that we were told at the time that all the work was done for their forthcoming centenary which they advertised with balloons and posters now after reading M Rs link the history of Agers I'm now confused why they told us this.?

As they started business in 1840, perhaps it was their 150 years celebrations in 1990 that you're thinking of

Your probably right there Cliff but they definitely referred to it as their centenary never mind only 50 years out.

How do we define "City Centre"? The butcher's at 13 Spon Street has been trading continuously since the 19th Century.

Recommend the sausages.......yummy yummy.

Going back to Agers - I remember as a child being taken there for new shoes and after putting them on, climbing up a step next to a large machine and looking down at my feet. I could see clearly all the bones of my feet in the new shoes! Some sort of X-Ray machine, no doubt banned for H&S reasons nowadays! It certainly showed if they were a good fit or not though. A lovely shop.

Hi Janey As your memory is probably better than mine and you once lived in Hearsall Lane can you please tell me if there was ever a chip shop about half way up where the Chinese takeaway is today? I'm talking about before 1967. Also can you possibly remember what the shop on the corner of Hearsall Lane and Sovereign Road used to sell? I walked past it twice a day in the late 1960s and can't for the life of me remember what it was.

The Dome newsagents has been mentioned before.................. definitely 'of-the-era'!

Hi Dutchman, Just back from a long weekend so only just seen your message. We left Hearsall Lane in 1955 and I really can't remember if there was a chip shop or what the shop on the corner of Hearsall Lane and Sovereign Road used to sell. The only shop I can recall at the moment is the one further up at the top of Hearsall Lane and the end of Earlsdon Avenue that I think was called Kudos and sold many of the sweets mentioned in other threads. However, my sister, though younger than me, has a fantastic memory so I will ask her but she was only little when we moved.

My wife used to visit an aunt in Sovereign Road in the 1950's and thinks that the shop on the corner was a shoe shop.

Yes, Janey, it was The Kudos - dad called in there every Sunday for a supply of toffees, glacier mints and white chocolate drops, to last us for the coming week (our dog had most of the choc drops )

My sister and I have been thinking of shops that used to be around in Coventry - her memory is much better than mine! Remember Wakes Fish shop in Trinity Street? It's name was spelled out in the shape of a fish. The Electricity Showrooms on the upper part of the Precinct. Midland Educational down by the birdcage in the arcade. Did Sainsburys used to be on the opposite side from where it is now, at the bottom of Trinity Street? Fishy Moores in Fairfax Street Jacksons hairdressers in Fairfax Street There was also a rather posh dress shop possibly next to Jackson's or thereabouts but the name escapes me. The Fish Market in the lower level of Coventry Market - loads of slabs, but now reduced to about three in the circular part. Macfisheries in the upper precinct. Barnby's toy shop near the Locarno (one of my first Saturday jobs was there in around 1962) Am I imagining it, or was there a grocery shop named Pearks in High Street (on the opposite side to the National Provincial Bank) - I am sure I remember lots of green tiles inside, blue bags of sugar, and biscuits in large square tins with see-through lids. Wherever this was, I remember going in there as a small child with my mum and one of the ladies who was serving was having a break and leaning against the wall with one leg tucked up behind her. For years I thought she had only one leg!

Roger Turner mentioned in another thread Sainsbury's once having a smaller shop in Trinity Street. This may be a complete fantasy but I had this recurring dream about a grocer's shop at the southern end of British Home Stores. Then I read in planning records that the BHS building was originally designed with shops at that end similar to the ones opposite at Woolworth's, but I don't know if they were ever completed. There is also mention of a grocers in that general area.