Things we used to believe about Coventry

Now guys, please go gentle and don't laugh at me.. Someone once told me that Gretna Road was the longest cul de sac in England! See, I knew you'd all start falling about laughing.

I'm not laughing - I was conned as well. According to an internet search there's one in Gloucester that is the longest in Europe. As a kid I believed the Old Cathedral Spire was the tallest in England, and so too was the Courtaulds' chimney.

Not just me then belushi, we must have been fed some duff info when we woz kids. Rotters!

Those things might not necessarily be as daft as you think. It's quite possible that it was correct information when you were kids, or at least had once been correct but out of date - there's often a thread of truth in these things. For instance, I think our old cathedral spire once was the tallest in England - and I believe it's still known as the tallest medieval spire in existence.

It would seem that when the Courtaulds chimney was built in 1924 it was the tallest chimney in England at a height of 365ft. However, Courtaulds built another chimney (cannot find date) at Red Scar, Preston, at a height of 385ft. So I would say it was the tallest at the time. Just to add, on eBay there is a postcard up for grabs of the chimney advertising the facts.

According to Wiki the old cathedral spire is the fourth highest spire in the UK - Salisbury Cathedral is the tallest - 123m v 90m. When the Courtaulds chimney was built in 1924 it was believed to be the tallest in England at 111 metres.

I think that the 'myth' about Gretna Road might be a joke about marriage rather than a flawed fact?

I like to test my brain, what's left anyway. Salisbury cathedral still comes out as the tallest spire. I tried to find out if it was the HIGHEST spire taking into account of height above sea level and it is, Salisbury 400ft above sea level and Coventry is also 400ft above sea level. So Salisbury still comes out on top.

When Courtaulds chimney was built, it was in feet and inches

Red Scar works was built in 1939

There was an article in the Telegraph in 2013 which refers to Gretna Road having once been the longest cul-de-sac in the UK. The house numbers certainly exceed 200

Courtaulds was founded by George Courtauld, a descendant of French Huguenots, and the French invented the metric system

I was told by me dad that he worked at Bill, Tom and Harry's place. It was years before I found out what BTH stood for.

Courtaulds in Coventry was a son of Courtaulds in Ipswich where they had a silk mill. The wife of Courtaulds Coventry was great friends with George Eliot. The benchmark on the south side of the tower of St Michael's Church, Coventry, is 296.07 feet. The benchmark is two feet five inches above the ground, thus three-hundred feet. The weather-cock stands at 696 feet above sea level. It is said that the keyhole of Corley church door is level with this (Iposted this a long time back).

Scrutiny; the city centre, and specifically the old cathedral, is at roughly 310ft above sea level, not 400. It can be checked here. Edited by Midland Red, 8th Apr 2021 12:46 pm (Link clarified.)