Cox Street

The row of terraces on the right was where I used to go to the doctors' surgery in the 50s; the doctors names were Dr Milbourne and Dr Shepherd. I will always remember the rows of wooden chairs outside the doctors examination room and when the doctors were ready to see the next patient they would press a button on their desk and a light would illuminate on the waiting room wall and a buzzer would sound. The bus stop outside the Alex entrance was where I used to catch the number 15 to Whitmore Park when we moved to Chesholme Road, Holbrooks, in the mid 60s.

Known as "Wheatley House", Dave

Our family also used to go to Dr Shepherd and Dr Milbourne's office. Dr Shepherd was the senior doctor. When we moved to Radford we still made the trek across town to see them. They shared the large detached house with Hazel Hathaway's dance school where my parents enrolled me in hopes I would be less of a tomboy. Ha! Three years of ballet, tap and acro were no help at all and they should have spent the half a crown per lesson on themselves. I can still tap and I would buy recordings of tappers if I could - I just love the syncopated sound.

Some new images of old bomb-damaged Cox Street appearing on Coventry Digital - nice one, Ben. 83 was Cox Street west, just north of the junction with Cope Street, behind the Triumph Works.

The label is wrong. This shows 56 and 58 (on the building) in the foreground, opposite Cope Street. 64 and 66 are on the left in the distance. It is complicated because the old city numbering was consecutive but the post war shows odds and evens. I don't know when that was changed. Potentially the numbering was originally quite different. This makes locating places by deeds very complicated. Sydney Bunney drew a view from Cope Street showing the forge, these buildings and a Georgian edifice to the right. There is another photo from the same group as this one that is similar. I can't decide if this building might have much older bones than the brick front suggests.

Well spotted Helen! I should've noticed that sign. I don't think 56-58 lasted long as they are not on my 1950 map. There are some good others with great detail/clarity.

Cox Street is one area where I need to revisit the maps vs images because of this renumbering issue. The photos from the archives are doubly complicated because photos ended up in different collections - sometimes duplicates, sometimes one offs. So I've seen some of the bomb damage photos but not others and I've seen others that aren't scanned yet but logically should have been done at the same time.

Well, I wondered if we could narrow down the date by looking in directories.... alas, amazingly, T. (or Thomas) Sadler was listed at 56-58 Cox Street in all directories from 1912 to 1960! First as a Coach Builder, then Wheelwright, and finally Steel Fabricator. Possibly a father and son business, but quite possible that he worked there until 70+?

In 1886 there's a Saddler J, blacksmith at number 53. In 1874 there's a James Sadler, blacksmith, also at 53. In 1912 the forge is listed as number 62 and T Sadler is 56, 58 and 60. So sometime between 1886 and 1912 Cox Street was renumbered.

I can help a little. Tom Sadler was my first cousin 3x removed ( ), coach builder, residing at 58 Cox Street in 1911. So it's great for me to see the photo of his premises 10 years earlier they were in Spon Street, and the James Sadler mentioned above is no relation.

I thought I spotted the Sadlers in Spon Street. Were there brothers listed? If James Sadler wasn't related, it makes sense that 53 was the forge next door to the later coach builder works.

James Sadler, blacksmith, was at 54 Cox Street in 1891, and is not related to Tom.

Another from the sketchbook of Mark Foster's 2x great grandfather, which he has allowed me to post from the Visit Historic Coventry FB page. Can we help identify the location of the court, Helen? Sketched in 1897, could it be somewhere behind the Old Star Inn?

Yummy, that's a very nice Christmas present, thanks to Neil and Mark Foster plus 2x great grandfather. That's Corpus Christi. Court no 9, directly opposite New Street. The building on the left with the pyramid roof is next door to the Star Inn.

I knew you'd like it, Helen. Corpus Christi?