Hales Street

Hales Street, I think 2004

Hi Adrian, Hi all. It is Hales St, facing towards what used to be the gas showrooms & also the original grammar school on the corner of Bishop St. Last year I visited Huntingdon where they have a historic grammar school, almost identical in size & original internal layout, as this one here, founded by John Hales. ps. I will record a pic from where your pic was recorded from, Adrian. Decided to pop into town this afternoon & record these. & one facing the other way.

Hi Adrian, Please don't hesitate to let us know if you would like anymore pics.

I preferred it when it looked like this: I think that's Hunt's Mineral Water factory on the right?

Hi Dutchman, hope you ok. I can't remember it like that, too long ago even for me. I remember the Opera House & the shops on the left. One of the shops on the left had a train-set in the window that if you put a penny in the slot, the train went round a couple of times. Guess about 1954.

Thank you Philip, you are very kind. I know the picture I took was Hales Street, I just wasn't sure of the year. I remember thinking I must get a photo to show my brother as it was so different to how we remembered it. On the right used to be Mattersons the Ironmongers, and opposite was the Smithfield Hotel. Hales Street used to be such a busy street. Your first photo shows very little change to the one I posted, but the others show an amazing difference. Superb photos, thank you again. Also a big thanks to you Dutchman, you always seem to have just the right photo for any subject, excellent as always. Adrian

Hi Adrian. I am sure Mattersons still exists, but in Kingfield Road Industrial Estate. During their last years in Hales Street, they had ventured into all kinds of merchandise as well as their traditional ironmongery.

I wonder if these two photos will help? The first one was taken by me in February 2004, and the second one by our Steve in July 2005. I've noticed that the boardings on the left-hand-side of the street are there in 2004, like in your shot, but just wire fences in 2005. Also, the edge of the canopy over the shops next to the Grammar School was still white in Feb '04 - but painted blue, as in your photo, in July '05. So, does this mean that your photo was taken between those two dates.... or some time later when boardings were put back up on the left again? The plot thickens, as do I !!

It's an absolute atrocity of a street now - I'd barely call it a street. A complete mess. Dutchman, how much of it was destroyed in the war? I love the old picture. Now that is a street.

Just the shops on the left between the Smithfield Hotel and the remaining old shops. The mineral water factory was replaced by Matterson's showroom some time between the wars. The Smithfield was enlarged and remodelled around the same time:

I was trying to work the date out from some others I took that day showing my granddaughter, and I think it is about 2004, but nice detective work Lieutenant Columbo

Love it! What year was this, please?

Thanks Anne The picture isn't dated or credited but the transport suggests circa 1910.

They should have reconstructed that street a few years ago rather than building that pointless clock, bridge & assorted other rusting clutter.

Still cannot find any rhyme or reason as to why they knocked it down? NAME SMITHFIELD HOTEL ALTERNATIVE NAMES SMITHFIELD INN, SMITHFIELD TAVERN ADDRESS 33 HALES STREET ALTERNATIVE ADDRESSES 10 HALES STREET This name is a reference to Smithfield Market in London, which specialises in meat and poultry. The pub was built on the site of Coventry's one - time cattle market. This had been opened by the City Council to bring the city's previously scattered livestock sales to one place. In 1862 the land belonged to the estate of the Free Grammar School. It was leased to a Mr King for 42 years for £5, the lease ending in 1900. Mr King had erected a public house on the property called the Smithfield Tavern. There was also a small portion of the land once occupied by the cattle market that was leased by Coventry Corporation. In 1906 the Grammar School still owned the site and leased the pub to Phillips and Marriott for 14 years for £205 per annum. In 1914 the lease was extended for a further 14 years In 1985 it was described as a 'city centre mock Tudor pub'. In 2010 it was demolished as part of the Phoenix (Millenium) project and the site is currently a garden. Licensees 1861 - 1868 William King 1871 William Johnson 1874 W. Thompson 1879 Guy Fowkes 1886 George Sumner 1890 - 1891 S. Redgrave 1893 - 1894 E. Redgrave 1896 - 1905 William B. Viggers 1906 - 1912 Thomas Pegg Turman 1912 - 1913 Henry Rowbottom 1914 - 1922 Reuben Watts 1924 - 1929 W. L. Eggington 1931 - 1938 S. W. Bennett 1939 - 1940 H. V. Taylor Owners 1862 - 1914 Free Grammar School