Spon Street

The photographer is standing in (Lower) Holyhead Road, Neil. So, Spon Street is not visible (off to the right).

Yes, it's the same section, Neil. Yes, MR, the photographer was in Holyhead Road but the buildings on Spon Street start after the Conduit Yard which is the gap on the left. This group are post Civil War as the area was cleared in front of the gate. The wall ran through 1a the left most end of the group.

An interesting picture for me, Neil. I can see half of Edwards for Furniture sign and in later years he moved his premises into the more modern Precinct. He was a very good friend of my parents over many years (Bramwell, aka Bram Edwards). I am presuming he is the same person. Pictures do paint a thousand words after all.

Here's my photo of 190 Spon Street, the far end of the block, taken in 2010 from the grounds of St John the Baptist Church.

The pub and the malthouse seen below on the left, were probably built reusing stonework and footings from the old wall and gatehouse. Great photo of Rob's. In your photo there looks like a bit of a gap in the stones for a doorway from the pub into the malthouse.

Hi all. I'm wondering if Spon Street would have been cobbled in the early 19th century (1830s)? In an image previously posted by Dutchman on this topic thread (copied below) it looks like it was cobbled right up into the 20th century. Does anyone know? Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi again. The city was cobbled, as you can see from the picture below which is from 1823 but the cobbles weren't the neat square variety, they were random river pebbles. You can see some of them still remaining in post #486 above. By 1837 the houses, shown in the painting on the left, had been demolished and a new line built, set further back, requiring the wider space to be surfaced. Similarly the demolition of the gatehouse would have needed road alterations. While the photo you posted with square cobbles looks pretty old, it must be more modern because the tram lines are there. Other very old photos show Spon Street and other roads having the same surface as the new section in #486. The pavement was separated from the road with a gutter lined with three rows of square cobbles. The question is - when was that new surface put down? Spon Street would probably have been cobbled with river pebbles originally and in better condition than roads linking places, although still rough compared to the city centre. There was a drive to improve the roads in the 1820s see here. There may be something in the news papers about when the new type of surfacing was introduced. If you go with river pebble cobbling then it would be hard to prove otherwise. There were a lot of buildings erected in the 1820s and 1830s and it would have been a feature of the city at the time. Have a look at Rob's picture collection and search for Troughton (early to mid 1800s sketches), Wingrave and Spon Street. If you haven't already, sign up for Coventry Digital. Compare the maps for 1807 and 1837 for an idea of the amount of changes.

A picture from the health pamphlets that I finally worked out. This is court 4 Spon Street and the block on the right 10, 11, 12, 13 (back to backs merged into just two properties) were demolished about 1909. When they were built they were in a loop of the river with the Sherbourne behind and to the left. By the time the photo was taken Queen Victoria Road had been built and the river straightened. The view could have been taken from the road just north of where it crossed the river.

Helen F -- you are amazing! Thanks so much!

I posted on here (but with another email address) in 2010 saying I was born in what is now WATCH CLOSE (back of Spon St), called LIMETREE COTTAGE. I knew Granddaughter called Ann Brown of Old Windmill Inn, Old Ma Brown. I used to go to school with her in Dover St school. A lady read it recently and alerted her friend who was Mums nextdoor neighbour's daughter in Limetree Cottages ! She found me on FB. I've spoken to her on phone tonight. Never seen her since 1956 ! She's 6 years older than me but she remembered me when her friend found the post on here ! I want to thank you Rob Orland for this site. She knew my Mum and Dad. Her parents were Horace and Lily OWEN. I remember they were a lovely couple. What a lovely surprise to speak with her tonight after all these years !

Hello & welcome aboard. Pull a chair up, we hope you enjoy your time sharing your Coventry recollections.

What a lovely and heartwarming story, Ang, I hope you're friendship continues for many years. Please keep us all up to date. P.S. I've located your previous account, so I've merged it into your new one, which will enable you to easily find all your old posts.

It really is nice to see people find others based on what they post. Thanks for letting us know Ang

Lovely story Ang! Stay with us on here for more old-Cov adventures

Be prepared Ang. You are in for one heck of a joyride on this Forum. Nice to meet you.