Burges and Cross Cheaping

That would explain the explosion of activity in the 20s and 30s. When I first started looking at Coventry's early streets, I assumed that the War had wiped it all out but the town planners probably had a bigger hand in the destruction.

I think it's more than likely that the Birmingham Fred Burn is the same as the Coventry namesake. it would be too much of a coincidence to have 2 tailors of the same name in adjoining towns. There were a number of firms pre-war who had branches in several Midland towns such as Whitfield's (Wolverhampton) Ltd ladies wear in Broadgate, T A Collins Ltd, boots and shoes, and A D Wimbush and Son Ltd bakers who had branches all over the West Midlands.

Thanks to CliffB - 1931

So Fred hadn't started his upgrade at that point. It always irks me that the distant view is almost always obscured in these photos but I forget how much cleaner our air is now, which in turn leads to less mist and fog.

I've seen this photo before but never noticed something. Just left of centre, ie the the left of the tram and the dark van there is something going on on the pavement. It looks like a small group of people crowding round ... what? a street stall? Is that likely? It's a shame the picture isn't clearer, I would love to know what they were up to? I wonder if there's a zoomable copy somewhere. Coventry Digital maybe?

It's not one that I've seen on Coventry Digital. They do seem to be peering at something. Maybe there are excavations going on beyond the barrier? It's where the remains of any foundations where the Crystal Palace pub would have been. There is quite a series of photographs here now tracking the demolitions and new buildings along that side. 1914 Comeley's rebuilt over the river and #1, 2 Post 1926 #9-14 demolished Demolished before 1929 #4-8 ???? #15-17 demolished 1929 Wine Lodge Opened 1929 #3 year Crystal Palace pub closed and demolished When Burton's joined Comeley's on the plots of 1 and 2, there was a bit of renumbering to make it 1, 2 and 3. The real number 3, the Crystal Palace pub, became 3a. I've just wasted an hour working out exactly what the building sat on because of the renumbering.

An area not well covered by images is the stretch of Cross Cheaping between The Forbidden Planet at 31 and Ironmongers Row, but here a photo from the newspaper archives and one from Rob's collection, do the job. The entry to Ironmongers Row was the gap next to the tram.

flapdoodle, see my post 142 Palmer Lane, the building was Tuck & Blakemore, builders merchants/ironmongers/tools.

Anne, Re Fred Burn, I've recently bought a book of photographic images of Derby 'The Winter's Collection of Derby, Volume 1' and was intrigued to see that in an image from c 1935, there was a shop in the Cornmarket, a major city centre shopping street, belonging to Fred Burn, 'The City Tailor' so maybe that was his other branch? Geoff

There are the same adverts for Fred Burn in the Derby Telegraph and the CET in 1934 with the local addressed so yes it is him ! There are also similar adverts in Walsall Observer, Leicester Evening Mail and Birmingham Mail for shops in those towns. I wonder where the suits were made.

Thanks to Mary Dormer Harris, I finally know which address this grand doorway served - number 16 Cross Cheaping, although it probably was the entrance to one grand house along with number 15. The suggestion was that most of it was salvage from somewhere else but it would not have been out of place with the 3 storey jettied building. On the left we have St Michael and on the right is St George. Number 16 was 'Franks' and number 15 was 'George Mason'. Its neighbour number 14 was very similar in appearance as a 3 storey jettied building before it was rebuilt in the style shown in the photo below. Dr Troughton captured the ancient building and yard behind.

Number 14 was the shop of Mr Ambrose, Grocer. In 1887 it was "modernised" ! by Mr Goodson, who opened a mantle warehouse (selling coats and jackets), where he felt he had transformed a somewhat old fashioned grocers into a modern emporium !