Hertford Street

I love this. It shows really well an idea I've been playing around with for my own personal take on Friargate, with the view of the three spires directly from the station entrance. It shows really well how, despite being the smallest spire and at the bottom of the hill, due to it being closer Christchurch spire would look about the same size as the other two.

According to The 1852 History of Coventry by Benjamin Poole, Hertford Street was begun in 1812. "Previously all the coaching and carriage traffic in the direction of Warwick was carried through the narrow and dangerous avenue Grey Friars-lane".

In the very early 50s when I was starting school, my mum used to take me to a ladies hairdressers in Hertford St. It was quite a posh affair. We used to go in cubicles with a curtain to be private. In those days my hair cut cost 5/- which was quite expensive as average weekly wage was £6 or thereabouts. I cannot remember the name of the hairdressers. Can anyone help please? Would be grateful, thanks

For what my memory is worth Houghton, the only hairdressers I remember was near Sellrights at the top of the underpass to the right of the Godiva clock. I am sure it was just a man's name over the doorway, and that was rather a classy shop if you could afford it. It cost me five pounds which emptied my purse.

This is a bit embarassing but it was called 'PAULS' I had my first perm cut there done by my mate's girlfriend I thought it looked great my parents thought otherwise!!!!!!!!!!

I remember having a (very rare) haircut in about 1974! It was at the Hotel Leofric and I'm sure the bloke who ran the salon there was also called Paul. I wonder if it was the same person?

I used to go to the Leofric for a haircut/blow dry. Paul was Paul Todd (worked with a guy called Malcolm as I recall). He later opened 'Sweeney Todd' down the bottom of the City Arcade but I never was a patron there.

Hello Thanks everyone for info on hairdressers. I too, when adult went to Pauls! Also to a hairdressers above British Homestores from teenage years to in my 20s. regards Houghton 1854

And if my memory serves me correctly, before it was called Paul's, was it not called Mary Hobley's?

Yes, they were in Broadgate House when that opened (used to be in Fleet Street) In the mid60s it became Paul's Hair Studios

I only know about Mary Hobley's because my mother had her hair done there every Saturday without fail, following up with a visit to Sellrights' and maybe Kendall's, both of which happened to be between the hairdresser and Elizabeth Chef and Thornton's.

I must admit to having less than interest in the first three stops, but chocolate eclairs and Thornton's Special Toffee held a special place in my digestive system.

I have a feeling that 'Paul' was like a second in command there, taking over after retirement of Hobley and subsequently renaming the salon. An interesting article mentioning the famous Mary Hobley here.

Apologies if this has been raised in a previous thread (I did check in title search), does anyone remember the sweet shop in Hertford Street opposite the Empire/ABC cinema? It was a small shop that sold not just sweets but boxes of chocolates, many of them with 'chocolate box pictures' which were very popular some years ago. Does anyone know when it ceased trading?

Its the shop that now makes alterations on clothes. I last brought some chocolates from there in 1989, left Coventry then. Im sure it ran into the early 1990's though