Jordan Well

On the contrary Heathite, I found the directory entry very useful myself and am most grateful for it

I noticed one prominent business that recurred The" Dickens " photo (what was that date?) Allan McCutcheon - looked like fruit & Veg, but on reflection could have been Fish. The 1926 23/24 McCutcheon A and Son - Fish Merchant The 1955 23/24 McCutcheon and Son - Greengrocer What happened to this "survivor"?

Fellow Forumer AnneWiggy shared this great image of McCutcheons from 1959 in the pubs thread - this is the same building/row of shops as my one from earlier! (which I think was dated about 1905). I'm sure someone will confirm but I believe what remained was sadly (again!) cleared to make way for the Poly/Uni. I think I'm right in also saying this shot is the section on the northern side of Jordan Well between Bayley Lane and Freeth Street (that was).

It is but the closing down sale signs and the completed Herbert in the background suggest the date is closer to 1963 than 1959. Mr Mountford had applied for planning permission to change that sign above the newsagents as early as 1952 but was apparently unsuccessful.

Was there a joke shop in that row of shops in the 60s or somewhere close? I vaguely remember visiting one on the way home from the tanner rush at the Gaumont on a Saturday morning.

Ok, here's another entry but this time from the 1935-1936 directory. So this one is in between the 1926 and 1955 directories. I think I've seen McCutcheon spelled differently on these entries and the photographs.

This is all that is listed for the 1960 directory.

In the 1911 census. Allan McCutchion and family are at 1 Friars Road - he is shown as "Potato Dealer and Greengrocer" - and he signs the form with that spelling on his name In the 1901 census, they are at 23 Jordan Well, shown as "Fish & Potato Merchant, shopkeeper" There is no return for 23 Jordan Well in 1911

Hi all Mr Deacon was the cinema manager. The top of the cinema building housed a "winter gardens", which included a fish pond. I watched a Godiva procession go by from that vantage point on one occasion. My nan was a member of the Coventry Bridge club, who met in one of the function rooms a couple of times a week. Meeting rooms were at a premium in the fifties, with so much blitz damage.

I think I would be correct in saying that there was nothing standing between the Gaumont and Much Park St in the early fifties except the remains of bombed buildings and water.

As you see these pictures in more of an historical sense, I see them as a memory of warm and personal sense. There was a large queue formed along the wire (Jordan Well) for the cinema, larking about, the shoulder of Graham Symonds was pushed quite hard, playfully, he turned and playfully threw a punch, just as the policeman controlling the crowd walked by. The punch caught the policeman in the midriff, laughter erupted, as we all knew the policeman, as he knew us, but it seemed funny at the time.

You may be thinking of The Novelty Shop at 24 Gosford Street, directly opposite the Mermaid? It's behind the car here:

You're mistaken Kaga. There was a row of six buildings dating back to the 14th century Nos.37-42, plus some temporary shops and a caravan. They weren't demolished until the end of the 1960s.