Alexandra Terrace, Foleshill

Colleagues, I recently discovered where I was born and my family lived in 1939. I found there was no safe access to the front of the buildings only the back. It looks like the backs have now become the front, however that's my query . I am interested in finding out some local history about the terrace which sits at the back of the car park to what I believe was Lythalls Lane Social Club. According to my cousin in Australia there was a smelly Bone Mill close by and he recalls having to go down a "jetty" (entry) to get to the back yard of the houses. I am led to believe the houses were two up and two down with no running water, with a loo outside. Well that's all I have to go on. I would appreciate any offers of information on the building lay out and its surrounding history.

Hi Tony, I may be wrong but I reckon that Alexandra Terrace was on Lythalls Lane between Booths Fields and the Cherry Tree Club. I have just looked on Google maps and it no longer exists. There is a new road [new to me anyway, I left Coventry 1972] called Congleton Close, Alexandra Terrace was just a bit further up Lythalls Lane and run parallel to Congleton. The Bone Mill was down Bedlam Lane and on the corner of Judds Lane. Of course this is all so different to what it was when I was a kid.. The Bone Mill would not be that far away from the now Ricoh Stadium. I had a friend "Les Poole" who lived down Alexandra Terrace, about 2 or 3 houses down on the left hand side. Hope this may help you and maybe other members can correct any memory lapses.

John Wright is just about correct in all he says. Alexandra Terrace was accessible only from the back gardens. The new road (Congleton runs between Booths Fields & Alexandra Terrace) A few houses in Alexandra Terrace were lost in the redesign. The Poole family and the Stokes family lived in Alexandra Terrace & the Farmer family & Pearson family in Booths Fields. John Pearson (he became a builder and used to live in Arbury Ave) was a good friend of mine & I spent a lot of time at his house. He had older siblings Roy & Linda. The Bone Mill was about a mile away, down Bedlam Lane, across the Railway crossing, down to Rowley's Green Road and up the hill. The Bone Mill was on the corner of Judd's Lane right under the gasometer. I remember vividly the stench of the bone mill when the wind was in our direction. It will stay with me forever. I did the same paper round as my older brother Alan Oldham which included Bedlam lane, Rowleys Green Road, Judd's lane including the Bone Mill, then over the iron railway bridge, across the Red Hills and all around Lady Lane & Oak's Place. I have included some maps from around 1880-1890 showing Alexandra Terrace in the days before King Georges, Elmsdale & Arbury Avenues were built. Lythalls Lane was then known as Foleshill Hall Lane and the Old Hall Hotel was the just Foleshill Hall. The maps also show position of the old Foleshill Workhouse and Chapel lane (later Old Church Road) and Chapel Square.

Having lived in Bedlam Lane from 1934 I knew all about the Bone Mill. I left Bedlam Lane in 1960.

I think I may have posted this before, I used to collect bonemeal from there for a neighbour, in return he gave me pocket money and tomatoes, it did the tomatoes good despite the smell, now I have to buy it from the garden centre for my toms.

In 1901 my great-great grandfather was a foreman at a "chemical manure works" on or around Rowleys Green Lane which appears to have made bone manure, and he became Manager by 1911. This would probably once have been Bannister Potts, which later became the Coventry Fat and Bone Company. It appears that the company eventually relocated to Somerset, and continued to trade right up to 2006.

My grandad and grandma moved into Alexander Terrace in 1906. My mum was born there in 1917, she was the youngest of six, most of her siblings were born in Alexander Terrace. My mum took over the tenancy of the house in 1957 after the death of my grandad, I was born there in 1955, my sister in 1953. I lived there until I got married in 1974. My mum and dad both continued to live there for the rest of their lives. Mum passed away in 2003 and I had the job of giving up the tenancy in 2012 after the death of my dad. All in all the house was in my family for 106 years. The houses were 2 up 2 down with kitchen and two reception rooms, we called them the living room and front room. It was 1973 before the houses were modified and given inside toilet and bathroom, up until then it was a trip up the backyard to the toilet and a tin bath on a Friday night. The only access was from the jetty which was basically a back dirt road which ran between Alexander Terrace and the back of houses in Booths Fields. It was a very close community in my childhood and youth, 12 houses in all and all still stand today. None were lost when Congleton Close was built. I remember the smell from the bone mill very well, we would walk past it to visit relations in Lady Lane, Longford. Dad always said it was a good healthy smell (not too sure about that but we believed him, lol), we played in Peggy's Field a lot as kids, always running to watch the trains when we heard the bell in the signal box. We lived at No 2, the families there at the time were Stokes, that's me, the Pooles at No 7, Greensmiths at No 6, Rawlings No 8, Guiless No 9, Greensmiths again at No 10, Russells at No 11, and Edwards at No 12, Mitchells at No 4, and Levers at No 5, No1 was the Forsters and later the Kennels, and No 3 Mrs Hill. I remember the Pearson family, I was friends with John, I also remember the Farmers from Booths Fields, they lived next door to my aunti and uncle Gladys and Tom Gaut.

I remember you very well Tom. We have chatted before but not sure if it was on this site. I married Dyanne Mann on 21 May 1988 and we had our reception at the Lythalls Lane Club (now the Cherry Tree). Your sister Sue had her reception at the same place on the same day which confused some of my guests when they walked in the room and found a different bride to the one from the church. You know my wife's uncle Jeff Mann from King George's Ave and Jeff's brothers & sisters including Bert Mann & my father-in-law Johnny Mann. I remember your mum & dad well. They used to come in the RAOB Club where I worked quite a lot in the early to mid 80's. Worked occasionally at the Foleshill Social for Billy Poole after I had worked for a year or so at the Parkstone. My auntie Olive (nee Oldham) married Harry Greensmith and I am positive they lived in Alexandra Terrace before moving to 109 Arbury Avenue.

Hi Tom and Derrick, I think I may have asked you this before Derrick, but Tom can you remember a Leslie [Les] Poole who lived in Alexander Terrace? Les was a classmate/friend of mine at Longford Park/Windmill Road school, you say you were born in 1955 so Les, being a similar age to me, would have been about 10/11 years older than you. Can you also remember the Wooton Family who lived at the bottom of Booths Field? Mickey Wooton was also a classmate/friend of mine, he had a sister Ennis a brother Dennis and I other siblings whose names I can't remember.

Hi Derek Yes I know Les Poole very well, he's my cousin, lived at No 7 Alexander Terrace, still lives in Coventry. I also know the Wooton Family, they lived in Booths Fields, tho I haven't seen any of them for a number of years. Seen Les three weeks ago at a funeral.

Hi Tommo58. It was I, and not Derrick, who was asking after Les Poole and Mickey Wooton. I am glad to hear that he is still around. Since leaving Coventry for Devon in 1972 I lost contact with many friends, many of them leaving Coventry too. With the advent of computers and social networking, it is now more possible to contact them. I now communicate with a number of old classmates, some in different parts of the world. It would be nice to hear from Les again, so if you see him again please remember me to him. Mind you, as it's been over 50 years since I last saw him, he may well have forgotten me!!

Kept out so far but isn't it ALEXANDRA Terrace NOT Alexander Terrace.

I've heard that argument many times over the years Derrick some say Alexandra some say Alexander I'm pretty sure both spellings have appeared on the road sign at some point, regardless of how you spell it the bills always arrive through the letter box. On the old map on this page its spelt Alexandra but if you search the postcode CV6 6FQ on Google Maps its spelt Alexander.

That's a very interesting list Heathite thank you, I knew or have heard all those names many times before. It would be interesting to know the date that the list was compiled as there are a couple of names that had moved on either before my time or very early on in my time. Trevor Russell at No 8 later moved into number 11, he was married to Dorothy Rawlings, they spent the rest of their lives in number 11. My dad was Ernest Stokes and of course my grandad was Frederick Poole, both at no 2.