Manor House Farm (aka Hall Green Farm)

Kaga, I've definitely seen a short version but I'm not sure about a full version - he had two properties in Courthouse Green which were sold after his death. Did you see my previous comments about a well?

Lewis62. 1880 I didn't think there was anything to answer, an everyday thing to me. Foleshill, Bell Green, Hall Green were not part of Coventry - lived off wells, and they shared. If they shared that farm well, then they would use a yoke and buckets. And yes, I believe it was still there in 1944 - don't believe the farm had running water till 1950 (Wood End), but that was the reason I asked for a larger map. Look at the map, at the top was Hawkesbury Pool (Wyken Pool). It was fed by two brooks from the north, one from Exhall, one from Parrotts Grove way. On the left, between the pool and AG Red was Manor Farm, on the right of the pool was Main Farm and they ran like that to Lady Lane. At Lady Lane there was a deep ditch and bank. The pool and all the area was always flooded and scrubland, willow trees, etc, the brick cottages and clay pit came next, then the branch railway. The kiln was over the railway near the canal. I was using a well until nine years of age. In the 1920/30s my uncle rented the pool. Now Dunlop came from Ireland about 1900, Courtaulds from Ipswich about 1907. Foleshill came into Coventry about 1926 and Courtaulds branched into Little Heath about the same time - now here's were Manor House comes back into it. There was a little brook that ran from Exhall under the canal and eventually fed the pool, but Courtaulds dumped their waste at Sutton Stop above the brook, the chemicals ran into the brook and down to the pool and Lady Lane, the rushes diluted a lot of the poison. But Manor House farm animals were drinking the water - through the 1930s over a few years the fish in the pool all died, the water birds left, and no-one gave a damn, except my family. I have no idea if Manor House animals were affected, I was just a kid, and didn't know the farm people that well in those days.

Hi Kaga and Lewis62, does this map help? There's a larger map in your mail Kaga

Kaga, Fascinating info but tragic about the pollution - I always feel people are ignorant if they do not care about the environment and world they live in. This was an extract of the e-mail that Dennis Cakebread sent to me in 2013: "Yes, I lived exactly opposite the old sandstone bridge you mention so we could see right up the farm approach track. The old bridge was a great playground for the local kids as most of the time the water was shallow and great for finding aquatic wildlife. Sadly, my recollections of the farm are all in my head. In those days we didn't have a camera apart from an old box camera which was never used - maybe it didn't work or maybe there was no film available as it was the war years and just after. I often try hard to remember exactly what the rambling farm was like and in my mind. I can see most of the various buildings. The house was on the front of a typical old- fashioned farmyard square formed by barns, dairy, cowshed and implement store. I remember the rear door into the kitchen which had a large brick sink and draining area and door leading into the main living room. The 'best rooms' were at the front looking down the long drive towards Hall Green Road but I didn't see much of them. There was a 1st floor bathroom and I recall the outside loo round the side of the house in the orchard. It was a 'double-seater' earth closet with sheets of newspaper clipped on the wall! The Flavells would have live at about number 131-133 Hall Green Road, a semi-detached house built about 1930 and it would have been in the 1950s - we moved about 1959".

Lewis 62 It's almost certain that I would have known Dennis by sight, Eddie Bransen, Foxford school teacher lived opposite the Manor driveway in the late thirties, I used to ride his cycle home for him once a week. Thanks Heathite, but look how few Houses on AGRd nothing round to the old Mill, and the rest spread out, the sweep must have used the shed in the field opposite to us, back then as well, the coal train ran across the road without gates, and we were still using a hand water pump until 1936 When they built the new road and bridge. So Manor farm would have been right up to the farm track that became AGRd. And one of my family kept the Bird-in-Hand pub. in 1910. and his brothers and a neighbour staggered over the Manor fields to the boats at Wyken Basin were one of them drowned. We all had newspaper toilet paper in the thirties, there was always a huge kettle singing on the hob, and there was always a dripping sandwich on the table, in good times for anyone Miners bathed in the front room in a tin bath, regardless of what company we had, held a small mirror in one hand and a cutthroat razor in the other and shaved.that looked gruesome. No bathrooms so a gus-under under every bed. A ball of chalk in a bucket of water decorated the ceiling's, pantry and toilet, a yearly job. But had the chimney sweep the week before. We ate fish and chips straight from the newspaper with fingers. but some small kids had a small pudding basin placed on their heads to have their hair cut at home. Teenage girls closed the kitchen door, to wash, used soft water from the water tubs to boil and wash their hair in the large kitchen sink. In our kitchen about six feet square, the gas stove was on the side wall, so you could not have the gas door open and stand at the sink as well, and next to the gas stove was the kitchen fireplace. the other side of the kitchen sink was the back door and the yard wide Pantry that ran the length of the room, I never knew a time when their was less than three kids and we added to that about every second year, always three or more in a king sized bed, my sisters had a small box room and in 39 the govt said you have to take two soldiers

Kaga, Great memories. This is a picture of Walter Worviell - later to marry my gran's sister, Sarah Ann Flavell and live in Old Church Rd.

Lewis62 Try 1928 floods.

Whist this does not help, it is close as the farm buildings are just behind the trees. I've posted it as it does show the condition of Hall Green Road.

Yes, 1928 and 1938 when Hall Green Road was built and the trees have gone from both sides of the road.

Great picture - just a shame you can't see something through a gap in the trees.