Swanswell Pool, White Street

Hi Millie In 1850 there were no buildings on White Street between the Swanswell Gate and the pool. There were a few houses (3 plus two other buildings) opposite Swanswell Pool but by 1888 they'd been demolished and a City Mill had been built. Does that help?

Hi Helen, sorry I've only just seen your reply which I thank you for. The three houses plus two other buildings maybe what I'm looking for! This little photographic studio would have opened in 1862. I'd be interested to know more about these buildings? Thanks again.

Hi millie Below is a rough map of were the properties were in 1850. The leftmost is small and might not be a house plus it didn't date back as far as 1750. The same applies to the left hand side of the block of 3. The middle one had a front door in the centre and a set of steps out the back directly opposite the front door. Georgian? The area sloped down quite a bit from the road - hence it's suitability to be a mill. The right hand side of the 3 had a door more to the right hand end and a shed out the back which I've drawn on. Older, converted buildings were often less regular than Georgian properties but new ones with shops were also unbalanced. So that building might be older or newer than the one in the middle. The dividing wall at the back however puts the shed on the side of the middle house. It looks like they might have all been one property and then divided up. There were significant gardens at the back with lawns, trees and beds including veg. The 1750 map shows something in the area but it's impossible to tell if it's the 2nd or 3rd building of the group of 3 or even both. The next property looks fairly large also with a shed, that I didn't include. The property was accesses via a path with steps on its eastern edge. It also had gardens. Directly to the east of this building and the path was the Swanswell Mill. A very old and impressive structure. Both buildings were there in 1820 but the mill had been demolished by 1850. The final small building off the road is a bath house So I'd guess the shop was one or more of the group of 3.

I have come across an advert from the Coventry Times 1861 for my ancestors first photographic studio. The address is White Street, near the City Mill. Would this be an actual working mill or is it the name of a pub?

An actual mill, replacing the very old mill that had been just to the east, but that had been demolished by the time this map was drawn. To the east of that location there was a pub called the City Mill Inn but that's not on White Street. Link to Old Maps - zoom out twice to see map Move to the left on that map and you get Jesson House.

Hi Helen, I thought I'd responded to your last message but I'm clearly not very good at this! But thank you so much for your help... it's all beginning to make sense now. Having re-read your first message in conjunction with your last, it's clear that the brothers had their very first joint venture in a building by the mill, A.V. Green then moves off to Atherstone and I think R.V. Green remained in that location, changing his adverts to say "White Street, opposite Swanswell Pool." You've even suggested which building it could be... happy days! Thank you and hope you have a lovely a Christmas. x

And a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you Millie! If you ever get to Coventry and the Herbert Archives - they will photocopy sections of the Board of Health map (dated about 1850) for a small fee or you can photograph it (if you want copies of more than a few things, it can be cheaper to get an all day photography pass). I got photocopies of the maps because I wanted to fit them back together but for small sections, photos are often better. The Board of Health map shows the houses/shops opposite the pool in quite high detail, including garden features. Another option is to order the appropriate bit but the prices start to mount up. Still, it doesn't cost anything for a quote so it's worth asking. I stared by buying books on Amazon to research Coventry because it was cheaper than either ordering books from the local library or visiting Coventry.

Hi Helen, thanks for that info. I have been lucky in getting documents from the Herbert before relating to conveyances etc. but I've not heard of the Board of Health map. I did wonder how you knew about the gardens etc. Would you be able to share that bit of the map with me. Don't worry if that's difficult, I can ask the Herbert if they could send me a copy electronically. I'm grateful for your help... it's a slow process but it's coming together, ha! Happy new year to you x

Hello Helen, I've asked the Herbert if they could supply me with a copy of the Board of Health map for the section of White Street opposite Swanswell Pool but they say there were no buildings there then in 1850. The detail you gave me previously about the buildings, did that relate to a different date?

Hi Millie, it's the top right hand side of sheet 10. I've stuck all my photocopies together so it's more obvious that there's a bit of the Swanswell Pool on the next map down from the obvious one. You can see the buildings on the small silhouette map which is from the same mapping endeavour. There may be another middle sized map and perhaps It doesn't have buildings to the south of Swanswell Pool? The one I reference is made up of many A1 (?) sheets. It's massive. You may be able to get what you want with an A3 landscape across that corner. On the map, the buildings aren't exactly opposite the pool but more bottom left but the pool had been reshaped at that end due to the new roads that had been built. Re your previous question that I missed, I have to sign to say I won't redistribute stuff and I wouldn't want to fall out with the Herbert. Sorry.

Hello Helen, thanks for your latest information. I'll go back to the Herbert and see what they suggest, they are very helpful. Don't worry about the copying bit, I perfectly understand

Millie, I am new to the forum and I have just learnt all the do's and don'ts of posting comments/replies per the guidance of Rob Orland. I grew up on Primrose Hill Street way back when and used to visit The Swanswell Pool on many an occasion. I remember the Three Tuns Garage and their auctions on a Saturday morning per my dad's visits. In particular, I used to pal with David Dennett who lived on White Street. He had a magnificent pristine collection of Gallagher cigarette cards, hundreds of them. Dave and I used an aluminium dump as a play/adventure area which was located on Leicester Street, immediately across from a St Johns Ambulance depot. The dump consisted of damaged aircraft parts and a host of miscellaneous aircraft/military bits and pieces including ammunition boxes (empty!). I wonder where David is now and his brother who won many prestigious singing contests. Under members gallery, I have compiled two specific photoshop generated items: Classic Coventry Cars and Medieval Items. Unfortunately, no photo images from back then.