Aerial views of Coventry

I guess this shot was taken late 1940s like the other similar one in the Hales Street thread posted by Neil although this one has a more up-to-date lorry advertised, the older one could even be just pre-war? That curved wall has achieved a certain fame through this forum, hasn't it? It was obviously well-used for advertising purposes.

I think this is the weigh-bridge on Rob's now and then of Hales Street. If this picture appeared now you would think it was the public toilets. Hales Street

OK so pre-War date this one - It's got some great detail and I'm slightly puzzled by what the road is front right and that timbered building? I think it might be a rare capture of that era of Bayley Lane?

I think this is a similar view after the blitz and really shows the destruction And that timbered building bottom right is this one seen on the Bayley Lane thread - the pattern is the same -

That's a smashing photo, Neil. I was just looking on this 1937 map, and I think you must be right about that timbered building being Bayley Lane. I think we can also see the double row of tiny terraced houses in Freeth Street, just left of centre. And isn't the rear of the Gaumont Cinema huge! Oh, so many things of interest in aerial photos - like staring at a 3D map from funny angles!

Yes, the timbered building was Bailey Lane. It was not an original timber frame but was in fact a new build covering number 44 and 45. In 1819 William Henry Brook painted the same location and captured the very grand original. It was there when the drawings for Coventry Past and Passing were made and even Dr Troughton sketched it from the other direction. On the end was a star symbol and I wonder if the building had been the Star Inn at one point? By the time the Board of Health map was drawn it had been demolished and a shed plus a passage replaced it. The left hand side of the passageway probably followed the original passage into the inn yard and even in 1850 there were still a coach house and stables in the yard at the back.