Coventry Pubs

I hope this is not a coincidence but the the shutters have just gone up on The Rocket once more

The steel shutters at the Summerland have been replaced with wood, I assume to make it easier for firemen to enter the building.

Thanks, mcsporran, for the signal box link. A nice treat for me as a Bell Green (Proffitt Avenue) lad. Just to keep us onside with the topic, our locals were the Navi, Fleece and Weavers. The former two are gone but I believe the Weavers is still going although I haven't been in for about 50 years. I might go for a half next time I come down to Cov, just for a last look. Cheers!

I'm hearing The Rocket is indeed to be demolished as part of Friargate. What a sad sad occasion. Bad year so far for Historic Coventry. Theatre One / Coundon Road Signal Box and now this

Hi all As sad as this all is & it really is, the underlying issue is the fact that we are just not going to the pubs like we used to. Friday, Saturday & Sunday evenings, it was an athletic act just to get to the bar to buy a round with so many folks inside. It's a Saturday night now, so where could I go in Coventry & find several deep queuing to be served at a pub? There might be some that are like that, but where? I, like most, delight in reading the memories posted on our forum where going to the local was an all family affair. Mum & dad inside, the children on the swings outside munching their crisps. Nowadays the only pubs with a family thing are those with restaurants attached, but who can afford that every night? Technology has a lot to answer for this. We are communicating on our forum, from the comfort of our lounges, maybe whilst watching our HD televisions, rendering entertainment quality that gives little incentive for us to go out & socialize. Whether we blame Davenports for their beer at home, or whatever, the fact is that our living & socializing have changed out of all recognition to just thirty years ago. A pub has just reopened in Leamington with a new name, but like so many, it is more a licensed restaurant. That appears to be the name of the licenced trade these days, & they need to be good to stay open.

I have nothing but bad memories of being stuck outside a pub while my parents and family came outside every now and then with a bag of crisps and a bottle of coke. Certainly not family places, as kids were not allowed inside. Visits to family members generally ended with tedious experiences like this. Even pubs that did allow kids were pretty boring places. We don't take our kids to pubs at all. There are more restaurants for families now, and places like coffee shops fulfil a social need (the 'third' place between work and home). Coventry is very quiet at night, Philip. I went out on a Friday night a few weeks ago and it was like a ghost town. I remember places like Browns being so busy you had to queue. Not any more. Places like the Rocket have been dreadful for decades. It was only a matter of time before these places closed down. Some places have changed ownership and new owners have made abysmal decisions and changed them to really bad places - the Courtyard for instance, has been closed and reopened dozens of times.

I know what you mean, gents. I always remember sitting on the grass or in my dad's Austin 1800 at The Queens Head in Meriden while they got the drinks. I've felt a little guilty at times driving past The Rocket and applaud the recent repeated attempts to get the place going whilst not supporting it myself. It was just away from anywhere else and not the easiest of places to get to on a crawl. I guess Pete Chambers 2-Tone Trail will need to be revised now though the plaque seemed to have disappeared from that some time ago. I agree pubs are now not what they were especially in the city centre however it's still a shame that the Council still do not value any of our heritage - there's value in the building itself from a historical perspective and they could have incorporated it into Friargate - all those offices will need somewhere to eat! Does anyone know if that fine single original Eaton Road house is to go as well?

A quick historic treat.... I am fortunate to possess what might be the only copy of this photo in existence, and possibly the earliest ever view of The Rocket pub from around 1860. The image below hardly does the original justice actually. Although scanned from a tiny 3 x 2 inch CDV, the original scan will easily blow up to A3 size with no loss of detail, as I've shown from the close-up of the wagon in front of the pub in the second image. Just goes to show what those ancient box cameras were capable of over 150 years ago!

It was still standing when I passed it two weeks ago, it would be a sin to knock it all down just to fit a project to fit in with Europe. Now the public house The Engine, Longford is up for let

The Shakespeare in Spon Street is up for let too!

Is the Shakespeare the pub that doesn't allow children in (which I think is a bit of shame)? Even the Town Wall Tavern near the Belgrade Theatre lets kids in, albeit on weekends. Not much good for families.

Hi & thank you for the pic Rob. Not just the Rocket, but the picture of quaint goods yard, with the small cattle pens, more resembling a leafy seaside town, than Coventry. Brill!

Those are the Bull Fields which predate the railway Philip. The pub is the Railway Hotel, it was rebuilt and renamed The Rocket in 1964.