Coventry Photos and Paintings on the Internet

One photo is that of prefabs "on the edge of Coventry". I wonder where that could be? I grew up in a prefab in the late 1940's but that was was in Stoke Aldermoor where they certainly weren't laid out in neat rows as in the photo. Instead they had been built in two's and three's on odd parcels of land.

DBC - I assume you mean the aerial photo. From the road pattern this is Canley with Charter Avenue running through the picture and Ten Shilling Wood and Pig Wood on the left hand side. I did not realise that this had been prefabs before the steel houses.

Thanks for that Mick. It's surprising what little bits of information those photos show. For instance, the picture with the courtyard and grocer's van has a an old oil drum with the letters "G" and "OD" painted on it. It think that was for pig food. Anyone who has been watching "Wartime Farm" on BBC2 will be familiar with the term "pig club". We had one in Stoke Aldermoor. Somebody would keep a pig, and various householders would contribute their kitchen waste to feed the animal. Come Christmas they would then share the meat out amongst themselves.

It's a much published picture of Hertford Square in Spon End. English Heritage want £400 for the rights to display it on here!

Dutchman I was just checking in before my little Sunday nap before the darts final and I am not in trouble am I for linking the English Heritage site on here?

It's not a crime to link to another website. It's a civil offence to copy a photo without the owner's permission and there's a very grey area in-between called 'embedding'.

Oh it's very difficult to understand the grey areas Dutchman, when politely asking of the well-being of our old solictor, the answer was invariably 'tolerably well' which means nuffink, a typical legal 'grey area'. Linking seems to be the safe option. While I have your attention Please tell me where Waterloo Road was located.

I think you mean Waterloo Street in Hillfields Foxcote? Old-Maps.co.uk

Thanks Dutchman for the speedy response, yes, I did mean Waterloo Street in Hillfields. I was having a look about for Cadman. On the census, it is divided between Holy Trinity and Saint Michaels, two different pages, y ou have to be careful not to miss one side of the street.

Dutchman, I just found a public house in Waterloo Street, St Peter District, 1861, The Sir Robert Peel, the residents weren't described as 'licensed victualler' as usual but Silk Weaver. Hughes was the surname I think.

That's probably an earlier name for the George Hotel which, strictly speaking, is in Yardley Street but the distinction is moot. Quite likely it was a silk weaver's house which diversified as the weaving trade declined. It's my belief that the ubiquitous design of Coventry homes was a major factor in the city's ability over a very long period to switch from older industries to newer ones, an ability which has been lost today.

I agree in a different way! The topshops were built for specific industries and their needs, and they were mainly cottage industries. In a way, the way Coventry's watchmaking industry was based on a 'cottage' industry was its downfall as it could not compete. What perhaps led to the growth in other industries was the skills that the watchmakers brough to the area that could be utilised by industry. The topshops are easily adapted to home/restaurant/office use, though, and I feel form quite elegant and striking street frontages. I always used to find it quite a shame when visiting other cities that they had these grand streets of old industrial buildings being converted and bringing new life into the city centres - and in Coventry just all this purpose built stuff poorly arranged around these drab pedestrianised squares. I suspect that had things been different, some of the these former industrial buildings would have become quite desirable for conversion into inner city residential properties or businesses, especially those on busy streets with a lot of footfall. By the time the motor industry had setup in Coventry, these cottage industries were already dying out and the properties wholly unsuitable. So that all moved into newer factories. Instead of having streets of buildings that can be converted to new use, Coventry appears to be lumbered with a lot of large footprint purpose built buildings that are just demolished and replaced with another purpose built structure. The Post Office Sorting Depot, for one, and the old Co-op that was demolished a few years back to make way for IKEA. Yet another purpose built building (with a dismally dead street frontage) along with the precinct. Even the former Leofric Hotel is now up for sale again - and Coventry's post war buildings don't seem very popular with businesses. About all that seems to be possible with the post-war buildings are student flats, which I don't think really bring anything to the city that would benefit those of us who live here (and I speak as a former student in this city.) Will anyone want to open up a hotel in that? The city's hotels seem to be happier in areas with easy access. I think it's actually a problem for Coventry. Cities are generally arranged in rings, but Coventry has lost too much of its urban character to actually allow the sort of businesses you get outside the main business district (if it even has one) to thrive. Streets of former industrial buildings that can be adapted are, in my opinion, perfect for that, especially if they have residents and footfall. All that's left of this in Coventry is Far Gosford Street, and that's been badly disconnected. All I can see in Cov is that there'll be a constant cycle of demolish, build, and most of what is built will be awful things like more supermarkets, multi storey car parks and other large buildings that, when their original use has gone, are difficult to re-use or unwanted.

I think this is a wonderful site, packed full of really unusual shots of Coventry. Trucks, buses, all sorts. I only put in a search 'Coventry' but for anyone interested in trucks, buses, oh all sorts, have a look - takes ages The Stilltime Collection

Thanks again Foxcote. I know what I will be doing this evening and it is NOT watching TV !

Thanks Dreamtime, I went to bed too tired too appreciate them all. I hope you find the Cov ones, when I put a search in, a lot of the ones local where mixed in between Birmingham, I saw the first lot, thought that was it with Lady Godiva and nearly gave up but after lots of Brummie pages, Coventry came up again, loads of shots of round the back of the market and precinct and some mystery shots of places I couldn't define. I saw some Harry Skelton trucks (NormK have a look!). The thing that struck me was that they are all so clear. Anyhow, good luck sifting and if anyone finds stuff that they are familiar with, please share any memories or info with another link, because the only downfall is that they haven't described the images overly.