Watch and Clock Industry in Coventry

From looking at MR's photos it would appear that the rear part of the building (with the top shops) was completely demolished and has been rebuilt as single units. Were the original bricks reused or any of the old building retained ?

Yep it was a Barber's shop at the front and as he got more ill the lady's in the back used to cut my hair,his 'male' side was on the right as you went in and you went down a corridor on the left to the lady's salon,i remember there was a whole wall covered in local photo's from this area as I sat having my hair cut by a lady, don't know what happened to them all,Mr Stanton was the man that cut my long hair off in the early 90's in an act to make me look more respectable for my sisters wedding.....i don't think it worked though as I still look like a tramp

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I'm researching my family and came across this site because they are mentioned on page 5. They are the Prescott family originally of Clerkenwell but then Coventry (where the family stayed until the present day). I have a 2 generations of watchmakers starting with William Henry Prescott watchmaker who appears to have lived at 4 and 62 Hearsall Lane and his sons: John - Watch Finisher William Henry - Case Springer George - Motion maker James - Watch Jeweller. They later moved to (the court house?) Spon Street. It could be that they all worked in a factory but it seems like they had enough skills between them to be independent. I need to find records where I can put some meat on the bones ? Does anyone have any ideas? I no longer live in Coventry but I assume the houses don't exist any more.

Hello TikTok and welcome to Rob's forum William Henry's address would have been on the corner at 62 Spon End and 4 Hearsall Cottages (seen on the right here). The cottages were already condemned when this picture was taken in the 1930s and replaced by a parade of shops in the 1950s. The three-storey Court House in Spon Street (seen on the left here) was replaced only recently with a modern two-storey outhouse which bears no resemblance to the original.

Thank you so much for this. I'm sure my Grandmother will remember this as it was. I plan on a trip to the watch museum but I'm waiting for them to respond to a mail about records they may have. Failing that I'm not sure. I assume the courthouse wasn't a court. It looks too big for a single family so I guess they rented a room or 2. Again many thanks.

The top-floor was a workshop, hence the extra windows. The family would have lived on the lower two floors. This was a very common arrangement in Coventry.

I think that what is not appreciated by many is that the house is only one room deep. I have the same misunderstanding of my property. Because it is double fronted many believe I live in a luxury house - yet it is the same size as all the others in the terrace but with the door and windows on the side.

Hi, I am looking for some information regarding a thickness gauge I have. It states on the dial 'Rotherham's Coventry, thickness gauge, Legge Brothers (Export) Ltd. Made in England'. It measures a thousandth of an inch. Any information would be nice. Was it used to measure metal thickness in the manufacturing of watches, or was it made by Rotherham's?

It was probably made by Rotherham's and used by tool room workers and the like for measuring. Is it like a modern clock gauge or similar to the older open micrometers. I have a mike with a 12inch jaw that will measure down to one thou'. Although most of my working life was as ambulance crew I enjoyed making things on my small lathe in the shed. Would buy brass bar ends from Price's scrap yard and somehow totally ruin them while trying to make cannons etc. After saying that I don't think I have any measuring tools made by Rotherham's.

The item you refer to sounds as though you have a Rotherham's Paper Thickness Gauge. We designed and made it from November 1950. It would be 3.2" overall length, 2.3" diameter and 0.85" deep from base to bezel top. There is an operating button on the side and a slot where the paper is inserted in the narrow end. Does that match what you have? I did the drawings for it. I would be interested in a photograph of it, as I haven't seen one since leaving Rotherham's in 1956. I am also associated with Coventry Watch Museum and we don't have one. I am also trying to find someone who has a Rotherham's Pigeon Clock to photograph, another of their products which I was involved with.

Hello & welcome Banksy & JRL to our forum Thank you for your posts

Hi. Can anyone possibly tell me what a watch cap maker is please? Also as I understand it, while women helped in the Coventry ribbon weaving industry there were not women in the watch making industry. Is that correct? Many thanks Frances

Watch Cap Maker: made the internal movement cover of a watch. (from Dictionary of Old Occupations)

Many thanks, - Google strangely did not help. Can I assume from the type of work that it was quite a specialised occupation and caused strain on the eyes? With very best wishes Frances xxx