Coventry Dairies

Thank you Alan. I have a little more information now and... you are right it was Midland County Dairies on Gulson Rd and Harold Greens farm was in Walsgrave! Do you know the name of his farm or have any more information you could tell me about it? A photo of the farm or that area of Walsgrave would be great. Do you have any idea of where I could get one or what I should search for? Thank you again, your help is very much appreciated. Kerry

Hi Kerry, the only thing I can add is the approx location of Harold Greens farm. If you look on Google Earth and find the Walsgrave Retail Park that is roughly the area of the farm, all swallowed up now with houses and industrial developments. No photos I'm afraid, only fading memories... Alan.

Talking about dairies, reminds me of the Co-op dairy in Swan lane. Back in the early 50s I remember when they used horses to pull the floats. It must have been the very early 50s. I was born in 1950. I well remember seeing a horse rear up out of control. My stepfather told me a few years ago how his dad used to be a farrier around the war years, & used to shoe all the Co-op milk horses. He saw his dad shoot out of his workshop like being shot out of a cannon, after a horse had kicked him with his rear hooves while his dad was bent over, shoing the horse. His workshop was in Cox St, but I don't know when it was demolished.

No photo I am afraid but I do possess an old newspaper cutting from 1949 stating Mr Harold Green the well known midland farmer of Lodge Farm Walsgrave has been elected vice president of the National Farmers Union. So the farm was called Lodge Farm if that helps. In passing the two black and white cottages to the left of the supermarket at walsgrave my dad always referred to as Greens Farm.

Yes you are right, the Co-op Dairy was in Swan Lane and they did use horses way back in 1947, because I used to help the milk lady deliver the milk in Cheylesmore. I thought Gulson Road Dairy was Coventry Farmers Dairy, or something very similar, I remember Farmers Dairy bit for sure. All the milk bottles had a hard waxed board disc.

The name of the dairy on Broad Lane was "Quinneys", worked with a few of there milkmen as a kid for a bit of pocketmoney. I think prior to "Quinneys" it was "Midland Counties".

Just checked the 1959 GPO Telephone Directory - Arthur Maddison's dairy is listed as Broad Lane Midland Counties only in Gulson Road No reference to Quinney's That confirms my memories from that time as Maddison's (as mentioned previously) delivered to us in Earlsdon What years were Quinney's?

Quinney's was definitely on Broad Lane, I would guess around 1968ish, I worked weekends with various milkmen around Tile Hill and Canley, there was Fred, he was a private dairyman who also had a farm up past Burton Green who delivered milk in Canley, his wife Josie also had a milk round who delivered mainly up towards the top end of Charter Avenue, I worked with Fred before school and weekends and also helped on his farm during holidays.

This is very strange I don't doubt or dispute what you say for one moment, as you were there, I wasn't I have located Quinney's Dairies in the Telephone Directories between 1968 and 1975 - head office at Redditch, production at Stratford, retail at Leamington and also at Coventry Street, Coventry - absolutely no mention of Broad Lane at all Very strange

Hi Midland Red, (this being my first post) I was working as a "milk lad" at Quinney's Dairy, Broad Lane in 1967 (12yrs old), helping 3 different milkmen, one doing part of Broad Lane down to the lights and into the Mount Nod estate. The other round was in Kenilworth, starting in Dalehouse Lane, the roads round by the prefabs, Wyandotte, School Lane then up into the town, I remember delivering to flats in Station Road (they were a new build and had an intercom system, cutting edge in 1967) then onto Rouncil Lane, finishing on the estate round by the Gauntlet pub.I can recollect the milkman's name being Jeff, he lived up in Gravel Hill. Private dairymen also worked from here, they purchased the milk from Quinney's and distributed the milk on their own rounds. One such, was a lovely man called Jack Ravenhall, he lived near the Co-op on Allesley Old Road, I worked for him for quite some time, his round was Tile Hill North/South and Canley. The dairy itself was not a production plant, it was just a distribution depot, with huge drive-in fridges, The milk was bottled at a plant in Stratford upon Avon, and transported by beige coloured "Dodge" articulated trucks to Broad Lane dairy, reversing off Broad Load up the ramp to be offloaded by fork lift truck. The head office was at a farm at Sambourne near Redditch, here they bottled the orange juice, sorted and packed the eggs and potatoes and even produced jubblies, Ithink they were called "Fire water" After finishing my round (which i started at 05.30) I would sometimes travel with the artic driver to Stratford to pick up the milk for the following day. Prior to it being Quinney's it was definitely Maddison's dairy. Midland Counties had a depot in Browns Lane, Allesley, opposite the Jag.

Hi and welcome to our Forum I think you'll enjoy it and find it useful with your questions!

I use to live in Vecqueray St, the Midland Counties Dairy was at the bottom of our garden, when we first moved there I was woken up every morning really early with the rattling of milk crates, they use to stack the empty crates against the wall at the back of us, which was really helpful to us kids who by climbing onto the wall had an easy way down into the dairy at night when they had all gone home, we never did any damage it was just a buzz being somewhere we shouldn't be. I was about 9 at the time, use to love watching through the window on Gulson Rd, as all the bottles rattled past on the conveyer belt

I also used to watch the bottles on a conveyor belt, also there is a farm on Wigston Road next to the school I don't know if that's the farm but the farm in Henley Mill Road used to be called Green's farm.

Hi, the dairy used to be Coventry Farmers Dairy, changed its name early 50's to Midland Counties Dairy - I used to live at 77 Gulson Road - the shop next to the entrance to the dairy - used to watch the horse drawn milk carts go out when I was very young - I just about remember the dairy putting in the conveyor/bottle filling machine that you could watch through the front window. On the left of the dairy was Shut Lane and next to that Astleys Hardware

Good morning Robskytoon & welcome to our forum Thank you for your post. I was brought up In Wyken during the forties & fifties. The Co-op delivered our milk by horse & cart, from their dairy in Swan Lane. Best wishes to you Philip.