Matterson Huxley and Watson

They're there on the early fire insurance maps on the north side, opposite the market. Their buildings then sweep north towards the river. They seem connected to the Lion Iron Foundry just to the east but I don't know how close the relationship was. To the west and partly to the north of it was the New Centaur Cycle Co. Just to the north, against the river was the Rover Cycle Co on the upper floors. In its day the area was a real hive of industry.

Am I correct in thinking that MHW were still trading in Hales St in the 60s/70s? And does anyone remember the plough that stood on the top of that building?

Quite correct, matchle55 - and I believe the plough went to their premises on Kingfield Road

Kaga The entrance to Mattersons was in The Burges, I think they sold steel from there. To the right of the entrance was the telegram office, I remember this because I had to call there one Christmas Day while on emergency duty working for the Gas Board. This would have been about 1961-62, it was the start of a long cold winter. AH

When I was an apprentice I was instructed to buy my tools from a shop, left hand side at the bottom of Greyfriars Lane. Was that a branch of MHW?

That would be the Warwick Lane premises in Heathite's post above

Gas Centre, thanks, but not thirty years before, the entrance was in Hales Street. Midland Red, thanks, but I did a search for MHW but got no trace. Yes I visited the repair shop in West Orchard a number of times, for we often had broken hoe blades or harness breaks, exciting for me because boss had the only car in the village, and his mother liked to city shop. MHW had a forge, racks to take long saw blades to repair or sharpen, and a few men to repair harnesses etc. The plough on top of the shop in Hales Street was a one furrow plough, the same as I was allowed to work with on my own, from when I was twelve onwards. Often the air was sweet with the luxurious perfume of newly mown grass, while the next field was a rolling corn-field, billowed before a breeze. Hundreds of poppy heads danced scarlet among the golden corn. Most times dusk was gathering when I turned my horse from the last furrow of the day. Yes a very long time ago when the world was different in every way.

NeilsYard. Opposite the car above was MHW iron works. Here they had a massive forge. I believe the building had a corrugated iron (not sure) roof, but when the sun shone in the summer, and the flames of the furnace rose so did the temperature, so the big doors were wide open. The air itself, in and around the factory, was hot. All day long, the place resounded with the deafening noise of the forge - iron on iron - and the shop filled with iron bars, broken wheels, broken ovens. All the same the forge had a great power of attraction. There was always people standing round watching. The men seemed to work at superhuman pace, as if life depended on getting the particular job finished in the next five minutes. It was a fine sight to watch them banding a wheel, or twist and turn iron bars into shapes of flowers and plants for the backdrop of fireplaces and gates etc. It set one's imagination travelling along tracks of swords, shields, and all from hammering the iron. Cannon, and civilization, the plough, the wheel. But also the rhythm of the blacksmith's hammer was to me like an ancient song, a mythical force. It was the Coventry I knew as a boy, and lost. Post copied from topic West Orchard on 19th Jan 2019 10:51 pm

I wonder if that's why Matterson's had the cast iron plough above the shop front canopy, it was something that had been cast and forged in the foundry.

I have fond memories of the plough over Matterson's, a feature of Coventry's Hales Street for years.

Goodness, it's like Coventry Revisited viewing all of Prof's old photos, and now realise how much I took for granted when living there. I can just see the plough there now and never gave it a thought at the time. I guess a lot of Forum members can relate to that.

Yes - the plough was above the shop in Hales Street, but the roof was badly damaged. I think a central panel remained but cannot remember if the plough survived, I think it did, But West Orchard was a complete write-off. Part of their business was in the wholesale market in Barracks Square that was damaged by fire, here they had rabbits, (sold) etc. Gas Centre - said the entrance was in the Burges, but I have no recollection of that, for MHW was on the other side of Hales Street.

In post 24 I said the roof may have been corrugated but re-thinking, that wasn't possible for it blazed like fury, as one fireman told me.

Adjacent to Opera House, Hales St?