Old Coventry firms

By the way, that white space on the corner of Bond Street and Ryley Street did not belong to Glenn's but was a garage and warehouse belong to "W.O. Davis" of Hill Street. Shortly after I left the area in 1960 it was demolished in stages and became Bentley's used car sales lot. This poor quality photostat taken from public records is a view of Bentley's taken from outside the Town Wall Tavern. It is part of a collection of pictures used in a planning dispute between the council and the owners. It appears to show a solitary private dwelling in Ryley Street but I was not aware of any residents in that part of the street at the time:

A view of Glenn's rebuilt factory taken from the same file as the one above. The lorry entrance and the window above it are the only things visible on the Bond Street side. The factory was still only a few years old when the picture was taken, the warehouse to the left of it has been demolished and the overspill from Bentley's sale room is annoying the planning authorities.

And they were supplied to the shops in big TINS - measuring about 12 inches square and 15 inches tall. (probably had about 48 packets in them?) No idea what sort of "recycling" went on to get the tins back. I recall my father bringing a "tin of crisps" home every now and again. Always Robinsons - with the three spires picture on the packets. He used to make a point of telling us that they were "Made in Coventry"! I also recall "Niblets" (or a name similar to that) I used to love those

I used to buy crisp scratching from the crisp factory behind my school yard (St Johns, Dover Street)

Hello Urchin & welcome I think that you & I might have had the same name at one point, as I can remember my mum calling me that sixty years ago. Best wishes for a happy time with us here.

When you say 'Niblets', what do you mean, were they liquorice?

No Foxcote, Niblets were very similar to modern-day "French Fries" - not a potato stick, more of a corn type snack.

I was thinking of 'Negroids' little black bits of liquorice, the singers used them. I think they changed the name Little Imps or something like that. Could have a whole new topic on 'Sweets', Gobstoppers, Flying Saucers, Liquorice Wood and that pretend tobacco was weird wasn't it. I always had an edible 'Smoking Set' for Christmas, wouldn't be allowed now or else a 'Post Office Set' or 'Sweet Shop Set', they seemed so magic how they were packaged. Never had a Chemistry Set though, I bet some of the blokes on this have blown up a few sheds in their time with one

I also use to get the crisp scratchings from the same factory,the children who used to go to school from the spon street entrance used to throw stones over a wall separating our courtyard from the path they took to school,does anyone remember the name of the crisp factory? just to add,the broken crisps were 1penny a bag! (bargain!)

I recall a crisp factory in Stephen Street - now on the site of the Fire Station.

I believe that there was a crisp maker somewhere by the Empress Buildings in Binley Road in the late '50s, early '60s. There was a local maker called Riley's but I cannot remember where it was.

My uncle and aunt lived in the last terraced house in Stephen Street, next to the crisp factory. I remember well the crisps with the blue bag of salt inside. They were compulsorily purchased to make way for the ring road and moved to a sheltered bungalow in Radford. My uncle, I remember, was before his retirement a salesman for "Dainty's", a confection of chocolate encased creamy stuff with coconut flakes on the chocolate. Anyone remember them?

You can still get dolly mixtures in the UK. There are a lot of sweet shops now selling old fashioned sweets. They have the big jars on the shelves like they used to. My favourite is licquorice torpedoes (comfits). I worked in the Candy Box in Jubilee Crescent when I was 14 and they were the only sweets I used to nibble when no one was looking. I still like them 50 years later.

I used to work in the office for a small Coventry firm which is no longer there, it was on Quinton Road, called Pistons Ltd, it used to make pistons and piston rings, does any one remember it? Two brothers owned it, their name was Parsons.