What brought us to Coventry, and what took us away?

Where did your families or you yourself come from and what brought you here? Usually work, I would imagine, but maybe love or some other reasons I can't think of. Are they the same reasons that you've stayed there or left? My mother's side of the family were weavers and shoemakers in the city as far back as I can reliably trace them - the late 1700s. Another branch came to Coventry from Prescot, Lancashire, as watchmakers in the 1860s. My dad's side were agricultural labourers in Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, and they arrived in Coventry around 1900 for work of any type. By the 1911 census, almost all of the family regardless of origin were in the cycle industry or some kind of factory work. Eventually, of course, this became the car industry, which was the situation when I left in the early 1980s for work. We know our forum members have interesting stories - let's hear some family history.

It's a good question you raise "where do we come from". I have traced my family to the late 1700s. In the early days the family were split. One side had come from coal mining, agricultural and domestic duties. The other side were ribbon / silk weavers. In the late 1800s the the family were associated with the cycle / motor cycle, watchmaking through to the motor car industry. So where do we come from?

I left Watford (Herts, not Gap) in 1996 to come to Coventry University. My Dad's family had lived in Coventry (Ryton) until the early 1950's and it seemed fitting I ended up in the same place. Sixteen years later I'm still in Coventry .

I would say you answered your own question, Tony. Your family history sounds very like mine. At some point, our families became part of the fabric of Coventry and we would say we are Coventrians. I doubt any of us would be on this forum if we didn't identify with the city, no matter where our ancestors came from or how long ago.

My mother's side of the family have been in Coventry for several generations (the Hutts of VC fame!), my father family have been here since approx 1880's, before that Yorkshire - this may be wrong as my great grandfather changed our surname and I haven't got round to obtaining birth certificates yet. Our family made the huge move to Nuneaton (!) in 1994 so that it was closer for my dad's work and we moved to a bigger house, they were cheaper over this way! My husband and I are planning to take our family to North Devon in a few years. Why? Because we love it there! Leanne

What brought my family to Coventry? As far back as I can tell, Sam Stringer married the widow Alice Eld at St. Laurence's, Foleshill in 1801 and that's how we got here. What's taken us away? Mom went through the Coventry Blitz with my older brothers while dad was away in North Africa, Italy, etc. with the Royal Engineers and after I was born in 1946 we emigrated first to Australia and then on to the US. Can I still call myself a CovKid?

You most certainly can, especially while you're contributing this sort of thing to the site! Incidentally, was your Alice Eld related to George Eld, Coventry mayor in 1834 ? George's daughter also made many fine illustrations of our city gates.

Thanks, Rob Not sure about Alice Eld's married family relationship to George Eld, but suspect there is one. Her maiden name was Birch and it looks like her family came from Bulkington. She must have been a recent widow to Thomas Eld of Corley when the banns were read at St. Laurence's in 1799, since she and my 3x great grandfather Samuel Stringer didn't marry until two years later in 1801. I understand that a two year widow's bereavement was customary in the 1700s into the early 1800s. Sam was a silk weaver and died in 1826. Alice outlasted him by 10 years and died in Holbrooks, Foleshill in 1836. By the way, our Coventry Stringers don't seem to be related to the famous Sidney Stringer. Paul

Came here to study at the Poly. Moved away to do some post-graduate studying, but came back in 1997 as I was offered a job at GPT. My two kids were both born here. I like where I live in Coventry, and like the city's history, but having lived in other cities, I find Coventry a pretty mediocre city in many respects. Especially when you take into account its a fairy major 'economic sub region' or well over half a million people. If job circumstances change, I would not hesitate to look elsewhere.

Hi all I am sure that the rest of Coventry wonders what it did to have to put up with me, but this is why. . I was born Philip James Brown. My mother died at my birth in Keresley hospital. I was adopted from birth by a lady who would have been an aunt (sister to my real father). I was re-christened with my new name & so that is how I came to be here. I always knew my real father, but always addressed him as an uncle. He had previously had a daughter (my real sister) who I always knew about, but as we grew up in separate homes, she was more like a cousin. She lives in Derbyshire & we maintain good contact. My real father later re-married & had two more children. In our family groups, I was the only 'only-one'. The Browns came from Sheffield & Lincolnshire, whereas my adopted father (my dad) was from Dumfries in Scotland. Please make no mistake. If I had my start all over again, other than not knowing my real mother, I would not change a thing. I consider myself very fortunate to have been raised by two devoted parents in Coventry. ps. I often wonder if my interest in transport comes from the fact that my adopted mother & also my real father were closely related to the Fearnley family of Sheffield, who were transport people. Ronald Fearnley was CCT manager, his father was Sheffield transport manager. What a pip!

Hi Philip such a sad story yet fortunate, but glad your here and not elsewhere :+))

A lovely story with a happy ending then Philip. Here's to you and yours

My mum was born and bred in Coventry. My dad came from the darkest depths of Wales when he was 17 because of no work (that takes a bit of doing). The year, 1926. First he worked in a bicycle shop in Nuneaton then found work in Coventry with the council. He met my mum in 1929 at the local fairground, or rather I should say, because my dad was to shy, that my mum fancied him and chatted him up My mum was 14!!!!!! When my dad fell on hard times, no work, he only had enough money to pay for his rent, none left for food. So mum used to met him in Woolworths and share her dinner with him to make sure he ate something (mum made sure he got the bigger half). Dad finally managed to get an apprenticeship with the BTH as a jig borer, lasting 7yrs. They were married in 1936. NOW, the best part. All of my dad's life he had a love affair of Coventry, our walls were adorned with maps of all eras of Coventry, he bought books galore and bought every book the Coventry Telegraph printed, bought them for me too. They decided to have children, no.1 was born, but they were looking for the perfect one, no.2 was born so they tried again and no.3 was born, ME. They took one look and decided they should have stopped at no.2. From that day all hell was let loose. Me, I married in 1967 and we bought our first house in 1969. The reason for moving away from Cov was the price. A two bed terrace, no garage was only £200 different than buying a three bed semi with garage in Nuneaton. Hence, we left Coventry. From Nuneaton we moved to Rugby in 1971 and in our spare time built our own house from scratch, taking three years nine months to do so been building them ever since. Moved down to Wales, where my dad came from, built two more and then moved back to Rugby five years ago. My dad always said that Coventry gave him his start in life and that is why he had a love affair with it, same goes for me because it done the same for me. Long live Coventry.

I came down to Coventry in 1972 for a six month placement at Courtaulds as a research chemist, which is much more boring than it sounds. At the time Coventry was a boom town compared to the North where companies were already beginning to lay people off in large numbers. I found the people here really welcoming and friendly and finding a cheap bedsit was easy. There were plenty of live music venues, some great pubs and top class football, rugby, speedway and cricket teams all playing in Coventry. For the remainder of my University course I lived in Coventry at weekends and hitched to Manchester on Sunday evening and back down again Friday evening, something you probably couldn't do now. Forty years later I'm still here and although Coventry has changed greatly it's still home and I still have many friends from when I first came down.

Hi Old Lincolnian & welcome to the Historic Coventry Forum, I am a retired Courtaulds accountant. I worked in the engineering subsidiary from 1965 to 1999.