Foleshill (inc. Foleshill Road)

My grandmother came down from Crewe in the 1930s and lived above and ran a delicatessen at no.33 Foleshill Road - it was my father's home during that period too I wonder if anyone has access to any photo which might show that property

Thanks Whitefriars. I almost thought I had imagined the plaque even though it was on a shop not a house! I used to read it whilst going by on the top deck of a bus, so obviously the bottom half of the building couldn't have registered! Other random premises I half remember (and stand to be corrected on) are Hazelwoods TV rental shop almost opposite the top of Broad Street, from where we rented our telly, The Roxy Banba Club (later the Tree Tops) in the old cinema almost opposite the Challenge building, Tallon next to Courtaulds, and RHMS?, I think near Old Church Road. Although the trams had long gone, I'm sure that tram tracks led through the drive into the RHMS yard which was later taken over, I think by a dairy company. Was this originally a tram depot?

I started work in 1970 at G H Beamish and Co Ltd, 914-916 Foleshill Road, radio and television engineers, Coventry 89208.

Greetings to all. I was bought up in Coventry, living on Hampton Road. I have enjoyed reading the comments and experiences of other people on Forum for a number of years. What finally inspired me to join in and contribute was the mention of cricket at Courtaulds. I loved going there twice a season to watch the county play, in particular I remember 1950 and seeing the West Indian touring side which included the great and famous three 'W's, Walcott, Worrell and Weeks. Now living in Canada and out of England for the best part of fifty years. Cricket, Highfield Road and a Sunday lunchtime pint is what I miss most.

Hello JPM & welcome to our forum I worked for the Courtaulds group for 38 years, mostly very happy times. We hope that you are well & can enjoy our forum contributions. Feel free to join in on whatever recollections come to mind. Best wishes.

Hi Can anyone in the group recall the year or the date when the houses on the right side on the Foleshill Road (Bishop Street end / canal on the left) was demolished. I can recall the local council put Compulsory Purchase Orders on the properties to allow for a road expansion that never happened. Is my story true? Tony

You surprise me. Coventry demolishing buildings for projects that never happen!

Prior to the Ring Road the main way to the north of the city was via Bishop Street and then on to the Radford Road or through Leicester Row which in effect was the bottom of the Foleshill Road. One of the first sections of the Ring Road was the replacement of KIng Street/Leicester Street - the latter of which had been widened in the 1930s. It is often forgotten that the construction of the Ring Road also included the provision of 'spurs' or 'radial roads' which included the Butts, Radford Road and Foleshill Road. These three spurs were entirely new roads and did not involve widening or even replacing existing roads. I imagine that Foleshill Road would have been constructed simultaneously or following on from King St/Leicester St. Part of the land used for the road was the former Coventry Brewery site which the Council had owned since 1912 and had used as a works depot. Surplus land on the eastern side was used for the Salvation Army Hostel and the Ambulance Station [both now gone] and on the western side of course William Bachelor and John Tofts Houses were built. There were other properties in Leicester Row including the Canal Tavern which, according to the recently published book about pubs, ceased trading in 1963 - so this tends to pin down the redevelopment of this area to circa 1960-3. I do not recall a proposed CPO that never happened unless there were thoughts of further widening on Foleshill Road but there were proposals for extensive redevelopment in the Eagle Street area which were stalled by changes made by the 1971 Planning Acts. Hope this helps.

Mick. Thank you for your response

Remember collecting coke from the gasworks in the late forties Saturday morning job served by dandy wagstaff was a cold job seemed colder winters then transport was and old pram those were the days

Hello I am interested in finding out the history of Foleshill Community Centre in Foleshill Coventry. I have been attending this centre since 1975, I have been told that the Americans built it for their service men and then left it for community use. If anyone could help I would appreciate it. Thank you

Hi Yusuf - I was told that this building was built in World War Two by the government as a 'British Restaurant'. Before my time, but during wartime most food was rationed. Each person was allowed a small ration of different foods and had a little book which had to be produced to the butcher, or other shopkeeper at the time of purchase. Once the monthly ration of a particular item was used up then you had no more until the following month. These restaurants were set up to sell basic meals at reasonable prices and importantly the food was supplied 'off the ration' which meant that people could purchase it without using up their allotted ration of say eggs or sugar. They were staffed by volunteers from the Women's Voluntary Service (WVS). The restaurant stayed open after the end of the war, but I don't know when it closed and became a community centre. I think maybe there was a workers' hostel on the same site - a place where people who had been brought into the city to work in the wartime industries could live. There was another hostel in Holbrooks Lane next to what is now Holbrooks Park (formerly Foleshill Park) where the big working mens club is now situated. There were other hostels all over the city with the last one being in Chace Avenue, Willenhall. There may be other forum users who can add to this, perhaps those who were around after the war.

Hi Where can I get hold of this information thank you

Hi Yusuf and welcome to the forum I think someone may have got it mixed up with Keresley Hospital which was indeed built for American servicemen and then left for community use after the war.