Hillfields

A new one to me - Perkins Street.

Just a little eBay raid this time - 14 extra old Coventry photos. (Order by Most recently added first to see the new additions.) Not many, but I'm quite pleased with a couple of them - particularly the classic view of Spon End Arches, and the Railway Station Entrance. Also, perhaps a little mystery to solve, which I've plonked here. It's some kind of procession along King William Street, which I've tentatively labelled as 1911.... could it be the Coronation? Or is the year wrong? Post copied from topic Forum Features & Updates on 8th May 2022 10:41 pm

Methinks a shipload of bananas have just arrived. Sorry, just me being flippant. Judging by the men in olde worlde gear walking down the street, must be a day of celebration in their Puritan collars. Is it even Coventry I wonder. A debatable photo though. Of course the windows are a giveaway.

There was a Godiva procession in 1911, Rob. A map in the CET shows it went along King William Street. There was an historic section which could account for the Puritans! The procession was also to celebrate the Coronation of King George V.

Ah, I see, thank you, Anne. So, the Godiva procession and Coronation were combined into one big celebration then? I hadn't realised that. Great stuff!

Hi Jo If the image is of the same card I spotted on eBay, the seller had no location for it, but the Maypole was on King William Street.

Aha.... sorted! It can't quite be made out in the image above, but zooming into the original postcard reveals both the "GR" poster and the street name!

I have an ancestor who was at Oakland House, Perkins Street in 1913. That is the address on a birth certificate although her address was 3 Court 1 Weston Street. Is anyone familiar with Oakland House at all.

Hi Jessie, looking through the newspaper archive it appears to be a lodging house as rooms are being advertised.

Hi Jessie. There's a Mrs Parker running a boarding house at number 15 in 1912. Number 15 was no different to its neighbours and survived the war. It was on the east side of the road, just south of the properties facing onto Wheatley Street.

Thank you for your replies. The trouble is I thought I might solve the puzzle but instead now I have more questions. It doesn't make sense that my ancestor would have her baby in a boarding house when she lives a few hundred yards away. I was expecting a midwife or nurse to live there. Oh well, on with the research.

I have just gone through the 1911 census for Perkins Street page by page and there are two boarding houses and there is also Oakland House. It has two families living there, one family has two rooms, the other has eight rooms, so could it be the tall building in the picture shown on the Hillfields thread.

Looking at an earlier, higher resolution map, it looks like the first house on the east side was fancier than the others with a garden to the south and bay windows. Looking harder at the directory, I see Oakland House inset, before number 1. It is just next to what had been an early Raglan factory. Here is an image from Britain From Above. Get a login to be able to zoom. Bottom middle is the start of Perkins Street. There is a factory with three pitched roofs. Then what looks like one house but on the map looks to be separated into blocks. The rightmost section was definitely Oakland House and the factory was built over the garden.

Thank you for that. By coincidence I have looked at that view from above today and wondered if that was the building I wanted. I can't thank you all enough for looking at various ideas and giving me some help. All I remember of Perkins Street is the Chapel on the end, it was always the entrance to the car sales. I never knew until recently that a street used to be there.

Couple of images of the front of Phillips hardware, Hillfields, taken in 1975 by Victor Burgin for the CDP project. Post copied from topic Shops of yore on 6th Oct 2022 5:31 pm