Hillfields

Talking about great chip shops & pork batch shops. My favourites were for pork & stuffing batches, hot dogs & bowls of faggot & peas was on the corner of King Edward Road, Hillfields (where I lived from 1950 till 1976.) My mates & I always stopped off there on my way home on Fridays & Saturdays, after a night out, & enjoy filing our faces back in the late 60s. It was run by a lady who lived behind the shop. Also I used to love the chip shop in Harnall Lane between Nicholls Street & King Edward Road. My mum used to get me roe & chips (my fav) & peas from there after school (Freddie Birds) back in the 50s & 60s. They were a very clean shop. Always a queue. Run by an English family who lived on the premises. I used to love watching him swirl the chips around with a basket in the hot oil, & then lift out the piping hot chips. Am I making you all peckish? We'll never see a Coventry like that again. Happy days mostly.

The shop you refer to was called the "Ber-Dot", which was also my favourite for pork & stuffing and faggot & pea batches. Used to take my own children there but alas all gone. Had a lot of favourite chippies but one in paticular was up Stoke Heath opposite the school. Bit grubby inside but if you had not much money and were hungry you could buy a suitcase of chips for 9p, bargain, enough for four people, lol.

What lovely memories Doug. I lived in Coronation Road and well remember the pork and stuffing batches, I remember they used to put a little bit of crackling in them - delicious. I also remember taking a bowl to the shop for faggots, peas and gravy - I can still taste them. The shop was called 'Berdots' which was a mixture of the names of the owners. The lady was called Dorothy, but I can't recall ever seeing the man in the shop and I don't know what his name was. I also remember the fish and chip shop in Harnall Lane, I went there a few times but mostly went to the one in King William Street.

Hi, his name was Bernard but worked mainly out the back. Dorothy worked the shop. I used to go there at least twice a week. Lovely couple. Miss the shop.

The chip shop was run by the Lenton family. I used to go to John Gulson School with their son Jimmy in the late 50's. Also in our class was Linda Picken whose parents ran the famous batch shop on Foleshill Road, opposite Cash's Lane. After roller skating at Longford on a Saturday morning, we used to get off the no.20 and call in for a "penny dip" - yesterday's batch with stuffing and dipped in gravy. Couldn't do that these days though, the "Food Police" would close the place down!

Do you know if their surname was Greenaway?

My nanna worked at Pickens pork batch shop for years. When my brother got married he and his wife lived above the shop. Later my aunt and uncle ran the shop and moved in to the flat above. I used to help Mr Picken make the sausages (one long sausage) and occassionally served in the shop. Mr and Mrs Picken lived in the grand house behind. My nan used to clean The Bamba before she worked for Pickens. I used to help her sweep the dance floor and used to find money under the seats. One day I saw a mouse and I never went back again. Gilly

Was Pickens batch shop the one in Foleshill Road? I used to love the food from there, very worthwhile, the walk from my Courtaulds office near the canal bridge for my lunch. That shop became a computer shop about thirty years ago. My son in his final year at school did his works experience there, the proprietor was Mr. Singh. I will ask about another food shop on Foleshill Road in the favourite shop thread on here. I did enjoy reading that, Gilly.

Sorry Tricia, never knew their second name. I used to have a pork & stuffing batch every Wednesday night after going to the ATC. Also a faggot & peas on Friday night. Spoke to them for years, there is a lot of questions I would like to ask to a lot of people now, but alas, too late. Reading some of the replies on this forum, there must be a lot of people that our paths must have crossed, so without knowing you I will say "hello!" PS, in the book I wrote there is a mention of the "Ber-Dot". You can find it in the book reviews. All royalties go to charity (must be read with humour in mind, all true but a bit twisted to make my mum squirm )

Hello scrutiny, Yes, in hindsight there are a lot of questions I wish I had asked my parents. What was the title of the book you wrote?

It's nice to hear all your memories of "The Berdot" batch shop, Living in King Edward Road 104) for so many years, we used it a lot. There were all the shops you needed to live comfortably in that one road back in the 50s-70s. There were also some lovely people living there. There probably still is. I used to love Primrose Hill Park as a kid. You could hire bats & balls, stilts, tennis rackets, etc. I used to love playing hide & seek there, & running up that hill (I'm beginning to sound like Kate Bush).

Hi Tricia. "A Coventry Kids Tale". Wrote it so that my grandchildren would have some of the answers for the questions they would have liked to asked when it's too late. Also so when they are in trouble with their parents they can say "Well, my grandad wasn't so innocent either". Also to Doug, going home from school in the winter, we would find an old metal sign and slide down that hill until all the snow had gone and we then got covered in mud. Happy memories

Hi Tricia. Whereabouts in Coronation Road did you live? I used to use the slipper baths in Coronation Rd, as we never had a bathroom in our house. People may scoff, but they were really clean & hygenic. The baths, metal ones, & the showers were of course scrubbed out after each person used them ready for the next customer. The only snag was; on a Friday or Saturday, they got very busy & you would have to queue for sometime before it was your turn. So a good book was vital on such days. Do you remember a family called "Ashley"? If I remember right, they were a very, very large family. I ask because my sister used to hang around with one of the daughters back in the 1950s. Also, do you remember the comic shop between Coronation Rd & King Edward Rd? I used to buy my Superman & Batman comics there. It was run by an old guy who used to just pile the latest batch of comics on the counter for you to flick through, till you saw one you wanted. God, I wish I had kept all my Superman & Batman comics, they'd be worth a fortune now.

Hi Doug, I lived at 21 Coronation Road, which was almost opposite the baths. Our house was opposite Primrose Hill Park. Sorry I can't remember the Ashley family. The shop you are thinking of was called Saddlers. Mr Saddler always wore a suit and a shirt and tie. Yes, he put comics on the counter, but he also had magazines on the top shelf behind the counter. Sometimes one was left on the counter and he would turn it over when us kids went in.

Hi Doug. I grew up with Tricia in Coronation Rd, we were best friends and got back in touch about 4 years ago and now meet up every few weeks. I lived at number 33 directly opposite the baths and we used them regularly, you may have read my piece in the Memories section where I talk about them... amongst other things. My maiden name was Jan West and I have an older brother Alan... ten years older than me and his surname is Clare as he is my half brother. I also have brothers called Geoff and Ted and a sister named Kath. I think the shop you talk about was called Giles, if you are talking about the one in Berry St. I remember going in and sneaking looks at the top shelf and giggling at the nude ladies on display. I also pinched a chocolate bar off the counter one day and didn't really enjoy it as my conscience troubled me for weeks after. I don't recall the family you mention, families I do remember were Parsons... next door to us, Tierney: my friend Tricia, Taylor, Draper, Brown, Gillett, Beaufoy, these were all close to me in Coronation Rd. In King Edward Rd I knew the Gardner, Golder and Clarke families... and there must be others I have forgotten. As you say, Doug, in hindsight we wish we had kept a lot of our old toys and comics, sometimes see them on the Antiques shows. Lovely to reminisce!