Spon Street

Happy to unearth it.

My memory is of the corn merchants on Spon Street. It was a single-storey brick building, and the name was John Boon (maybe Boone). I remember going there once or twice on a Saturday, on our local trip into town in my father's old car (nobody had a new car in those days, unless they were a film star). My father had recently taken up the hobby of making wine at home, and yeast was needed to start fermentation. John Boon would paste a teaspoon-sized dollop of this sticky light brown-yellow gooey substance onto a piece of greaseproof paper, for which he charged the princely sum of 1/2d. (That's a halfpenny in old money for the younger generations, worth about a fifth of a modern 1p coin). It was a very generous helping (dollop) too, enough to start the fermentation process for the whole of a large brewery in Burton-on-Trent, like Marston's. I guess he was glad to be shot of it before it went off, and had to be scrapped out, for I remember him having quite a large container (barrel?) of the stuff. The greaseproof paper in those days was proper greaseproof paper, by which I mean that it did what it claimed to do on the tin. Unlike the modern "greaseproof" paper in which they wrap your cod and sixpennorth, which isn't greaseproof at all, but is adsorbent, so that by the time you get home, it's gone all soggy and stuck to your fish and chips like a certain proverbial substance to the bed linen, and you have to spend time picking bits of soggy paper off your food, which by the time you've finished has gone cold. I'm sure it's deliberate to add to the stress in our lives (blame the government...?). Those good old days were before 'elf n' safety had gone mad. Does anyone remember how the flavour of the chips was enhanced by being wrapped in old newspaper? They tell me things have improved over time. Anyway, back to Mr Boon's corn merchant emporium. That was about half way along Spon Street, so I'm fairly certain it was demolished to make way for the ring road.

Spon Street 1957 showing Boons.

Thanks for that, Heathite. I thought the correct spelling was Boon.

Anyone got any ground level images of Holyhead House which was on the corner of Spon St and Lower Holyhead Road? I think it was destroyed in the war?

Hi Neil Reading thro the list you have posted, I was wondering if number 12 Chapel Yard was a hostel? People are listed as 32 ct, 9 hse. Do you know what this stands for? This is the same for number 3, Lime Tree Cottages. Could not find Lime Tree Cottages on the map? Thanks Mick

Mick Strong. 32Ct 9hse = 32 Court, 9 House (dwelling #9 in Court 32)

Mick, the Lime Tree Cottages were at the end of Court 47. Lime Tree Cottages at Old Maps

Neil, Harrier posted this. I've got a rough sketch of it but the pictures from Britain From Above are about the best.

Thanks Helen. It looks like all of the courts were in the triangle that was formed by Spon St meeting the Holyhead Road? Why were they called courts? Does anyone have pictures of the buildings? Thanks Mick

Not all, Mick - there were courts on the other side of Spon Street as well Have a look at this site

No Mick, the other way round. Holyhead Road was new and built in line with the courts. Spon Street was the original Holyhead road and was the Chester road before that port silted up. The courts were built in line with the city wall and Hill Street. Since Spon End was an older village than the Spon Street properties the houses in between met in the middle and were at different orientations so it gets messy round Crow Lane. I think that there was also a bit of a hill and a stone outcrop there. The buildings to the east of Holyhead Road were post Civil War because not only was there a ditch flush against the gate, a distance beyond was cleared as a kill zone. 'Court' is probably a shortening of courtyard. Coventry had a lot of yards in 1850. Often named after the business that fronted the yard. The houses behind were infill and only some of them were the same age as the building fronting the street. Most were built on medieval burgage plot gardens and the Lime Tree Cottages were a late addition to Cooks Yard and probably named because there were lime trees there. At a later date the yards were given a number and called courts. No pictures but there may be a very fuzzy image on Britain From Above.

Helen, are those awnings on Queen Victoria Road? Looks like its covered in ivy? Harrier, looks like that pic has been chopped down - do you have the full image?