St John's Street

Helen I've been asked by someone if we can identify No.53 if you can help? The pre-war maps I can see are not numbered and I'm a bit lost going off the Numbers of The British Queen and Cottage?

If you look at the 1950 map, it shows the 45 and 58, Looking at the other maps you realise that most of the buildings before 58 were demolished before the war and half of them before 1888. Including 53. 53 can only be seen on the board of health map. So on that map if you find Keys Yard on the south, below the T of Street. Then to the right is a small string of terraced buildings and the building to the right of that looks like 53. Not even Troughton drew that missing part of the street.

Strangely Helen the lady whose Grandparents lived there are showing on the 1926 Directory for No.53 though? That gap at the road south where the S in Street is showing on this one is strange with the properties set much further back south?

Ahh, of course, that would be it. The one on the far right of that row then. Britain from Above may show that row? It's listed as a court on the 1888 map.

Thanks Helen - Back to the Smallest House earlier in the thread as my interest has been reignited reviewing here. My post mentioned it was no.12 but wouldn't No.12 have been North Side not south?

Sorry, I missed that when it was posted. There wasn't much left of St John's Street, maybe they renumbered with odds and evens or maybe the reporter guessed that? On previous numbering it would have been number 61. I'm not guessing that it was on the south side as I have an image looking up the street towards Little Park Street. Also the strange size of it only fits the plot on the south side. The article mentions that it was opposite Burdett the baker at 21 and the Cottage at 15-16. There was a photo with Burdett in the foreground looking east along the road but it doesn't seem to have made it into Coventry Digital yet.

Thanks Helen - life-saver as always. Its was an old-odd Street wasn't it. Wonder why that Court/section centre/south where we suspect 53 was is so set back?

A very odd street. Different ages and styles and a fair bit of stone from the wall. It's one of the hardest to get pictures for (see above about Burdett). I only just noticed that I hadn't plotted the house numbers because until recently I had so little of the street to bother with. 53 was built before the front section was demolished, which is why it's initially referenced as a court. They may have been intending to build the street front again

Talk of St John's Street on FB made me re-examine this thread - I've just realised you can see part of what was to become the Police Station on the very right of that Archives image. That same Police building is still there today which helps us date the old Pic to around 1963 as the Pub closed for Demolition in late '62 and also helps to locate where the original Street layout ran - You can see the same two windows on the right here -

From the Cooper Collection (and that small house again!)