Market Street (to Smithford Street) and Market Place (to Broadgate)

I believed it was the market but I've never been able to pin it down.

Helen, on the tab Street Views a view of Market Place shows the end of a shop which looks like it has bacon fiches (I think that is the right word) hanging outside. It is not the same building as it has 2 upstairs storeys. Do you think this could be the Bishop Street shop? Do those stickers on the end say "removing". Also why are there policeman standing outside the shop?

I think that 7 and 8 Market Street works (and the Library says it is Market Street). By the time of the Fire Insurance maps they've been demolished and a new set, further to the west, have been erected. My mistake was not realising that the image is looking north. I think that the building to the right of the photographer but not in this picture (you can just see a bollard on the corner at the bottom of the photo) is The Welsh Harp. In front, to the right is one of two buildings before you would emerge into the old market. The chimney in the photo looks like the chimney on the right but I think that our photo is further in the distance. The Library notes indicate that it moved from Market Street to Cross Cheaping in 1900, although 7 and 8 weren't on the 1897 map. Maybe they moved out of this shop and into a 3 storey replacement until 1900 when they moved entirely?

Thank you, Anne that puts Laxon's in the right place!

Well, the picture above is no doubt the women's butter market, and the three storey building behind the stocks the watchhouse or lock-up - on plan it was nearly square. On the one side it adjoined a very old inn and its yard, which stood on the corner of West Orchard. Up to 1840 the stocks had been the other side of the butter market, the old lot was removed the year of the picture 1865 to make room for the new market hall. A number of sentry boxes were spread around the market place for the police to rest in.

Bacon flitch Anne, you lost one letter! Perhaps the police were guarding them.

Thanks to Cliff Berwick - another smasher. Taken looking west - you can just see the top of Market Street upper left

I note on Rob's maps is Market Arcade. This in addition then to the Drinkwater Arcade which was next to the White Lion? With the City Arcade on the other side of Smithford Street makes three arcades! Market one looks it may be shorter.

CliffB has turned up trumps again and found this one which is apparently Cash & Co footwear specialist, 28 Market Street, Coventry. My post#10 earlier showed Cash's on the corner with Smithford Street though looking at that one I'm struggling a bit to confirm how it fits the larger extended store shown in that ad. I thought it was initially the Smithford Street face but the lamppost doesn't seem to tie in - nor the property next-door. What does the forum think? Re-adding the earlier add image for comparison

Cash's shop grew I think and extra properties were added to the whole. Number 28 wasn't at the end of the street and maybe once they'd added the front shop on Smithford Street they refurbished the block, removed or moved external doors and generally moved stuff about. They may have completely rebuilt it, though the styling of the upper windows looks like the early 1800s. In 1740 there was no Market Street and the road and this block may have looked a lot more like the Lions building next to the City Hotel. The creation of Market street may have involved total rebuilding or recladding of old ones. I can't tell yet. The 1850 map shows numerous doors and a passage along the street whereas the 1898 map looks like there has been some consolidation of the shops. Your advert looks later still. I need to peruse Heathite's excellent directories. So in summary the oldest shop does become the back part of the newer one but there has been a lot of work done.

Thanks Helen - it might be the angle of the photo but there is what appears to be quite a gradient to the street though which is why I initially thought it was the Smithford Street face.

Found it on eBay, Cliff, which includes a better shot of the ad image.

I'm beginning to doubt that the older picture is Market Street. Cash's weren't on any part of that block in 1874, a drapers occupied the same spot. There was no 28 Market Street listed. By 1886 Cash & Co are at 61 Smithford Street. This requires more work.

Coventry Herald advert for Cash's announces the now open shop at 61 Smithford Street on the corner of Market Street.

Helen, there is a comment on FB regarding this one stating there's a newspaper notice saying moved (or removed) to 56 Smithford Street, opposite Woolworths in 1929.