Folly Lane

Hello all, I am researching my Uncle, a bomber pilot in WW2, who was killed in 1944. He and his family lived in Bulls Head Lane, and I am told went to Folly Lane School. On a visit to my mums today. She directed us to the top of Humber Avenue until we reached Gosford School. Is it correct that this was the site of Folly Lane school? I presume Folly Lane existed as a street and disappeared at some time? I'd be grateful for any historical information and any old pictures of the place if they exist. Thanks for any information. Neil

Hello Neil and welcome to the forum Folly Lane was the original name for Humber Road (not to be confused with Humber Avenue). The site on which the school was originally located is now known as School Close.

Thanks for that Dutchman Looking out for an old picture of the school now!

This 1924 aerial view shows the original school (dead centre) in what was then still "Folly Lane" and also (to the left of it) the railway goods yard on which the later school was built:

1939 view taken from the reverse angle. Wonder what the noise was like in the neighbouring houses at playtime?

1939 close-up view of the school:

That's now the site of Newlands Court Sheltered Housing and the road leading to it is called School Close.

Hi Dutchman. That factory bottom left on your first image, is that the stamping works??

Yes Norman

It's good to see the old school again, especially from above! At the top of the picture are three roads - the right hand one is Bolingbroke Road, and I used to catch the number three bus to the terminus at Stoke Aldermoor. We were the first family to occupy our house in The Boxhill, in the early fifties. You could still smell the putty, and see the dumper trucks used by Wimpey when building the estate. I have many happy memories of both the school and the neighbourhood. Wonderful to see one's childhood suddenly on the screen!

We were one of the first families to occupy one of the houses in the new part of the Barley Lea in 1953. Potatoface, did you, like me, transfer from from the old school in Humber Avenue to the newly opened Aldermoor Farm school when it opened in the mid 1950's?

Great to see this view of Folly Lane school. I was a pupil there from 1946-49. Headmaster was Mr Kelsey; I started in Mr Batt's class, then Mr. Butler and finally Mr Thomas. Though I expect this is long before many of you were there. In the playground was an air raid shelter. In the school hall, at the end of the school year, parents were invited to attend sessions of country dancing by the pupils. Sometimes there were plays produced and visitors such as a man who did Charles Dickens recitations, putting on hats appropriate to the part, made an occasional appearance, and the film Joan of Arc was shown to us. Football for the boys was on Stoke Green. Mr Kelsey visited in class and recited lengthy poems, such as 'The Highwayman' and I think 'The Charge of the Light Brigade. Another master played the piano and taught us sea shanties and folk songs.

HELLO - MY NAME IS GRAHAM HARRITY. I WAS AT FOLLY LANE SCHOOL FROM 1945 TO 1949 WITH MY TWIN BROTHER ROY HARRITY, WE DIDN'T LOOK ALIKE THOUGH. HE WAS IN MR THOMAS'S CLASS AND I WAS IN THE CLASS NEXT DOOR & WE HAD A LADY TEACHER, BUT I CANNOT REMEMBER HER NAME. I REMEMBER I WAS IN A SWIMMING TEAM AND ALSO WHEN THEY BLEW UP THE OLD AIR RAID SHELTER. WE USED LIVE IN GULSON RD AND TO GET TO FOLLY LANE SCHOOL WE WOULD CROSS THE FIELD FROM THE BINLEY ROAD. IT WAS FULL OF ALL KINDS OF WAR JUNK FOR A WHILE, AND WE USED TO PLAY IN THEM. THERE WAS A WHITE POWDER ON THE GROUND, DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT WAS AND IT HAD A PUNGENT SMELL AS DID THE OLD AIR RAID SHELTER. FROM THERE WE WENT TO STOKE SECONDARY MODERN AS IT WAS TERMED, THEN WE STARTED WORK AT ARMSTRONG SIDDELEY AT AGE 15. I VISITED COVENTRY ABOUT 6 WEEKS AGO WHILE ON HOLIDAY IN ENGLAND AND IT'S CHANGED A LOT & WENT TO THE AREA WHERE WE USED TO LIVE AND WHERE FOLLY LANE WAS. THE BRIDGE HAD BEEN REMOVED OVER THE RAILWAY LINE WHERE WE USED TO CROSS SOMETIMES TO GET TO THE SCHOOL THOSE EARLY DAYS THE BOMBED SITES WERE OUR PLAYGROUNDS AND MY MUM AND DAD LOST THEIR HOME IN THE BOMBING AT BALL HILL AND WERE EVACUATED OUT OF THE CITY.

Hello Graham & welcome to our Historic Coventry Forum, Pull up a chair & make yourself at home. Thank you so much for your interesting post. Happy Christmas.