Bayley Lane

I agree totally. Those rusting panels look awful. When they redeveloped the Herbert they should have reconstructed that small area to create a more built up feel and also try to make the Cathedral Quarter linked up better with the surrounding streets. Instead the city centre is full of weirdly angled buildings with strange spaces and no one knows what to do with them!

I love them!

Ah, thanks for clarifying that Helen It's marked as being on the corner of New Street and Priory Street as far back as the 1890s Helen, hence my confusion.

The dispensary was established in 1831. Members paid one penny per week which entitled them to medical advice and medicine when required.

Personally I don't like them. The idea was an OK one, the execution terrible. You really can't read them and it would be almost impossible to make out what they're there for

This was the best one but you had to be on your knees to read it

Thanks Anne , I guessed it was something like that. Would have become redundant when the NHS started.

Yet Dougies picture says 1731, I found the info on the internet so I wonder which is correct, I will investigate further on Monday

The metal sheets have really done what was intended. First they caught the eye because they're so brutal. Then we wondered why they were there. Next we've investigated their meaning and discovered something about that area. Finally their starkness reminds us of the ugliness of war that destroyed the original buildings.

I think that they are a brilliant way to pay tribute, way better than silly info boards which would not have been able to show Bayley Lane through the ages in any way that would be recognisable to those who lived and worked there during its entire existence..

I have checked on line and every mention of the Coventry Provident Dispensary says it was started in 1831 not 1731!

Yes, I think they really make you think. They are good in my eyes because they sort of remind me of walls that have survived after a building has been destroyed. I love reading about who lived there in this way