Lower Ford Street

In the first picture it looks like fire damage but the recent one looks more like damp.

Hi & thank you for sharing such an enjoyable topic. Garland's Joke Shop. Brill!

Ah! Garland's stink bombs, they were guaranteed to clear a public bar in 2 minutes, and get your ticket in 3!

Hi NormK, They did the same at Pearks grocery store in Sewall Highway

I can certainly remember visiting this shop for various paraphernalia to be used for practical jokes and general mischief at school. I would suggest the shop should have displayed a plaque outside: "By Appointment to King Henry VIII Grammar School, Coventry. Official Purveyor of Stink Bombs."

Dutchman: I think you're probably right, but my gran says there were no fires while they had the shop there. Philipincoventry: Thanks to everyone on the forum for bringing the shop to life for me, considering I wasn't born until after it closed. NormK & MisterD-Di: I can imagine the trouble those things caused in the end the shop had to stop selling them because of the complaints. Before the shop was "C. R. Garland's" it was a butcher's (Evans? Butchers), when my grandad moved in he couldn't afford to redecorate so used the walk in fridge to store rags and clothes and the meat hooks to hang jackets on.

In the 1912-13 Spennell's Directory, it is shown as "William H Davis, boot maker"

Thanks Midland Red amazing to know how many different faces these shops have had. Checked the 1911 census: William and Hannah Davis worked in the shop and their son Leonard Davis was a machinist elsewhere? Interestingly they declared 5 rooms on their census, which is odd considering there was only 3 rooms upstairs and the downstairs shop space (which does not count); so how did they come up with 5?

It's quite likely the downstairs space was originally divided into separate front and back rooms.

If a room used as a shop was not counted, would the downstairs therefore have had to have been divided into THREE?

A kitchen wouldn't count either Tony. As built it would have been: Ground Floor: Front Room; Living Room; Kitchen First Floor: Front Bedroom; Back Bedroom Second Floor: Topshop at back only. The topshops came in very handy as storerooms when the houses were converted later to retail shops.

The 1960 Telephone Directory shows H T Evans, butchers, at this shop

Dutchman and TonyS: thanks both; I think you're probably right, the downstairs was divided into 3 and I know my grandad used to store clothes in the top room - so that adds up now. Midland Red: Thanks for this - looked at the directory saw that he owned 2 butchers (?) one in Lower Ford and one in Walsgrave. I know he actually owned the shop and rented it out to my grandad - don't know why he left Lower Ford Street.

Was just looking at the shop photo, and noticed the Granada bingo sign reflected in the window - it's not brilliantly clear: (I had to flip the image round)