Much Park Street

This do, Helen?

This one is also a rare capture of the southern end of MPS post war but pre-ring road, just before the turn east where the junction with Short Street was. It shows Woodhead's (Undertakers and Florists) at No.40 and Cleaver's (Builders Merchants) who were at 43-44 -

Don't think I have posted this one before, Hammerton's Dye Works.

I hadn't realised it was that big Anne from the frontage.

I'll be honest, I thought that was part of the brewery! You learn something new every day.

What an amazing forum. I have been researching my Muir family history, particularly that of my grandfather Thomas' brother, James Muir. James left the family farm in Ayrshire and went to Birmingham where he met and married a lady named Margaret Ellen McCuthchion. James and Margaret matried in Birmingham in 1888, but then moved to Coventry where their children and descendants continued to live up until the present day. What sparked my interest in this forum topic of Much Park Street, is a St Michael's Church 1894 (13th April) baptismal record for their third child that cites James and Margaret residing at 120 Much Park Street. I am not sure how long they resided there, as this is part of my ongoing research. Prior to living in Much Park Street, James and Margaret as registered in the 1891 Census as living at 13 Butcher Row. James was a greengrocer at that time.

Hi Peter, welcome to the forum 120 was next door but one to the Greyhound pub. Probably the best picture is shown below. You can just about see the 120 of Parsons on the very left of the picture. Courtesy of Neil, one of our moderators. And here on the right courtesy of Covjb35

I have two photos of the demolition of this building from 1962. The book The City of Coventry by Graham Kempster p50, with one of the photos, says that they're George Stokes Cycles and the Dew Drop Inn café. The 1960 directory put George Stokes at number 86. Does anyone know, was the cycle shop on the front of the street and the Dew Drop Inn next door or at the back of 86? For the moment I'm assuming that it was next door at 85. 87 was destroyed in the war, so it wasn't that. Mixed up trying to work out what I was looking at, I explored the Lord Rodney at 88. The truth is that the original Lord Rodney was the L shaped Georgian building at the back and not the timber building at the front.

Hi Helen, this article may help, from a letter in the CET written in 1990 by a 75 year old lady who lived in the flats. There is also an article about a Mr Allen having to be lowered out of the window of 84 Much Park street because they could not get him down the winding staircase. Apparently there was a sign on the wall as they lowered him that said, Don't fall out, Dew Drop Inn !

Thanks Anne! The titbit about the staircase is good too. 84 was the left most 2 storey building. The 3 storey one was 82 and 83. I think a long stretch of buildings in that area were all medieval. They'd had modern makeovers - most in the early 1800s but inside and behind they were still timbered buildings.

There is a picture in the CET of the timber frames before they were demolished, probably the one you found in the book, if not, have you taken out your subscription or I could post it ?

Thanks Anne, I found that. Why I never look in the papers I'll never know. The book has a better copy of the photo. The accident happened in 1949 and he was still living there in 1960. It says that his wife was running the café but it doesn't say explicitly that the café was part of the same building but your article suggests that it was 84. Given that the previous person running the business at 84 was a confectioner, it also suggests that the business could have had an eat in area. Thanks again Below shows the rears of 85 on the left, 84 in the middle and 83 on the right. 84 doesn't look like the café could have been very big.