Queen Victoria Road (inc Drill Hall)

Who remembers a little fruit and veg shop just inside Queen Victoria Road? It was owned by a little old lady and her husband, he was a "cockney" but she was an Olympic swimmer from the 20s!

Which end?

Near the junction opposite Holyhead Road

Are you sure it was Queen Victoria Road and not the short section of Spon Street because a family called Brown is listed as having a fruit & veg shop at No2 Spon Street from the 1920s up until the shop was demolished? Also the section of Queen Victoria Road immediately adjacent to road junction was the site of the bombed-out Plough Hotel although there was a shop of some sort a bit further along the road.

"Yep"! Their name was Stokes, and the woman used to walk to the wholesale market every morning very very early to fetch fresh produce. It is obvious the shop was not well known, but I can assure you it was Queen Victoria Road and that the shop was there.They had two sons, one whose name I cannot remember, but the other one was Tony, who in later years worked at the Morris, but before that he worked for a company called "Coventry Electrical Appliances", I think they were in Wheatley Street at one time. Tony was also an ex Royal Marine and in the 1950s he married my mother and became my stepfather.

There was a Coventry Electrical Appliances in that part of Queen Victoria Road, it was formerly Marsons television and radio store. The only shop I remember in Queen Victoria Road was a sleazy newsagents on the corner of Croft Road. This isn't surprising as once the extension to Corporation Street was built few people had reason to use the northern section of Queen Victoria Road any more. The effect on passing trade must have been devastating? The remaining occupants were forcibly evicted when the Co-op foodstore was built circa 1985-1987. These included eighty year old women who were born and had spent their entire lives living in the road.

Hi, I walked up Corporation Street today to go the station. For the first time, I noticed some flats on the right hand side of the road, in a very tall building, just before the ring road. Could somebody tell me any history of the building? It's fascinating! (Just goes to prove that walking around does produce some interesting sights!!)

Sorry Anne, you've lost me, can you be a bit more precise please? Which way were you facing, and exactly where are these flats located

Anne Are you referring to the block at the top of Queen Victoria Rd just before it stops at the ring road?

Yes, sorry - I forgot that the road changes name! Thanks, Charabanc

Anybody else on these boards work at the old GPO delivery office in Queen Victoria Road. Closed 1976 when it was moved to Bishop Street.

I remember the Drill Hall being used for 'Ideal Home' type exhibitions around 1950 (give or take a bit).

For those members who have yet to venture over to the map scans on the Main HC site, an aerial view from the mid 1960s can be found here. The Drill Hall is in the bottom right hand corner of the scan.

Hi Heritage, I've always had the idea in my mind that the Drill Hall was used for 'Ideal Home' type exhibitions, thank you for clarifying it. Sometimes things get a bit muddled as you get older.

Tricia - I think you are right. There was a period when the Drill Hall was used for all sorts of events, including boxing, wrestling and dancing. I remember counting votes there after one election. There were also two parts to the building and I am think that the smaller part of it was used by the Dunlop.