Radenite Batteries

Thanks Herberts lad. That's exactly what I enjoy, researching one thing and it leads you down another path! I am sure between us all, we shall solve Midland Red's poser There was also the 'Radenite' battery maker just past the General Wolfe on the left hand side going towards Longford, by Wilson's Meters. Post copied from topic Ghost ads on 10th Oct 2018 7:50 pm

The Radenite factory was on the corner of Foleshill Road and Blackwell Road and should, in my opinion, have been preserved. As with so many of these irreplaceable historic buildings, nothing was done to prevent its destruction (after which the site lay derelict for years). It had a very ornate facade which, in itself, should have ensured its preservation.

I was hoping to find a photograph of the Radenite factory. I did find some advertisements for it. Radenite Advertisements

When I was a young lad in the 50's and early 60's we would often travel by bus to Coventry along Foleshill Road. I was fascinated with the number of factories, shops, pubs and other premises of all shapes, sizes and functions fronting onto the road itself, or seen from the road. For some reason I particularly remember a building with its brown paintwork "Formerly Van Raden and Co Ltd" written on each side of the central door arch at the top, "Radenite Batteries" on the left, and "Never Stop Starting" on the right! I'd love to know what premises other people remember.

Radenite was another building of architectural interest which was quickly and quietly demolished some time ago. It was near D F Gibbs.

"Van Raden batteries!", so Radenite would be an Anglianised form I guess. Presumably a Dutch company.

August 1903 from British Newspaper Archives

From memory of discussions with my family, the name was changed during the First World War to sound less foreign. Not sure whether the Van Radens had sold up by then, but at some point the company passed on to the control of my great grandfather JP Starley. I recall the photo of the Payne and Bates Car and factory frontage hanging in my father's office at Foleshill road and at the new site of Bayton Road. As I recall the city council required Radenite to move from the old site so it could be re-developed. However, this never occurred and the factory was brought back into use manufacturing shirts.

I'm in my 50s and remember my dad taking me from our house on Foleshill Road (next door to Morgan's the jewellers) each Sunday to the farrier/blacksmith on Lythalls Lane (circa 1966). After the horses were shod, I was allowed to ride them (bareback) to road-test them. I preferred operating the bellows; less risk. We moved to Blackwell Road in 1974. It was a great pity to see that the Radenite factory was demolished. Perhaps one of the first battery companies in Europe and a pioneer of what became the Sealed Lead Acid battery. I acquired the trademark earlier this year.

Hello covtom, and welcome to our friendly forum If you enter "Radenite" in the search box, top left, it will take you to several posts about them

Many thanks. Very interesting. Some old ads appear in Grace's.

Does anyone have a picture of this building? It was a very ornate brick building on the Foleshill Road which I`m sure was `listed` before, mysteriously, being knocked down very quickly.

My understanding is that the building was demolished because both it and the ground that it stood on were highly polluted after years of production of lead acid type batteries. The site then stood vacant for many years and then the present building was started but never completed. The old factory was used for garment manufacture in later years and I have often wondered how much the people who worked there were affected by the alleged pollution of the site. Was it Matharu Manufacturing or a very similar name?

Hi, a web search using search terms - radenite batteries 567 foleshill road Coventry - gives the following. Plans showing the location and layout of Radenite Batteries' works at 567/575, Foleshill Road, Coventry. This record is held by Coventry Archives & Research Centre Reference: PA 1562/22/1-6 Title: Plans showing the location and layout of Radenite Batteries' works at 567/575, Foleshill Road, Coventry. Date: November 1912 - 22nd July 1963 Held by: Coventry Archives & Research Centre, not available at The National Archives Language: English Coventry Archives & Research Centre Browse repositories Herbert Art Gallery and Museum Jordan Well Coventry England CV1 5QP Telephone: 024 7623 7583 Email: historycentre@culturecoventry.com Website: Open: Wednesday-Friday 10.30-3.30; alternate Saturdays 10.30-3.30

Heathite - that is certainly the correct building with the General Wolfe at extreme left and the junction of Blackwell Rd in the right foreground. Forty years ago I often stood at that bus stop waiting for the 20 to take me home to Bedworth.