Market Street (to Smithford Street) and Market Place (to Broadgate)

Ooooh, it's a right mystery then! The pics were initially from an eBay ad and I've noticed before there are sales mixing different city locations together, so perhaps it wasn't Cov after all. Give it time, something will turn up eventually!

On the subject, this postcard is well known. Though I don't think I've seen this one before! Dated 1895. Had to zoom in!

I did a quick look at those, Neil, aren't they the stretch from Broadgate?

Not much help but the seller on eBay says the corner view is postmarked Coventry 1910, the other one is not posted.

We have a possible with number 20 Cross Cheaping (thanks MR). Next to a photographer at 19. I'll explore further but the lamppost is still suspect. Anne, the lamppost is an optical illusion. The branches at the top are actually on the building - follow the pale horizontal bar across the whole picture. There's a chance that the post was a legacy and had had its top removed prior to replacement/removal. But it's still looking like somewhere else.

I think it's the street, Helen, rather than Market Place.

You're right Neil, sorry. Sadly, 20 Cross Cheaping is wrong too, the road sloped the wrong way. Anne, yes there may be a connection to Cash's. Or it may just be a random shoe shop. I think we might have exhausted the possibilities.

Just found this one - I don't think its the same shop but it does look similar. Ironically this one is in Wisbech as well apparently, Anne, though dated 1913.

Another Cash & Co boot shop From the same vendor. I'm inclined to think that the connections was the company, not the manager. I don't think this shop is Coventry either as it doesn't match the other one. Though I could be persuaded. I can't see another location for Cash & Co in the Coventry directories.

Yes, Helen, it was quite a big company. There is a bit of its history here. They seemed to like to take a picture of their shops and make a postcard. It must have been the advertising of the day. Perhaps there is a mosaic still under Market Street/Smithford Street. How about the Haverfordwest shop on there?

Well found, Anne The styling on the most recently offered postcard is very similar to the Cash & Co in Wisbech. The previous mystery shoe shop postcard isn't quite like the other examples at the site but with 136 branches, it could be anywhere. I checked out W & E Turner Ltd too but haven't found a Coventry branch yet... though the name rings a bell.

The Cash & Co adverts usually say W & E Turner underneath and the adverts say Smithford. There is a W& E Turner in Far Gosford Street but he is selling wallpaper and paint!

Just to clarify, 28 Market Street and 61 Smithford Street were all one building

From The Building News and Engineering Journal 1919 - amazing to read they extended that far!

Which Market Place? The cattle market, the Bull Ring, the market hall area or even Broadgate? If the real market or Broadgate then while there were a lot of very old cellars, they weren't part of the Priory which didn't extend further west than Butcher Row. Between the cattle market off Hales Street and up to New Buildings, the Bull Ring and Hill Top were many parts of the priory. There was a lot of speculation about long distance tunnels but they were either drains, water conduits, culverted streams or just cellars that had been sunk into former ditches, giving the impression that they linked up. Further back still there were quarries to build early Coventry including the castle which were gradually filled in with rubble, waste of all sorts and later cellars. I've mentioned before that Coventry was built on a rubbish dump. I want to go through Shelton's archaeology articles and try to plot it all on the map, with matching photos but it's not easy.