Canley (inc. Sir Henry Parkes School)

Hi & thank you Dreamtime, Have you ever been there?

No, Bit of a long way for me Philip, I live in Western Australia (the big sand pit) and as dry as at the moment, and a long way from Canley too. Send us some rain ple e e e e a a a s s se !

Hi again, I tell you what. I will have a word with the current story writer of Rupert. They have a lift that travels all, of the way from Nutwood to China. Surely we could have a lift built to send you some of our rain. Seven buckets on their way.

Hi Midland Red. I think that Sir Henry Parkes house was at the bottom of Moat House Lane. In the 1940`s to 1960`s there was a house in the same area, this looked similar to the house on your photo, which was occupied by the Hunt family. I wonder if it was the same house.

Yes that's the one in my photo

Hi Bakerlea (and Foxcote) As an ex pupil (1955-1961) and more recently Chair of Governors at Sir Henry Parkes, I happen to have hundreds of photos of the school. There is a tiny selection here, but I do have lots more. The most recent were taken after the school had been closed for a while. They rather earily depict a very sad story. During our fight to keep the school open, I became great friends with Ian Thom, a great Grandson of Sir Henry himself. Indeed Henry's birthplace, if I recall correctly, is listed as Stoneleigh (my memory may be failing on that) The Moat House cottage has been wonderfully restored by the current owner - I last looked round about 2 years ago, and the second of the two adjoining cottages has been restored and is now used as a B&B. In fact in Parkes they have created an exact replica of Henry's cottage. During Ian and his wife Val's last visit to Coventry, I presented him with the last remaining football shirt (unused) from Sir Henry Parkes School (my business sponsored their team) - which is now on display at the Henry Parkes museum in Australia. Should you like any further info, please feel free to ask (or contact me direct) NormK - that looks rather like the image I originally posted in another thread (search for "Where's the kangaroo??") where you will also find some photos of previous teachers - Miss Penn being probably the most notable.

Thanks TonyS Very interesting. I did find an old photgraph of The Moat House Cottage when it was very neglected, what an interesting restoration project.

Hi TonyS. Many thanks for bringing back memories. Any more photo`s?

I have hundreds but it's a bit difficult at the moment. I'll try and upload some more soon - and I'll post back here and let you know when I have, but please bear with me.

It's good to see old pictures of Canley shops, it brings back many memories. I can recall the green open spaces opposite the shops and the school was a Council land fill rubbish site. The Dolphin Pub was a shack although the foundations and cellars could be seen at the rear. Like previous members I also went to Sir Henry Parkes School and played in the nearby fields. I do remember having to walk over with my parents the dangerous Fletchamstead Highway to catch the bus in Burnsall Road; our nearest bus stop. I was orginally born in Foleshill at the beginning of the war and was moved to Canley with the family where I spent many years living in Queen Margarets Road close to the "farm boards". At the time the area had no amenities so the local residents fought hard to get the Council to provide allotments, playing fields, a community centre and a youth club which I believe most have been lost. To increase Canley's history can anyone remember the old farm buildings or the community air raid shelter that stood at the rear of Queen Margarets Road. Can anyone provide the full story about the German fighter plane flying along the Fletchamstead Highway to catch the workers in their dinner hour. Tony1.

I re-visited the old Sir Henry Parkes School site today to see how things were progressing. Things certainly appear to be on-the-move. Here's some photos I have taken over the years, showing just how things are changing... Jan 2006 Jan 2007 Apr 2013 Sep 2013 Apr 2013 Sep 2013 White Willow Park??? - Who on earth came up with that name?

Hi Tony and thank you for updating us on the former Sir Henry Parkes Primary school site. Had a chuckle at your comment about why the estate is to be called White Willow Park as that was my thoughts too As a former pupil with only fond memories from the 50's and 60's I did wonder whether there were ever a forest of Willows anywhere near the school that escaped our view when we were in school. I never really understood why the Council ever demolished it then left it waste for so many years - unless it was just another money grab for future housing development. Maybe you could enlighten us as to the reason, Tony? Please, continue to keep us up to date with more photos, Tony, and thanks for your valuable time.

That's telling us then!

Hi Les, At the time the reasons given were twofold; 1. One million pounds worth of repairs were needed to the roof (although I never saw any proof of this) 2. The school population forecast was that it would decrease over the following 5 years Where a school is running below its maximum pupil capacity its viability is measured by what they call "surplus places" (worth searching for). If these two figures grow too far apart then the schools costs become over-bearing. With schools funded by a "payment-per-head" system (more pupils = higher income) a school with fewer pupils than its maximum can be penalised quite heavily. I never bought into the long-term area "population" forecasts, and although our discussions were a few years ago, we are now seeing the powers that be crying that there won't be enough places available! And then there was the issue of how much the land was worth. At the time it was claimed to have a value of under £2m - whereas my own estimate was that it would have been somewhere nearer 10 times that amount (not quite that much, but you get my meaning). It would be extremely interesting to put in a "freedom of information" request and discover just how much has been paid for it!