Coventry Pubs

It's the same everywhere in Britain Dreamtime. So-called "convenience stores" now sell alcohol on every street corner so there's less need for pubs any more. In reality they are glorified off-licenses whose main business is booze. Any groceries or newspapers they sell on the side are just an excuse to be granted an alcohol license.

I retired from the pub trade 7 years ago when I sold our Cotswold Free House. The trade decline has not been helped by the smoking ban (I am a non-smoker). Publicans were not allowed to have Smoke Rooms and the law covered the whole of the indoor areas. We had some villagers tell us that it was great that they could go into the pub and not smell of smoke when they returned home. They didn't smell of smoke before the law because they didn't use the pub, and didn't after the law came in. I am not blaming the non-smoking law, just saying that it is a contributing factor to the pub's decline. The breweries don't help and neither do the councils with their ridiculous rents/rates. I am glad that after 16 years I am out of the trade.

The last man to own the Navi was my father. He spent the last months of his live doing the place up. Sadly he never got the chance of opening its doors because he died of cancer just before he finished. Shortly after someone set fire to it. It's such a shame because he had worked so hard to make it the old Navi you all talk of.

A very interesting post from Ace, thank you. I too wonder where John Lennon came into it. Must have been his idol. Sorry to hear about your father Delahunty. They were very happy and memorable days for my parents (Toseland) the years they were there, no trouble like the ones mentioned previously. Such a shame it came to a sad demise.

I was a regular in town in the early 80's, so heres my take on the pubs. Silver Sword - great starting point after getting off the No.22 bus in Trinity Street. After a swift pint, across the road to Black Eagle in the Leofric. Usually rammed with posers, but never any trouble. Out the back door and down Hertford Street, avoiding Dog & Trumpet (or the Woof n Puff as we called it) full of rockers and patchouille oil, and heading for Penny Black, great mid-way point. Time for last orders at Three Tuns. Bit of a walk down City Arcade and up to Ring Road for Studio 21. When I got older, dropped some of the pubs and it went like this. Silver Sword, still essential starting point, then Ray's Cocktail Bar in Leofric, pricey but classy. A walk down to Park Lane Club followed. In the mid-80s, still Silver Sword, then up to Waters Wine bar which was rammed with posers trying to look cool with rolled up jacket sleeves, then after a decent drink, down to Park Lane again. In 1988, my final pub crawls in town were De Vere Hotel bar, pricey but cool place to be, followed by Pink Parrot - and it's here I started seeing mindless violence and aggression. I decided town wasn't for me again, all the fun times I had in pubs and clubs were a memory. I can honestly say the only violence I saw in those first five years was at the taxi rank outside KFC at 3.00am. Pubs that were OK, but off the well-trodden route but frequented now-and-then were Coventry Cross in Burges, Jaguar and Tally-Ho! in Hales Street. Pubs I avoided due to fights and trouble were Alhambra, Turks Head (later the Diplomat). Clubs I avoided due to violence Reflections, Top Spot, a few others I forgot.

We went to Top Spot on the night that we finished our A levels - I was terrified. The only time I ever frequented the place Ace - once again an accurate reflection of "town" & its demise John

Like many, I only visited the Top Spot (next door to the Parsons Nose) just the once. My abiding memory is drunks tipping lager on the tiny dance floor, so people would slip and bump into strangers - cue for a punch-up, but we visited just once as we had a free pass, so after a swift pint, we left, vowing never to return. I think it became a game arcade with fruit machines in the 80's, I lovedthe Parsons Nose though, that Greek lady took no lip from drunks, her 2 sons looked pretty tasty as well if it kicked off, which usually, it didn't, just lots of lads making noise.

Parsons Nose - the lady's name was Maria & she used to ask if you wanted "sugar n vinegar" Oh happy days

Hoping not to offend anyone but even with my Saturday night beer goggles on she put me off me chips.

Maria was in fact Spanish she never ever married and had no children, she did have her own fish & chip shop once in Boston Place by the Railway Club.

This is the new wall mounted pub sign, it has 'Biker friendly pub' on the lower letters, which it is by the way

Does anyone know when the Coundon Hotel on Barkers Butts Lane was built?

Hi Carrie32, I cannot be specific about the Coundon hotel, which I believe is now the Coundon pub, but the whole housing area around Coundon station was developed around 1930. There are pictures of the area around Coundon Rd railways station from that era.

Thank you for your info

Here's a photo from last December