Holy Trinity Church and Bell Tower

Tales were also handed down from generation to generation. The old bone house of the crypt of St Michael was on the north side, the bones of various people got mixed up one time, and tales of skeleton robbing for anatomical purposes also, so tales of ghosts, walking through the Cathedral walls, people became afraid to pass down the whapple (bridle path) late at night St Michael's steeple had no peculiar legend attached to the story of its erection, still there is the story of the Botoners, the founders and builders of the structure: During the restoration of Lichfield Cathedral under Sir Gilbert Scott, the clerk of works sent his principal assistant Mr Drayton Wyatt to Coventry for the purpose of taking measurements of the steeple, having measured the tower, only the octagon and the spire remaining to be done. But on a dark evening, with clouds scudding across the sky and shadows crossing the churchyard and Drayton having a little of the old claret a small bell on a gravestone-head began to tinkle, poor old Drayton took to his heels. That night he dreamed he was falling from the steeple, this greatly upset him that he declined to continue his work. Packed up his traps intending to leave the city, it was some time before he could be induced to resume operations.

Can anyone suggest a realistic date for this image, please!

I only know that it must be post 1953 because the temporary shops have gone. What year was the library demolished?

I think it's pre the temporary shops. The small island on the right is where the tram inspectors hut (discussed previously) had been, and I'm sure the road layout was revised before 1953. I suspect it to be late 1940s post the blitz tidy up. Update: Just found that the temporary shops were erected in 1947.

The car looks like a Hillman Minx model which were made 1938 onward, some were also used as RAF staff cars, so it was not any earlier than 1938 I would guess.

They had a sign up on the window of Holy Trinity in 1946 and 1949 and by that time they'd built the shops. The window and some of the other textures look fake. Was the image made to look better than reality?

They do, Helen, don't they!

It's one that I've wondered about previously, too. Judging by the relatively tidied up state in the 1946 photo on this page (3rd photo down), my guess would agree with your estimate of around 1946-47-ish - just prior to the temporary shops going up. Only a guess though!

I think it's an early example of photoshop. I think that they've faked the windows to remove the sign and created the right hand side altogether to remove the stuff in front of the library, including its chimney. It's not the first touched up photo I've seen.

Some of the people don't look right either. The 2 people in the middle look as if they are floating and they don't have shadows although the people in front do. I wonder where the picture is from, it is number 236 so it looks as if it is from some sort of book.

Found it now, it is a postcard on eBay that was sent to someone in France in 1955. It is on a site called Picclick. It could have been taken well before then though.

Thanks, sir! That's the conclusion I've come to, too. Thanks to all who responded

Hey, we can play a game of "Spot the difference" then! On the left is the rough scan of the postcard from my own picture collection on here - and on the right is MR's postcard. It looks like the same original photo was used by two separate companies - and each has made their own slight "improvements", like additional people and, strangely, the missing shadows! If the size of your screen doesn't allow the two pictures to show side by side, it might help to zoom out until they both fit, to make comparisons easier.

LOL, nice one. I like the way the two ladies on the left hand post card have a shadow and the car doesn't but it's the other way round on the post card on the right. The more you look at the differences, the funnier it gets.

Look how close the two spires are, look at post 708 Broadgate and compare, but I'm almost sure there were wooden hut shops before the temp shops, but during 45 and 48 have no idea.