Nostalgic tour around Coventry

Not sure where to put this, but on looking at all the photos in the gallery I am amazed at how much Cov has to offer. At this time of year we are probably thinking of holidays but there's plenty here to take pictures of. I am now looking forward to a walk around the city armed with a camera.

A good start is Holy Trinity in Broadgate, it has an amazing roof and wood workings inside. Then onto the rear where the old market cross is. Maybe then off to Bayley Lane and St Mary's Hall.

Thanks, I'll do that. Just hope rain keeps off. There's such a lot of historic buildings around. As a child years ago I never gave them much thought. I must have gone past these places loads of times

Just to say - the "old" market cross is not actually old - it's a modern representation, and not in the position of the original

Might be worth you taking a look at the "Historic Tour" link over in the menu down the left-hand side of this page (near the top). It may well provide you with some useful pointers. More info on the Coventry Cross can be found in that same tour - or by clicking the link

Thanks TonyS and Midland Red for info. Very helpful and I have pictures of historic Coventry now. It's a very picturesque town we live in! Will be looking for more places next time. Thanks

Well the category is Memories and Nostalgia. I was in Coventry on Wednesday afternoon (up from t`country) and spent a couple of hours, just poking my nose into places (looking for nostalgia I suppose)......and walking a long way. Parked my car alongside 17 storey block Meadow House (had a hand in building that - firm called Truscon). Walked through the subway and enjoyed the really old buildings repatriated to Spon Street - couldn`t see Rotherhams any more (my Grandmother worked there) Up through the precinct, passed the "Circular Caff" (closed what a pity) (W.H.Jones built that - my wife to be worked there then) Somehow or other I expected when it was first built that it would be revolving, like the Post Office Tower. Up past the "Elephant on a stick" wasn`t that the first thing they installed when they started the rebuilding - I seem to remember Burtons was demolished alongside it. My gaze transfixed by some sort of open plaza, with a most incongruous brick and stone eastern seraglio type palace hogging the whole of one side of it, never mind Godiva was still there, has she turned in her grave or something? tell me if I`m wrong but she seems to have turned round. Good old Solid Nat West bank still there looking a million dollars. Didn`t look to see if the Bridge Restaurant was still there, nor the revolving clock which my children loved. But oh! what the hell have they done with Owen Owen (my mother worked there pre-war)we loved the cafe and the staff were wonderful with the children - mind you the little one in her push chair was a bit of a handful if you didn`t watch her, picked up things as she passed - a wig one day! Over the top past the Council house, looking splendid. Dodged into the Herbert Museum and dodged out again - didn`t look very inviting. Passed Drapers Hall - hear it has been taken over by the University Into St Mary`s Hall - Brilliant, had a good poke round, up and down, loved the Minstrel gallery,armoury, room with the sloping floor, felt I was back at sea again and fancied Mary Queen of Scots didn`1 have her sorrows to seek, in the poky back room. Last time I was in the main hall, cousin`s wedding reception, about the time just after the new Cathedral was opened. Also saw Family history wall plaque Great Uncle Alec Turner, first Master of the Freeman`s guild. Quick walk around old cathedral ruins - still think they should have rebuilt it, asked one of the workmen if he was here to put a new roof on it - got a giggle anyway. On to a half pint in "The Golden Cross" - very friendly landlord and very knowledgeable too. Down Trinity Street, bought 3 books for a pound in the Cancer shop, just as it was closing On down passed the Old Fire Station - glad it`s still there. Up through Lady Herbert`s Garden - still much as it used to be , bit too much background noise from the ring road at the top. Back down through Cook Street gate to the site of the old Hippodrome, there was some sort of open space, inhabited mainly by youngsters on skate boards and some youths playing football - seemed a bit out of place, but it seemed to be working - boisterous, but not threatening. On towards Corporation St, Arthur Hammon has gone, but the pub is still on the corner, although no longer the wine lodge, but something Tudor (what a misnomer) Along Corporation street - there`s AGERS - would you believe it survived the war and looking as fresh as ever - I had my first shoes there and so did my daughters - "Startright" you used to put your feet into some sort of Xray box to be properly sized. St.Johns Church, didn`t really get a look, because I turned right up Hill Street and had a look into Bond`s hospital courtyard on the way - still very impressive. I remembered Hill Street before the ring road went in,My wife used to push an old style coach built pram, all the way from Bassett Rd.Coundon, up and down that hill - how she did it heaven knows! Up over the bridge over the ring road and back down Barras Lane and Meadow Street at the bottom. Oh! passing the place where I used to go to get my carburettors fixed - I always drove bangers (taxi service now) . Verdict, interesting, but if I returned to Cov, I don`t think I would use the City Centre very much. Oh I forgot in the above, I walked around the Priory ruins, was appalled to see Timothy Whites and Taylors had become a pub.While I think about it, wasn`t part of the place where they have exposed the Priory ruins, a place where the bus drivers used to go to eat?

I thoroughly enjoyed your tour Roger, and was amused by your comments about Lady Godiva, I had thought she had a different view. I always thought if and when a statue was repositioned it always had to face the same way as it was originally. I have very strong feelings for Broadgate ( as it used to be) Maybe I would get to like it again if I was living there. Thanks again for the tour, most interesting.

I too enjoyed your tour Roger I had a little giggle about the Lady Godiva bit, my thoughts too, it could be an omen a head facing South means long lived North short lived East riches and West travel . I think she was facing south towards Warwick Rd , now I think she is facing towards the Ring Rd by Radford Rd North West short lived and travel. Perhaps she is traveling out of town via the Ring Rd

Well there you go then Morgana, they must have had Lady G in mind when developing the Ring Rd.

Great tour, Roger, I really enjoyed your memories and observations. My grandmother worked at Rotherham's too, pre-WW1. She and the other girls had to pin their aprons to the workbenches in order to catch all the little bits of gold (I think it was gold) that might otherwise have fallen on the floor and been lost.

Hi all Like Primrose, I am delighted with your tour Roger & so is my guest at home. Brill, brill & brill!

That reminded me of when we visited the Jewellery Quarter Museum in Birmingham. It was an old jewellery manufacturing works and closed down and lay empty for many years before becoming the museum. However, when it closed the floorboards were all burnt to reclaim the residual gold that had accumulated in them over the years. I recall the amount recovered fetched £20000 as scrap. The workers also had to scrub their hands when they left work every day into a sink. It was worth the factory's while to filter the water to recover lost gold from there too. So your story about the aprons certainly rings true.

Very amusing and interesting Roger. I would affirm most of what you wrote though, I have to admit, I think Millenium Square is an excresence and the blue walkway over Lady Herbert's ruins the scale of the historic remains (Priory Gate) as do the dreaded boomerangs over the square. Architects were criticised when the new St Michael's was built but really - this takes the biscuit. Only my view of course. Bring back the Hippodrome!

Prof "Priory Gate" - do you know for the last 70 odd years I have called it Cook Street gate - "well I`ll go to Stoke" or "the bottom of our stairs" (another thread ?) I only caught the blue walkway out of the corner of my eye, and since there were no pedestrians on it, didn`t bother to ascertain its purpose - but you are right a bit inappropriate (or could I say "twee"? Primrose - lovely posting and all the way from the States too, last time I was there was between 1953/62 visiting in the Merchant Navy. I don`t know what Grandma actually did at Rotherhams, but my Grandfather and his two brothers worked as watchmakers and he told me how the "Top Shop" workplace(Craven St possibly) was set up, plenty of daylight, to see the small bits and pieces and they sat at bench tables with their chairs poking into a circular cut out piece and their aprons pinned to catch everything small which dropped, including bits of watches and jewels, don`t know if the aprons were rough natural unbleached calico or white bleached cloth or even fine hessian. They also invented the Turner Pigeon Clock, one of which sat on the sideboard in their house in Oldfield Road. My Grandfather was also an engraver and kept a box of his tools in the shed/garage long after he left the watch trade - I think the whole lot got dumped when Grandma died - jewels and all - he did show me how an engraver drew a pigeon with what he called a "scribe" - just two strokes gave the shape of its head. I think he became a school attendance officer afterwards - at least my mother told me she knew him as that when she was at Earlsdon School. By the way I started at Centaur Road School,attended for approx, two months, was evacuated to Napton and never went back there again.Eventually moved on to Ashby de la Zouch, AGGS and ABGS The story about the Jewellery quarter Birmingham, my mother worked in credit control at Rackhams, she went to night scholl in the jewellery quarter - didn`t mention aprons, but I don`t think they got to work with the valuable stuff.