Old Coventry adverts

I bought a little book, printed in 1956, Coventry Illustrated Souvenir. The book is not terribly exciting, but I liked the adverts - brought back some memories! I thought you might like to see them, so here they are, starting with the front cover: These should provoke some more memories from all of us!

Very interesting, thanks Keith Some of those addresses were short lived. Elizabeth English of Spon Street for example had already been replaced by St George's dry cleaners in 1955.

I bet you remember Beesley's model shop too!! A veritable Aladdin's cave! I made a number of Kiel Kraft balsa aircraft models - a MiG 15, a Westland Lysander, and an SE5a to name but three...all bought from Beesley's. I bet we all remember those kits with affection. Hours of fun cutting all the bits out and gluing them together - kept us out of mischief, didn't it?

There were quite a lot of exchanges regarding this on the "Favourite Shop" thread which you might like to look through

Another source of fascinating local advertising is in old Coventry City programmes. I have some dating back as far as the 1920s. If I ever get round to scanning them and managing to post pictures I will put some on here.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Novelty-Pullout-Coventry-Takes-Biscuit-1912-/250886797315?pt=UK_Collectables_Postcards_MJ&hash=item3a6a04b803

Oh how I remember the aroma of roasting coffee from Allwoods Atkins & Turton Happy memories!!

You and me both! And that lovely big red and polished metal coffee grinder in the window too! They don't make grocers like that any more, do they?

Brilliant Keith, many memories there. Peter.

I've seen that coffee grinder in a window somewhere else, purely for display purposes. Can't remember when or where though?

TESCO's window...?

No, it was a coffee bean shop, deli or something like that. And don't get me started on supermarkets.

I remember they had coffee grinding machines in the Kongoni Coffee House which was in the arcade off Market Way. You could often smell the coffee in Market Way. They had a coffee shop upstairs which served lovely coffee with cream. They also displayed paintings of local artists in the coffee shop. I bought one for my late parents in about 1975. It was of Hawkesbury Junction, showing the engine house, and was painted by a lady called May Farmer who lived near Hearsall Common. Anyone know anything of her?

Now you know you love 'em, really! And, yes, D-Di, I vaguely remember a Coffee Shop, around 1980, but couldn't recall the name or accurately where it was.

I came across this advert in a 1880's magazine. I had not heard of the company before now but have found it was the forerunner of the Rudge company. My grandfather worked at the Rudge through to the 1920's from about 1885 as a polisher, and lived in Rudge Road. This made me think that we don't seem to have much family, anecdotal information on the forum for that generation.