Keresley (incl. Keresley Castle)

Wow Morgana, funny seeing The Hall Hotel again after all these years and that is how it looked when we had our wedding reception there in 1961 after tying the knot at St. Thomas's. Alas I fear it is no longer there. All these lovely old houses biting the dust such a shame. Anyway, thank you for the link and reminding me of one happy day.

Hi Dreamtime, so pleased you've enjoyed seeing the Old Hall, also St Thomas. My sister too got married at St Thomas which, as with the Old Hall, is still there. It's just the Old Hall is being vandalised as the owners can't get permission from the council for certain work so it's going to rack and ruin, the last I heard in the Telegraph. Here is a photo of it in the distance from last year when I took my grandchildren to Coundon Park.

Hello everyone. I live local to what is known locally as the Green at the start of the Tamworth Rd. by the island with the Scotchill, and Keresley Rd. Does anyone have any information about a very large house that once stood there. It must have been before the war, as local people remember the green for having barrage balloons there. One person told me that a house was once there, and I think that if that is correct, then maybe the drive was a continuation of the Keresley Rd. I do know that the Shepherd and Shepherdess pub nearby dates from 1790 (1930s the building standing now dates from) as in 1790, three people were hung on Whitley Common for robbing the public house. It was said that the house had cellars as well.

Hello Baz Old maps don't show a house but there was a school on the corner of New Road where the block of flats now is. This may have been a large house at one time.

Hello Baz from me too, & hello Dutchman, Keresley is close to where I live, so I will make it a task to have a look at. Hope you enjoy your time with us on our Coventry History Site.

Thank you all for the quick replies. Any information you can muster will help. I find local history very interesting, and I hope to find on my next project about Allesley Castle. But thats a little way off yet. Let's see about this one first. No remains can be seen on the green, but there is a slight dent in the ground towards the middle. Go**** earth does not show any outline, or like you have said do any old maps. Maybe it was the old school and grounds. I will try and find out more. Thanks Baz.

Hi PhilipinCoventry. I do have a pic of a wall uncovered in the 1964 that shows a well or round stone building about 7-9 feet across. As for the building on the green, it looks more like it was the old school that stood just behind the green where the flats are now (have a picture of that as well). This very kind lady from Hinckley I know has lent me some old photos and books alike to study. She grew up in the city in a 2 storey house with a weaving shop above that. She said that in the cellar was an iron mangle that when her mother sold it, the scrap man had to use a gas cutter to take it apart to get out and up the stairs. Some great memories people have.

These two images are in Dave McGrory's book "Coventry: Then & Now", with the captions.... The old Keresley Church of England School was opened in 1852. Built in the medieval style its tower originally had a short umbrella spire upon it. In 1859 it held 65 boys and 90 girls. The school itself was based upstairs in a large open room; the schoolmaster lived downstairs. It served the local community for 92 years and was finally closed and sold in 1962 and later demolished. The site today is covered by a large but low block of flats almost hidden behind the trees. In the distance can be seen the spire of the church which was once associated with the old school. This corner was once the site of the Keresley Gallows and during the war the green triangle of Keresley Heath also was the site of a barrage balloon. Anywhere near your place?

Thanks Rob for the photo. That's the photo I found as well. It looks like case solved. The green must have been part of the school, a playground or small sports field. What a great building it must have been. The part on the left does seem church like in appearance. Thank you all. Case is I think SOLVED.

I have opened a separate thread for Allesley Castle to avoid the two subjects getting mixed up !

Really interesting! Have got that book - it's great - but hadn't taken in the significance of the photo until now

I think I remember that building, my dad & I took some books and toys to a house that looked very like this. It was dark so I could be wrong! I wasn't very old, maybe 8 or 9, that would have been 1960-61. I know it was in Keresley and dad said the toys were for the orphans. Hope this helps

Hi all Thank you for a fabulous response with photos. That might explain the layout of footpaths in the grounds of the church, one of which just goes to the boundary and stops at the fence.

Great story!