Shambles Arcade, Hales Street

I was walking past the former site of Shambles Arcade yesterday and a lady was lecturing her young kids on the shop that used to be there. I was very tempted to stop and give her a lecture on all the other buildings in Hales Street that have also now gone Post copied from topic Shops of yore on 21st Oct 2015 10:34 am

"Shambles Arcade" has been discussed many times in the forum and was to the right of the Smithfield Hotel shown in the photo.

Hi - this is a request for any information that folks might have... In the 1980's the Shambles Arcade in Hales Street had a number of businesses, including a game / board game shop. I realise the Shambles has long gone, but I was just wondering what happened to the business? Did it re-locate or fold? As a school kid in the 80's I spent a lot of my pocket money on games, dice, etc... and was interested to find out what happened.

Hello Bedlamcube7 & welcome to our forum. I remember the board game shop (trying to think of the name) which I believe moved to the top of Hertford St. I bought a Staunton pattern chess set from them.

Thanks for that... and thanks for the welcome. I guess the shop is no longer there is it? I've moved away and not been to Coventry city centre for about 15 years. I've been their on Google Images, mind, but that's not the same!

Hi Bedlamcube, I can confirm that it has not been there for a long time, just as Davies's the sports people that disappeared, who had shops in Coventry & Bedworth also.

Davies's family business was in later years run by Martin Davies, who appears third from the right on the front row of the KHVIII 1955 photograph on the school thread!

I dont know if this helps, but today we have four main board shops in Coventry. Forbidden Planet in The Burges, Escape Games that was in the City Arcade, as was too Bishop Games. The other is upstairs in the Cathedral Lanes shopping centrer (if you can call it one of them). But I don't remember the name of that one, I think it was more to do with role play games. Hope this helps a little.

You're right, Baz. Alas, I cannot remember the name of the stall now, but it was odd that the proprietor was not (as far as I can recall) a member of the Coventry Wargames Club (Sidney Stringer, Friday Nights), and so possibly lived out-of-town?

Games Workshop - the chain - is in Cathedral Lanes.

Thanks for this - although I'm not looking for specific board game shops in Coventry at present - it's always good to know where they are if I need them. It was kind of a nostalgia trip for me - as I used to buy and play board games - many of which I bought from the Shambles arcade (Kingmaker, Call of Cthulhu, Runequest, etc..) I also used to play at the board games club, which met at Sidney Stringer's school (notice another post about that) - in the late 80's. We would come from school on a Friday evening, and then buy chips when the club finished. I then caught the bus home to Kenilworth very late!! All very adventurous for a 16/17 year old. thanks for your help.

Thanks for this comment too - I played at that club on Friday nights, at Sidney Stringer's - (see my post above, in reply to Baz). Is it still meeting? Not that I can get there from Gravesend!!

This was uploaded to "Memories Of Coventry"

Great find! Thanks for posting this

If this was the stall just before the restaurant and opposite the comic stall then it closed before Shambles did.