Wood End

When work on Wood End estate started in the 50s the path included a rickety sort of duckboard bridge across the Sowe and marshy surrounds. I think it was called River Walk. It was some time before the 21A bus service to Wood End started up.

Back in the seventies, certain areas of Coventry were referred to by tradesmen as Dodge City 1, 2, and 3. They were Wood End, Bell Green and Willenhall respectively.

During the fifties, when the estate was built, it had the strong reputation that no insurance or gas man was allowed alone on the estate, they had to be in pairs. At the time this was all Wood End was noted for.

Yes, a neighbour of my parents was a midwife, and she told us that when visiting certain areas, she had a police escort. Wood End was one of them.

Wood End is not that bad, yes we had, and still have, some bad eggs but in the late 50s early 60s we looked after each other. I cannot comment on nurses having escorts or collectors having to go in pairs. We had a club man, Mr Sargent, he never had to be escorted as he was looked out for by the residents as he was one of the few people who would give us credit on the estate, as he did not believe all the gossip, he was a good man. I came to live at Wood End in 1957, I still live in the area though I have moved round the corner to Henley Green, this was classed as Wood End when I first moved here.

It seems like the rumour machine and over active imaginations are at work here, with a dose of paranoia added.

My son moved into Wood End fourteen years ago, initially for six months but never got round to moving out again, and wouldn't live anywhere else. As he says it's got its problems (usually over-emphasized in the local press) but it's a great place live and parts of it still have a strong sense of community.

Zig-zag, are you sure about that. An insurance man at that time passed this message on to me, I do believe it came from his head office, but of course such things were guarded because of the sensitivity of the people. Yes, maybe I should not have disclosed it, I realise it can still be highly sensitive to some, I apologize if so. I also realise I can add little to this forum, for by the late 1940's most of the streets and buildings I had known in the past were fast disappearing, and as I had no say in the new buildings I was more interested in the characters and people of the city. I climbed the steeple steps many times, but my thoughts were not of statues, but how the hell did people erect them, and what were their thoughts so high above the city. The mind boggles. Biographies or stories of people's emotions and life came first with me. DH Lawrence was most descriptive of this and the countryside but then I am probably boring you, so will butt out. Kaga.

No need to apologize Kaga, I am not sensitive about any remarks on this subject, they are all people's opinions and everybody is entitled to them. My comments are based on my own experience. I was brought up in Willenhall, I had many friends in Willenhall, Wood End, Bell Green and even Stoke Aldermoor, and neither myself or any of these many friends who lived in these areas had known of any things which have been mentioned to have happened. Kind regards to you.

I agree with zigzags comments. I grew up in Sewall Highway, Bell Green and my mother lived there until 2008. I regularly cycled through Millers Brook to Henley Road and up to Wood End and Aldermans Green, then via the Black Pad to Woodway Lane to the canal at The Jolly Colliers pub as a kid. I later married and moved to Walsgrave and my wife cycled to Riley Square where she worked part time for many years and met many Woodenders. Mostly decent people trying to earn a living. Yes there were some dodgy families but every area including Stivichall had them too. I too had many friends from Willenhall and Ernsford Grange and these were all good! I still live in Coventry and have watched the progress of Wood End first hand. It is now going through a reinvention and still survives. The comments criticising Wood End, Bell Green and Willenhall are wildly exaggerated. Get real.

Blueleader, I watched Wood End grow up, from when it was Taylor's Farm for ten years. Knew some of the people, walked the streets, I think you could say I was for 'real', 'no exaggeration'. But I'm more interested what you call the Black Pad from Aldermans Green. The start would be interesting, and how it acquired the name. The Black Pad in my day was across to Sutton Stop.

I remember playing darts for The Devon at The Live And Let Live back in the 80's. We were advised not to use large denomination notes and try to buy beer with loose change! The most amusing incident was when the 'black out' card came round. Basically it's 50 football teams on a sheet with a number next to each one. When all are sold, at 50p each, the top corner of the card is torn back to reveal the winning team. Winner usually wins half the amount taken with the other half going towards the food for the teams that evening. The card was duly sold, the landlord stood behind the bar, tore back the corner and announced "Jim in the lounge has won." He then ripped the card up and threw it in the bin. Usual protocol is to pass the card round to all the purchasers to see the result. Needless to say, we didn't protest and just muttered "well done Jim," whilst not going to find "Jim" to offer our congratulations!

Yes Kaga, I should have said back down Henley Road and across the Black Pad to Woodway Lane. We also biked up the other Black Pad you mention. With regard to Wood End, I also watched it grow, I was just commenting from my view of Wood End which has been continuous since I was 11 years old. I am 68 now and still live close to it. When did you last visit Wood End?

Blueleader, to answer your question, around the mid-late-fifties, I know nothing about the area since. The rickety bridge across the marsh, I believe there's a picture of it on morgana's McNamara link. Mods note: Image link added for convenience The half-story I posted was really to see what replies, if any, about the dialect. When I was told the story, I replied 'Gertcha', the normal answer for the area before the war. I believe the word dropped during the war. I can only talk of the area before 1944 when I left there. There were three paths that led from the full length of Aldermans Green to Woodway Lane, each was known as 'going up the main'. One went past Main Pit Farm, the other two, one at each end of the 'slough', led to 'Main Cottages' across the tracks from the basin. Close to the basin there was three giant slabs of granite, on one was scratched Kaga, it was still there in the fifties. I visited Wood End in the fifties to walk the foundations of the streets. On one side of Wood End lay the Sowe and water mills, on the other side was the overflow of the 'slough' and the two streams that fed it, so it had always been a marshy area. I was curious to see, and ask, how they would overcome the problem.

Hi, Beesman. You were extremely brave (or daft! ) to venture to the Live & Let Live back in the day. I only ever visited it once, and that was in a professional capacity. It was one of a few pubs that would have its Weights & Measures inspection by appointment, just prior to opening time. Most were carried out unannounced. Occasionally officers were made to feel unsafe so discretion was sensible. Any threats were from the punters who were too dumb to realise it was them we were there to protect! My memories of the place are that it was a very tatty, down-at-heel place with slashed seats and filthy carpets. The manager at the time told us there was no way the brewery would spend any money doing it up. He also told us that, strategically hidden around the place, under benches and so on, there were various items such as chair legs, so that if he was knocked to the floor there would be something within reach to defend himself. What a delightful place!