South Street - Schools and Topshops

The maps gave some good insight into the relation of the street to the manufacturing sites surrounding it. In 1901 (couldn't see the address so far for 1911 census, only South Street) there were 15 residences listed, the usual assortment of trades, cycle fitters, machinists and filers, bricklayers, tin-plate workers, carpenters, silk-weavers and weavers' harness makers. The last establishment was a school-house and a Mr. Bolton was the caretaker. In the Coventry Telegraph for the early 1900's to 1917, the occupants of the street had a lot of coverage in the Court sessions, they seemed quite a thirsty lot by all accounts

It was a very rough area in the 1960s too, believe me, and not one I walked through alone if I could help it.

This photo shows South Street Infants', Girls' and Boys' Schools in the early 1970's. Little South Street is the one in front of the school buildings with the car parked on it. The pub to the bottom right is the Brewer and Baker on the corner of East St and South St (still there). The street behind the schools is Oxford St (still there) and the larger building further back is All Saints Church which stood on the downslope of the present-day Sky Blue Way. The open ground on the near side of Little South Street is now occupied by the modern Southfields Primary School, opened in early 1978. The surviving school building is the two-storey block to the right, which was the boys' school and which is now used as office space.

I see the Brewer & Baker pub in the foreground in East Street is still going!

I took this pic 2yrs ago. South Street school was both infants and junior, mixed (boys & girls in the same class) and the caretaker house was actually in the playground. In the older picture you can see a house to the left of the pic which stands alone, this would be in about the right place.The house had railings separating it from the playground and he always grew veggies in the gardens. The playground was built on a hill, so was quite useless for ball games. The infants playground was behind the main building to the right of pic (still there but now a car park). The juniors was to the left of the buildings that run back on the left of my pic. The original pic on here is exactly how I remember it but not as untidy (or is that my memory?) The Brewer & Baker was also part of my playground as I went to school with their son, spent many hours behind the bar, lol, I was about 7. I would like to say, growing up in Hillfields as a child I never ever felt threatened walking the streets, even late at night, BUT I do now, even in daylight when I have been back to take pics.

That brought back memories to me. In 1958 we formed a skiffle group, "The Catherine Wheels", at our youth club St Catherine's, Stoke Aldermoor. Brian Gardener, Bobby Hunt, Brian Hughes and Allan Bennett and myself. We had two bookings on our way to fame, The Brewer and Baker and The Charterhouse Club. We disbanded when Coventry Transport refused to take the double bass (TEA CHEST) on board. "Here that Train a Whistlin" was our top number.

This photo brought back memories. When I started school in 1948 St Mary's School shared South Street School. I was at South Street for 2 years before the new St Mary's School was built in Lansdowne Street. I recall the playground on the hill and the smell from the kitchen. It's strange how smells can evoke memories. Our classroom was just inside the playground gates on the left. The thing I remember most was the old fashioned desks and the coal fire in the classroom.

After the beginning of 1978 when the new school building was opened, the old school building was left housing just the reception class and nursery on the ground floor. The back section was used by Theatre in Education and the upper floor was utilised as offices and for meetings of the Minority Group Support Service and later Community Education North. After an extension to the new school in about 2005, the school moved out of the old building completely.

A couple of pictures to add to this topic, Little South Street, showing the school.

Those top shops have quite a lot of character. Don't know what it is about them - not really seen anything like that in any other city.

"Those top shops have quite a lot of character. " Tremendous weren't they. Imagine how desirable they would be as apartments today.

I think they would have been fantastic. The ones on Far Gosford Street look great. When I moved back here in 1998, we lived briefly in an old house on Stratford Street (formerly Coventry Street?) The house we lived in had massive windows and a fake ceiling upstairs - there was actually two ceilings with a huge gap between them. The landlord was puzzled by this, but I told him that it might be Topshop... It had the Victorian styled lintels & I believe that area was laid out in an attempt to encourage businesses to move in. The street was a weird mix of houses.

Stratford Street runs parallel to Coventry Street - both still exist Stratford Street from Stoke Row to Shakespeare Street Coventry Street from Barras Green/Mercer Avenue to Shakespeare Street

Hi Annewiggy, this is Little South Street, Southfields school, the two storey building on the end of the top shops in the 60s was owned by a man called Harry Barlow who ran an artificial flower display business from there. His mother had a secondhand shop round the corner in East Street in the row between the Brewer & Baker and my mum and dads off licence which was roughly where the entrance to the trading estate is now. My mum and Mrs Barlow were great friends. I think the Anglia van in the photo was Harry`s, he also had a larger high top van which was always parked inside the high double doors clearly seen in the photo. Both were a light bluey lilac colour with gold writing, can`t remember the name of the company though. At the other end of the top shops you can see a high fence next to the houses at the top of the road. This was the yard of a garage that faced onto East Street, also there was a jetty between the school and the houses at the top of the road which went behind the houses in Paynes Lane and Oxford Street which led you out onto Oxford Street. It was a handy short cut to Gosford Green. More childhood memories released, many thanks

I`ve just shown these photo`s to my sister and she remembers that the headmaster of Southfields Mr Wragg owned a Rover just like the one driving away in the photo so we can assume that's him leaving after a hard day teaching us that didn`t want to be there in the first place - thanks again for the memories