Thomas Rowlandson watercolour

Helen, have you got a copy of "Illustrating a City: Edward Rudge, and Art in Coventry c.1760-1830"? There is a watercolour of Lammas Rides, Coventry c.1800. Looking at the very left of the picture it shows (although it is very small) what looks like the bridge or tunnel like the one in Rowlandson's picture. The book is 1992 so I am not sure about copyright if I put it on here.

Wow Anne, your eyesight's good! Yes, it does look like the right type of bridge but there are no other features that match. Part of me wonders if it's from the south west. Where were the Lammas lands? The front page actually fits better with trees and hills but if the canal picture is genuine then that's further west. Is that Eld's windmill or the water pumping station? I shall peruse the map for both images. Thanks Anne.

I am having difficulty finding an early map of the Lammas Lands but I will continue to look. The best mentions I can find about the rides are in the newspapers but they don't mention the route. I am sure it must be listed somewhere. The only one I could find was 1893 but I don't know if it changed through the years. There was a long and short circuit. The route they give in 1893 took them from Brick Kiln Lane, Charters Ley Field, Kings Field garden near Gosford Green, Swan Lane, Red Lane, Red House Inn at Stoney Stanton Road (where they stopped), Paradise, Foleshill Road (Pudding Pits), Cotton Factory, Grapes at Radford, Crampers Fields, Holyhead Road, Doe Bank, Earlsdon jetty and Paddy Croft. This ride was done in a bit more luxury in what they describe as a well appointed brake! The picture on the front of the book certainly looks like a windmill, Helen.