Coventry Dairies

What if any was the history of the dairy in Shakespeare Street, it used to be run by two sisters and I remember going there in evenings and being greeted by the two of them and there cats!!!

Prior to my parents' marriage at Stoke Church in 1931 my mother was secretary at Coventry Farmers' Dairies in Gulson Road, when she left Stoke Park School. Later my elder brother had a job there (timekeeper?) checking the deliveries as they left the dairy.

Midland Counties Dairy in Gulson Road, 1948:

Thank you Dutchman for the pic of CFD. Excellent.

Hi I don't know if anyone can help me but I am trying to find a photo of the dairy on Stoney Stanton Road. My Granddad grew up in this dairy with his family and we believe it was called Mowes dairy or C. Mowes or Charlie Mowes, but was such a long time ago were not 100% ! He has lived in Southampton for all of his adult life but we are aware that the building it self is no longer there. If anyone can help me it would be greatly appreciated !! Thank you Amy

I only know about pictures of the co-op buildings on Stoney Stanton Road but they might help you pick out buildings if you get an aerial view .

It was originally Coventry Farmers Dairy and later Midland Counties - as a small child I lived next to it at No 77

Coventry 1937 directory. Mowe, 332 Stoney Stanton Road.

I've been reading the posts above, and there does seem to be some confusion with regard to the dairies in Coventry. I have done some research as I do have an interest in milk, so will post that later. Milk, throughout my life it and me have crossed paths in one way or another. 1960's, at school we had a third of a pint a day. Staying with my grandmother in Coventry Street, there was a dairy across the road, always interesting to watch the activity there. 1972, to earn a bit of pocket money I worked on a farm in Rowleys Green. 6am to 8am milking 30 cows before getting ready for school, then back down again after for another 2 hours. I did have Saturday afternoon off. 1973, a family friend was a milkman, I helped him a few times during the school holidays. Late 70's and into the 80's. I worked at Radenite Batteries, we had to drink a pint of milk a day (provided by the factory), something to do with working with lead, never really understood what it did! 1980's and into the 90's, sold it in my shop. After the shop, I returned to doing security work. On a site in Leicester Road, Rugby, there was some waste land next to where I was. Having a stroll around it, I came across loads of empty milk bottles, many from Coventry dairies. They got cleaned up and came home with me, the start of my milk botttle collection. I did some gatehouse duties at the Arla milk processing plant in Ashby de la Zouch. Having an interest in milk, I've now got a large collection of bottles, books, magazines and other literature on the subject. Last year I purchased some vintage milking equipment with plans of doing some displays/exhibitions on milk this year, but, with what's happening at the moment, those plans have gone... sour!

20A-Manor House, Wow! Haven't seen one of those cooling machines for nearly eighty years. We had one of those fitted with the whole caboodle in '42, milking installed through all the cowsheds, not half the fun as by hand, the milk tipped in the tray above, ran down into the tray below, into a milk churn, cold water ran inside.

Kaga. I never used the larger cooling apparatus myself. During the 70's I did work on 3 farms, my post above was only brief. 2 still used the 10 gallon churn and used the small cooler seen to the right of it and behind the vacum pump. The other farm had a more modern milking parlour, you stood below the cows and the milk went into a large tank and collected it the morning by a road tanker.

47 Coventry Street dairy. 1923, Mr J.T. Hopkinson retired after working for 28 years with Pool, Lorrimer and Tabberer in Lockhurst Lane. He started a dairy at 204 Foleshill Road. 1933, he moved over to 171 Dane Road. Trading as 'J.T. Hopkinson & Son'. Being unable to expand. 1947, he aquired the half an acre bomb site in Coventry Street. 1962, May, he sold the business by auction. Mr J.D. Arch paid £9,500, and traded as 'Godiva Dairies'. 1968, the dairy became apart of the Stratford-on-Avon (later Redditch) based 'Quinneys Dairies' combine. 1981, then to 'Dairy Crest', Closed early 1990's I believe and the site now a temple. I have 1 milk bottle with "J.T. Hopkinson & Son, Coventry St, Coventry", paid £5 for that. 2x "Godiva Dairies" milk bottles, found in Rugby and 1 "Quinneys Dairies" milk bottle, again found in Rugby.

Gulson Road Dairy. 1924, company registered with a share capital of £25,000 open a dairy trading under the name of 'Coventry Farmers Dairies Ltd'. 1929, under new managment. 1937, 20,000 bottles of milk a day (Mon-Fri) delivered to the city factories. 1953, Sep, became apart of the Midland Counties combine, trading as 'Midland Counties (Coventry) Ltd'. 1963, Aug, £7.4m take over of Midland Counties Ltd by the Unigate group. I'm not clear on the closure date. 1962, the former tram sheds at Foleshill Rd were demolished. A distribution depot was built for Midlands Counties Ltd and opened in 1963. The family friend who was a milkman worked out of that one. What I remember of that building was the huge blue milk sign on the wall that fronted Foleshill Road. I have 2x school milk bottles, "Coventry Farmers Dairies" & "Midland Counties Dairy" and 1 "Midland Counties (Coventry) Ltd pint bottle, found in Rugby. From a booklet. C.E.T. advert.

Fascinating stuff, 20A - well done and thanks for posting. It is very good to have you back!