Longford (inc. The Red Hills)

You have seen a lot more changes than me, the area seemed to get a lot busier when they put that road through the park. The old Grangehurst school was still there when I moved into the area. Half of Foxford fields became houses. I remember when Carney's was on Longford bridge and when Do-it-all was there, my mum used to be a cleaner there. My grandad was born in Canal Road, which is now Lady Lane. There used to be loads of pubs round here as well, they all seem to have disappeared (although some were dives)

Yes SkyBlueRocker I have seen a lot of changes, my cousin lives around here so I recall the area prior to the 70s, I recall the pub on Longford Bridge that was there too when I was last here, think it was called the Fiesta then, also where the new Doctors surgery is now there used to be a pub there too, I am wondering where will they build next, the park or on top of the canal not far off, a man who goes to the meetings told me the new flats to be built by the footbridge, top of Lady Lane, the living room will over hang the canal, no gardens, not safe for children there. As Birmingham and London are refusing to take any more in and Coventry has offered to take more people in, the gentleman says it's all to be expected. Dives hehe

It was the Griffin that used to be where the doctors surgery is, my mum remembers it being the Fiesta. Overhanging the canal, that's ridiculous I wouldn't be surprised if the government sold off parts of the park. Coventry is overcrowded already, let's hope these people bring some money with them

Small ol' world Sky and Morgana, we used to live at no. 2 Hurst Road in a maisonette, it was our first real home, we lived in rented houses before that, have to say our lives changed for the better when we bought the ground floor flat, had a great time at Christmas over the Saries (Saracen's Head pub), in fact my wife used to pull pints there. A few nice characters I remember, Beryl Bains ran a little shop and along from her was the tv Shop ran by a man and his wife, I have seen them both not too long ago, he always smoked cigars if my memory serves me, also do you remember the two men that ran the batch bar? From what I recall they worked at the Jag and left to start their own business running a batch bar (pork and stuffing batches mmmmm). I installed the first telephone system in the the new Dr Pathan's surgery in Sydnall Road, the surgery was a converted house. I also installed the telephone system in his new surgery at the rear of the house/surgery, his practice has now moved to the new Longford Clinic, and although I now live at Walsgrave and have done for the past 42 years I still go to Dr Pathan, we always have a laugh about the past and he still calls me "young man". We used to wake every morning with the sound of the bell ringing from the next door church. I wonder if you remember Connie, my wife's Auntie, she lived in the old cottages facing St Thomas's Church in Hurst Road. My wife ran the play group at St Thomas's along with Mrs Pegg? Got to tell you this little story, after getting a pork batch from the batch bar one dinner time I stood at the pedestrian crossing waiting for the vehicles to stop and let me cross, only one van I was waiting for and he was not looking ahead so until he had seen me I was not going to step on the crossing and he was going at speed, anyway he finally saw me and thought I was on the crossing, he slammed on his brakes, in doing so he dislodged his load of steel bars he was carrying and trapped the driver in his seat (the steel pushed his seat and him into the windscreen). After he had stopped I continued to cross the road unaware of what had happened! I spoke to the lollipop lady who I knew and carried on home. Later that day I spoke to the lollipop lady again, she told me that the Fire Dept had been called to remove the man from the van, the Police were then called and by all accounts the driver had blamed me for stepping on the crossing without looking, the lollipop lady soon put them right as she had seen it all happen, it could have been a lot worse as the driver had his son also in the van, because he was small the metal passed over his head. I cannot help thinking that the driver did not get off too lightly? I will never know, but from all accounts he came looking for me but the lollipop lady would not reveal my address. Another thought crossed my mind, I see so many people stepping onto crossings without looking or with the impression that the traffic must stop, how dangerous is that? Colin

Mrs Pegg if it's the same lady was my daughter's teacher at Grange Hurst school

Well 'young man' I bet you watch even more closely these days!!!!!!

Did the cinema at the end of Windmill Rd used to have steps outside it? I have a vague memory of them as a kid

My first ever trip to the cinema was to The Dovedale, an auntie took me to see Pinocchio, however I don't remember the trip at all, just being told about it. I served my apprenticeship in a television shop just a little way up the Foleshill Road from here, opposite Elmdale Avenue - or was it Arbury Avenue, funny how the memory plays tricks, I can still remember the phone number 89208.

They said ages ago it was going to be knocked down, I thought it had been demolished by now, but then I don't pass that way.

Yeah deffo still there, it went up for auction around the same time as the old Co-op building but obviously not sold. It just puzzled me why it hasn't been knocked down

Yes I am suprised too SkyBlueRocker, my youngest daughter who worked by there told me the older ladies of the area are trying to save it, so perhaps it might be used after all, I like you wish they would turn it back to how it used to look, not the eyesore it now has become, whose idea was that I wonder.

The Ritz was certainly there when I came over for the Springsteen concert! I remember it as the place that I saw my first 'A' film, when mum & dad took me along to watch From Russia with Love. Proper growed up ah wus! Used to walk up there a lot in my young days. We lived on Pearson Avenue (but I went to school at Longford Park Infants & Juniors - the old school before the Senior school at the front was knocked down) so used to walk along the 'Black Pad' over Cubbington Road and past the St Lawrence Churchyard. It was a real wilderness back then, but I notice that it's all flattened and sanitized now (although I still don't think I'd let a nipper walk down there alone these days ). I note, too, that the 'Pad' is now inaccessible from the Windmill Road end (opposite the school gates). Anyone know why and for how long?

Here's an advert for the rink from 1937