Holbrooks and Holbrook Lane

I didn't remember that LinB. The previous owner of that shop was Mrs Foster who was our next door neighbour.

Hi Bryn, I remember it because my mum used to buy all her knitting wool from there and we often were sent to collect wool that she'd had 'put by'. I think the womans name was Marie. Also, during school holidays, when she used to take her children to the shop with her, my younger sister often played with them. I think there was a little girl who was older than the boy who drowned. Maybe she just worked there, but I don't ever remember seeing anyone but her in there. Perhaps someone has more info that would show my memory isn't as good as it used to be

Does anyone remember anything about a little girl being murdered in or from Holbrooks in the mid 70s

Hi Amanda2 & welcome to our forum Yes I do. As her close relatives may be still alive, I hope that all members will be extremely sensitive regards any posts on this. This may be a timely opportunity to remind all of us who post on here, that some subjects can by their nature, raise memories that may still be raw & painful. The case here, I am not sure of the outcome. We may say more on this later.

I have just been given for safe keeping an amount of assorted coal mining books and documents. Apart from Coventry Colliery items which are useful for the Keresley exhibition at Bedworth Heritage Centre there was details of an auction sale in 1923. Without doing any extra research I am assuming that it is part of the disposal of items associated with the huge Holbrooks munitions complex that supported the 1914-18 war effort.

Used to live in Wheelwright Lane in the bungalow next door to what was St John's Ambulance hall. Having left Coventry in 1988 it was only recently I learned that both the bungalow I lived in and the one next door have been demolished and are now a car park for the medical centre.

Hi Me and my sister Marilyn Moulson lived at 78 Dymond Road from l think 1947/8 until my dad Albert died in 1964. He worked at Rootes Group and sang in local club and pubs with my piano teacher Bert Hewitt who lived in Hen Lane near the Bantam. I would love to contact my old school mates Raymond Gamble, Brian Davies who both lived in Dymond Road and Tony Livermore who lived in Masser Road. Don't know if your relative knew any of these families. Don't know how old the houses were but I think all the roads were named after local councillors. Thanks RichM

wizard76 I lived opposite the dog track for six months in the early part of 1966, sold up and moved to Brighton, often went there in the fifties..

It has its own thread here

Hi all The Holbrooks library opens in what used to be Foleshill park public toilets. Holbrook library opens on Tuesday 6 December 2016 Monday - closed Tuesday - 9:00 - 12, 12:30 - 4:30 Wednesday - 12:30 - 4:30, 5:00 - 7:00 Thursday - 9:00 - 12:00, 12:30 - 4:30 Friday - closed Saturday - closed Sunday - closed The view A glimpse of the past The closure of Holbrooks library

Does anyone know what the large wasteland with parts of disused brick buildings was in Holbrooks in the 60's. It was at the end of Kirkdale Avenue near to the railway line. There was still old iron stoves in place amongst the brickwork - very strange. I can clearly remember playing there in the early sixties, as did a lot of kids from the area. Hope I am remembering this correctly as I was only 7 or 8 at the time. There was also a brook there with steep banks in places - kids were always slipping down them into the shallow water, then frantically trying to dry out shoes and socks before daring to go home! We moved from Holbrooks in 1964.

Looking at old maps Petunia, if you mean the long strip of land between the houses and the railway line, there were a lot of railway lines joining on to a mineral railway. It could be something to do with that. The mineral railway was from Coventry Colliery and looks as if it brought coal to the main line. It would have had associated buildings. There were also allotments there. This would perhaps account for brick buildings and old stoves, men's sheds!! Did you find bits of old clay pipes? Our house in Poole Road was built on allotments and we could always find clay pipes to use as chalk for hopscotch (and tiles which I now realise would have probably been blown of the roof during the war, great for markers as well).

Hello Petunia, Carrying on from Anne's reply, you were playing very close to Coventry's one time dog racing track, which was also home to the motorcycle speedway, until it moved to Brandon. The area was intensely industrialised for much of its history. Clay for bricks was also extracted for many years. Dog track closure film.