High Street

1920 time, they put a hood on the back of them and used them as the first taxi, as this one is.

What is the Earl of Mercia about? There were scores of them, some only lasting a few days.

Kaga. From Coventry Pub History.. This Wetherspoon pub takes its name from Leofric, Earl of Mercia, who founded St Mary's Priory, Coventry's first cathedral.

The road was widened some time between 1850 and 1897 starting at the west with the building that is now the Halifax but was Lloyds. It then moved east with the building that was to become the Coventry BS (it started in LPS in 1884) and finally the London & Midland Bank on the corner. There's a photo of the Little Park Street side in the Herbert collection before they knocked the previous building down. Looking at the 1889-1890 and 1889 maps they'd only completed the Halifax building, so that narrows it down to between 1889 and 1897. Since they built the Midland last, it would be towards the latter end. 1889 map link Edited to knock a year off the latest possible date.

Midland Red Lord Mercia died in the tenth century, last of the line, so the hamlet named their hamlet after him, this became a sort of county, still run under Danish law before Leofric came to the county in 1023. But I have never heard of Mercia building, so was it after the 1950's?

See this thread for previous discussion

It's the former Midland Bank building, corner of Little Park Street

Midland Red Does that mean there was no mercia house before 1950?

From the excellent Coventry Pubs hosted here. The building opened in June 1896 as Lloyds Bank. In the early 1990s it became CASSIDY'S. In 1994 it became The PHOENIX BAR with the comment 'The Phoenix rose from Cassidy's ashes'. At this time it was purchased by Mansfield Brewery. The name changed again in 1996 to LLOYDS NO.1, relating to the building's former use, and then to the EARL OF MERCIA in 2001.

How could I have forgotten to look in there Helen?! Was this the same corner prior to its building then? (Courtesy of the Coventry Archives)

Now I'm confused. When did it change from a Lloyds to Midland Bank?

I only ever knew it as the Midland then HSBC before it became a drinking establishment

Since the current Lloyds Bank building dates from 1932, where was it previously? Was it where the Midland Bank was, and, if so, where was the Midland Bank before 1932. Or has Coventry Pubs got it wrong?

Yes Neil, that was the previous building. In 1850 it was the Union Bank. Good question belushi.... I know that it was the London and Midland Bank in 1897 and that Lloyds was next door but one to the west (currently the Halifax but who know what it will be tomorrow ). That's from the Fire Insurance map. I'm guessing that the building was opened in 1896 but not sure that it was ever Lloyds (other than as a pub) but the banks have wandered about so it could have been. Artwork on the banks. A thought occurs - possibly the building in Neil's photo was Lloyds while it waited for its new building to be constructed and the property transferred to the Midland Bank who had it demolished and had their new building built? So looking like Lloyds had been the first occupant of the new building? Looking at the signs in the windows it says REMOVED something something Street. Suggesting that the occupants had moved, which ties in with a move along the High Street.

Thanks for that Helen. I've just checked on Wiki to see the early history of the Midland Bank, and it states that the Bank was not even founded until 1986! Wiki has a load of 19XX dates where they should be 18XX ones.