Spon Street

Thank you everyone for the help in finding my house on the 1911 census that I was born in in 1950. I have now put it onto my family tree. Seems funny to see the address written on the census! There were only 3 cottages when I lived there to my knowledge?

I and my two sisters were born at no 3 Movement Yard behind Hunts shop, The owners of the shop were Phillis and Leslie Thornley and had 5 children, Margeret, Stella, Graham, Phillip and Robin the youngest, The chap on the bike is Les who had the bakery on the left just under the archway behind Mains who did the pork pies and cooked meats, The Movement factory was run by two brothers the Boltons, I could go on for ever about Spon street but perhaps another day.

Welcome to the forum Teltex We'd love to hear more about Spon Street

Love this topic, I have read all 13 pages of it and it brought back some wonderful memories for me. I used to drink at the old Malt Shovel when it was kept by John and Kath Lee, my wife and I actually did a weeks relief for them. I later found out before my dad died that one of his relatives used to keep it way back, their name was Berry. I now live up in West Yorkshire due to work commitments some 26 years ago and I stayed, I popped back once and was horrified at what has been done to Coventry, sorry folks not for me now. I had a glorious 45 years in the city having spent my schooling at Barkers Butts, yellow flecked tarmac in Spon Street, the monstrosity over from where they demolished that great Art Deco building The Hippodrome to the old Fire Station, and of course the Marquee which covered Lady Godiva none of those appeal to me.

There is a lot that would agree with you here Arthur on the remod of Coventry but at least we did have a great history sadly not a lot left of it now.

Dutchman--thanks for your signature links keep them coming alway an interesting read

The idea that Coventry has no history is too laughable for words. I defy anyone to find a city of comparable size in the UK with a more fascinating and varied history, most of which is accessible if you want to find it. That rich history is also the basis for this forum, I would suggest.

Nobody said that "Coventry has no history", only that there is hardly any visible evidence of it left, which is true. The Coventry I grew up* in no longer exists, except in pictures and people's memories. Where for example is the middle section of Spon Street today? What do IKEA and the Odeon complex have to do with "Medieval Spon Street". Even the former Shakespeare Inn's frontage has been altered beyond recognition. *Mrs Dutchman would probably argue I never grew up!

I think there is plenty left if you look for it. If nothing ever changed then Coventry would still be a collection of squalid slums around the centre. The modern centre was being developed as I grew up and, whatever anyone thinks of Gibson's vision, it is an integral part of our city's history. It is an ever-evolving process going on around us. I fear that, just like some people like change for its own sake, some hate change no matter what. Likewise, some will automatically hate any new building, yet wish to preserve an old one simply because it is old rather than having any merit. I delight in rediscovering little bits of the city I remember from childhood even to this day. However, the Coventry each of us remember as where we grew up may never have existed at all. (And MrsD-Di would also say that none of us chaps ever grow up!)

I agree with MisterD-Di, there is plenty left, and some of the more important structures are those that have survived. 'Gibson's Vision' is a total myth. He came up with a plan in the 1930s to demolish the area around the Cathedral and replace it with a 'civic quarter' next to a shopping precinct. This would have pretty much swept away the medieval core of Coventry. After the war there was a period of some years (maybe a decade) in which various plans were made, each one different, and each one the cause of friction between Coventry and the government. The only thing that was really planned was the precinct and the 'civic quarter' and a ring road that would have utilised corporation street and was surface level and hooked up to most of the city's streets. Corporation Street was supposed to be the 'leisure' zone, which is why the Belgrade was built. The rest of the city centre was just split into 'zones' and given a vague role. Early plans had the whole of the area inside this ring road demolished and replaced with a typical 'gridiron' street pattern (Coventry would have been more like Plymouth.) He also moved the original plan for a central bus station away from the railway station to Pool Meadow. Unfortunately, I think due to the poor vision overall, we ended up with an even more incoherent mess than the pre-war city, something Gibson was trying to fix. By plonking things in random places and demolishing all the streets around them, we have a city that has a somewhat odd, back to front and empty feel to it. Coventry University, for example, grew piecemeal. What we actually have no is very different to Gibson's plans and visions, which may be a good thing. I guess what I'm saying is that I agree with MisterD-Di. It evolved at the planning stage (mainly due to arguments) and then even when they were building it it continued to evolve as they tried to fix mistakes and try out new ideas. Since the 1980s it's been evolving further with a series of piecemeal developments that have really only made it even more fragmented and incoherent.

Yes, I know what you mean. There's very little 'continuation of use' in much of Coventry city centre. For example, if you go to older cities that weren't destroyed by planners you find old streets that have been pedestrianised and turned into shops, or old factories and mills that are still in use as offices along old streets. These provide visual links and reminders to the past in terms of use and architecture. I once read an article that commented that the area occupied by Coventry University doesn't have that. It's also, IMHO, another reason why Coventry has become an incoherent mess and the 'gaps' are being in filled in by cheap blocks like IKEA and Skydome. It may have been the case that the old GEC factory could have been retained and converted. On the other hand, it may not have been possible. They did try to save the frontage of the old Herbert factory in the Butts, but it wasn't possible to do it. That would have meant a new building behind an old facade with the street frontage remaining the same...

I agree wholeheartedly with you. There is plenty left, it's just split up and unconnected. I made a list of the old/historic structures left around the city and it was a few pages long. The fact that even people on this forum are unaware of that highlights the problems this city has in making the most of it. It leaves us in this limbo - we can't use the old buildings effectively to attract visitors, and they're disparate enough that they prevent redevelopment to attract jobs. I'm still of the opinion we need to use the centre of the city, especially the area between the two spires as a historical preservation zone, recreating the old routes as small pedestrian alleys etc and using the smaller, timber framed buildings etc from places like Spon St (including Upper Spon St/Spon End) and the Burges to create that historic feel, with a mix of boutique shopping and 'living museum' while also creating better routes and sightlines for the larger structures.

What does much of Medieval Spon St have to do with the actual Medieval Spon St? Much of it was moved there for elsewhere in the city centre during the post-war redevelopment.

Am slightly baffled by this picture from Rob's collection, the Derbyshire Building Society doesn't appear to have any shop front. Perhaps they shared the office of the estate agent or whatever it is to the right of the sign?