Broomfield Park

You had me confused there for a minute Dutchman as I thought I knew the area well (around the old Broomfield Place) thank you for clarifying that for us. (dont forget the clocks today) !!!

Looking for something else as usual I have come across a picture of Sovereign Place in Alton Douglas' "Coventry a Century of News". Not sure if I should put it on here. It was taken in 1961. The street sign is on the longer row of houses which look like the ones round the corner on the Butts from the ones highlighted on Dutchman's map. There is a path on the map by the highlighted houses which can be seen on the picture.

Is that the one with the cobbler's shop on the corner Anne?

Looks like it, it says Rushtons Shoe repairs on the corner of the building, in fact much of the building is covered with advertising posters !

The roadway in the picture is definitely Butts Interesting how the first four houses adjoining the shop and fronting onto Butts have large advertisements above their front doors up to roof level

How long has the name of the Butts been changed to Butts rd?

The correct name is Summerland Butts Lane but it's seldom used (except by me). The new section is properly referred to as the Butts Radial Relief Spur and no one ever calls it that either!

Can you identify no.96? My 2x great grandparents lived at 96 Sovereign Place at the time of the 1871 Census and one of their children died there (death certificate calls it 96 Butts) later the same year

The Butts was renumbered at some point after 1912 Midland Red. In 1871 No.96 was where I've marked in red and it's possible that locals referred to the whole of that part of the street as "Sovereign Place"?

Thanks for that - very much appreciated It means that the image in Alton Douglas's book shows the property where they lived Neither Annewiggy nor I feel comfortable about posting a copy of the image from the book onto the forum

I lived at the bottom of Hearsall Lane as a small girl and my friend and I would often wander down to Broomfield Place where there was a small park (Broomfield Park?) and I'm sure there was a little pond in it. Well it was either a little pond or a huge dirty puddle! My mother warned me never to go near the water as there was a polio epidemic around at the time and I might catch it. Must have been around the mid 50s as I recall hearing Jimmy Young singing his big hit Unchained Melody on someone's radio, 1955 I believe.

It may have been a pond at one time Janey but it was a sandpit when I played there (late 1950s). Maybe the council filled it in to avoid the polio risk?

Hi Janey I forgot to ask, was there ever a café on the corner of Hearsall Lane and Broomfield Place, where the builders merchant is today? I believe it closed not long after the Plaza cinema.

Sorry Dutchman, I can only remember a newsagents in that row of shops, and a model shop where you could get balsa wood for model planes etc. I will ask my sister if she remembers, but she has come up with a few in that area that I had forgotten about. I shall put her information in the Shops of Yore thread in the next day or two. I think that thread will go on for ever by the look of it !

There seems to be some confusion Janey? Preedy's newsagents was on the corner of Melbourne Road while Beesley's Modeldrome was on the opposite side of Spon End. The parade of shops I'm referring to ran between the east corner of Broomfield Place and the traffic lights at the bottom of Hearsall Lane. It's possible they were not yet built when you left the area. It was previously a builders yard.