Yardley family

Just found this interesting site : Real Ale Pubs of Coventry The Pub History tab links to some interesting facts about our olde Coventry Ale Houses (including my G.G Grandads!!) Plenty of NAME TURKS HEAD ALTERNATIVE NAMES Later CITY CENTRE PUB, AZTECS ADDRESS 29 SILVER STREET ALTERNATIVE ADDRESSES BISHOP STREET Noble families whose members had taken part in the crusades tended to include a Turk's head as part of their arms. In 1635 a house is described as standing on ' school land ' near Swines Cross, between the Grammar School and the Turks Head. In 1827 the pub was leased by Thomas Rotherham. In 1862 it belnged to the Free Grammar School and was let to Mr Yardley for £19 10s 0d per annum. In 1882 it was sold. Quote from "The Character of Coventry" by John Ashby: The name was first recorded in an agreement dated 1699. The first name change is given as 1901 when it became the Tramway Inn and that was retained until circa 1934. It then reverted to the Turk's Head. It became the City Centre Pub in 1972 and then the Turk's Head again in 1980. At some intermediate stage it became Aztecs. In 1986 it became The Diplomat and at the time of publication in 2001 was known as The Pride of Coventry. Licensees 1822 - 1823 J. Francis 1835 Thomas Elton 1841 Thomas Harrald 1850 - 1860 William King 1862 - 1874 George Yardley 1879 - 1881 John Russell 1935 - 1936 W. E Swain 1937 - 1938 A. E. Swain 1939 - 1940 H. G. Shuttleworth 1983 Colin Taggart Owners 1862 Free Grammar School

Thanks, we have all of those pics

I keep looking to see if there is an old picture of the Turk's Head. A nice view of Silver Street would be good but while I wait the following may be of interest... I too have a grandfather & grandmother that were the publicans at the Turk's Head or Tramway Inn. The following information was gathered from online newspapers regarding the Turk's Head -Tramway name change My grandfather was Thomas Pointer from Northampton. He ran the Turk's Head/Tramway Inn from December 1892 until his death in March 1896. When the licence was transferred to him the tavern was called the Turk's Head, Silver Street. In a court case in March 1895 the defendant was Thomas Pointer of the Tramway Inn. Thomas died at 29 Cook Street(?) in February 1896 but, at that time, newspaper adverts referred to the Tramway Inn with T Pointer as the proprietor. In early April 1896 the public house is referred to as the Tramway Inn, in an article about Sunday drinking at Bedworth. But a week later the license for the Turk's Head, Silver Street was transferred to Louisa Pointer, the wife of Thomas Pointer. Later that year, the Turk's Head is referred to again, twice, in an ongoing court case. In October 1897 there was a fight in the Tramway Inn that ended in court. And finally, in mid February 1901, Louisa Pointer was too ill to attend court to answer a summons relating to a drunken watchmaker, at the Turk's Head Inn. Louisa died at the end of the month in Silver Street. At census time Louisa's daughter & son in law, Ellen & James Scrivener were living at 29 Silver Street (Turk's Head). It may then have retained the Turk's Head name through to at least September 1901. JonB

Hi Neil I am fairly new to this site. I was just idly searching and I searched for Yardley, my maiden name and came up with your interest in your family tree. How are you getting on with it. I have been doing mine for several years. all my Yardleys came from Coventry. I have recently after being stuck for a long time with Thomas Wallis Yardley who was born in about 1730 been able to link, with a little help to John Yardley who was mayor of Coventry in 1690 and who greeted William of Orange on his way to Ireland. John Yardley lived in Mill Lane near Mill Lane Gate. If you are interested in any of this please let me know.

Hello again NeilsYard Did you find the graves of the relatives that you were going to look for?

Hi charabanc. No - I located the supposed locations but there were sadly no markers. I'll keep up the search though as I suspect they are the wrong squares. One strange event though - I had a location for one of my great grandparents in a square in the old section close to the railway lane. I found a single grave in the area that was entirely covered with Ivy/debris - almost completely hidden/sunk. It looked like something out of a Hammer film! When I scraped away on the headstone it was amazingly the same surname but not my relative. Appears no-one had touched the grave for many a year. I'll keep hunting anyway and report back, Cheers

Hi Anne! Great to hear! Yes I'm a Yardley (as in Neils Yard!) I'd like to take the genealogy thing further - my Uncle has done some research. I find the whole thing very interesting. Everyone has a tale to tell. Its amazing how many people only really know anything about as far back as just their grandparents isn't it. Anyway I recall my auntie believing there are two Yardley families from Coventry. I know that I am at least a 6th generation Coventrian. I've only got back as far as my 3x great grandfather who was John Yardley born around 1793. The connection that started this thread was George Yardley - my 2x great grandfather (John's son) who ran the pub. His second wife we believe worked in the bar and they married despite a 34 year age gap!! Another interesting point was her name was Emma and her mother (who would be my 3x great grandmother) was German! Would love to find out how she came to be in Coventry in the early 1800's. Anyway interested to hear - you never know there may be a connection! All the best, Neil

Following other threads - this is actually the best shot yet of Silver Street from the air in 1931. A quick register to enable you to zoom in shows it was actually as wide as Bishop Street. I still cannot believe its the same place! I've added the 'Pin' to highlight the street.

Hi Neil, I have had a quick look at your John Yardley 1793 but I can't find a connection at the moment, we will have to go back a bit further. We must have been a boozy lot. My gr grandparents had a shop in Croft Road in the late 19th century and I know he applied for a licence but was turned down. His brother ran the Leopard Inn, Smithford Street, at about the same time. If I across anything that might be of interest I will let you know. Just found a bit more. Have you come across the British Newspaper Archives site, another wonderful site. In 1844 George Yardley transferred the licence of The Salutation Inn to Joseph Lewis. In 1858 the licence of the Turk's Head was transferred from Thomas Poultney to George Yardley. In 1874 he renewed the lease of the Turk's Head with the owners the Church Charity Trust. There is also an article about the police stopping dog fighting at the Cock public house in Jordan Well, the article also mentions the Turk's Head which at that time was run by a Mr King And another one, the licence of the Turk's Head was transferred to John Russell in 1879

Thanks Anne Great to hear. I'll have a look at that site. That's definitely my 3x great grandfather at the Turks. The dates match up to the period I know he was there. The only other Yardley I have met but was not related is a chap who runs Friswells Art Gallery in Earlsdon. I went in to get a picture framed a few years ago and he was amazed when I said my name. Obviously a good Coventry name Keep in touch.

My great-grandparents William and Frances Yardley ran a shop at 43 Croft Road. They were still there in 1917 when they had news that their grandson had been killed at Passchendale. I wonder if this could be 43.

I can't see any other shop in that particular view, Annewiggy. I haven't managed to find a different angled shot of the street either. Maybe the Dutchman can help with a street-plan and we can confirm some house-numbers.

Yes it is

Thank you for that Dutchman. my great grandmother was still running the shop when she died in 1920. I am not sure if the shop was taken over by family, I have a vague recollection of going there when I was very young and being allowed behind the counter.

Hi Anne - did you see this in the Telegraph the other night? Quote "The Yardley family in Coventry can be traced back to the 1500s, and in 1689 John Yardley was the mayor of Coventry. Yardley Street, in Hillfields, is named after him."