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Other places in Now & Then... Arts School, Ford Street Bishop Street, looking north Bishop Street, looking south Bishop Street Post Office Blue Coat School & ruins Broadgate from Holy Trinity Church Burges from Bishop Street Burges from Cross Cheaping Butcher Row, Great Butcher Row, Little Cheylesmore Manor House Coat of Arms Bridge Cook Street gate Council House Cox Street Far Gosford Street Fire Station, Hales Street Fleet Street Ford's Hospital Golden Cross & Pepper Lane Greyfriars Lane The Grove Guildhall & 22 Bayley Lane Hales Street Herbert Art Gallery & Museum Hertford Street Hertford Street from Broadgate High Street from Broadgate High Street from Earl Street High Street aerial view Hill Street, Bablake & Bond's Hippodrome, new Hippodrome, old Humber Motor Works Ironmonger Row Jordan Well & Earl Street Jordan Well & Gosford Street Kenilworth Road Leamington Road Much Park Street Naul's Mill Park Old Rope Walk Palace Yard Pool Meadow Precinct & Old Coventry aerial view Precinct, upper Precinct, west view Priory Row Priory Street, lower end Priory Street, upper end Queen Victoria Road flood of 1900 Railway Station, Eaton Road Railway Station - the platform Smithford Way Spon End arches Spon Street flood of 1900 St. John's Church, Fleet Street St. Michael's Avenue St. Michael's ruins St. Michael's spire from Pepper Lane Stoke Green & Pool Swanswell Gate Swanswell Pool Swimming Baths, Priory Street Trinity Church Trinity Lane & the Free Library Trinity Lane from Priory Row Trinity Street aerial view Trinity Street & Hales Street War Memorial Park Warwick Row, Hertford St & Warwick Lane Warwick Road Well Street from Hales Street West Orchard Wheatley Street Schools

Engraved Coventry... Guildhall Entrance Gateway Old Grammar School - east side Old Grammar School - west side Pool Meadow Priory Mill Dam

Bishop Street, looking north Camera No. 50

The first view shown here, from early 2006, is actually undeservedly flattering. As you can see in further modern views of Bishop Street on the next page, it's now a rather featureless non-entity of a place, with bland rectangular 'lego-block' buildings of no architectural merit.

A century ago, however, it was a street with a little character. (Probably several, in fact !) Its steady incline also posed a bit if a challenge to the early electric trams of the day - I wonder how many tired legs had to complete the journey after alighting an even more tired tram that had failed to climb to the street's northern extremity?
The rows of two and three storey terraced houses were also testimony to just how residential the centre of Coventry once was. The 'blank canvas' rebuild of the post-war years virtually put an end to people populating Coventry's city centre. Only with the projects of recent years have we seen an attempt to get people dwelling in the town centre again.

The small area of cobbles to the right, at the bottom of the photo, is the entrance to Silver Street; and so if the 1905 photographer was to have turned to his right, (and travel back another hundred years) he would've been greeted with a view of the old Grammar School similar to this one.

More memories....

I was fortunate in 2009 to have been in touch with a man who lived in Bishop Street for several years before the Second World War broke out. Norman Cohen has furnished me with some details that he recalls about various premises in this street, which I will place here in case they help bring back your own memories of the street. You can also read Norman's entertaining account of pre-war life in Coventry on this 'memories' page.

And now here are Norman's recollections of some of the shops that filled Bishop Street....

Left hand side (working up from the bottom):

Not in the picture....

• Welton's, Chemists (been there for ever).
• Montgomery's, Butchers (been there for ever). My father invited Bill Montomery over for a drink to celebrate, the day I was born. My father was called to serve a customer, leaving him in the backroom of the shop where he polished off the whisky and was found, by his wife, sound asleep and somewhat worse for wear, several hours later.
• Then, bottom left just off the photo.... Pickfords.

I can't remember all the shop names until just beyond where a lady is riding a bike...

• Lancaster House, our shop, which sold carpets, furniture, linoleum - destroyed on 14th November 1940.
• Barfords, an Ironmongers which also had a big stock of rifles and shot guns.
• Mrs. Hayward, selling teas, sugar, butter ,cigarettes and sandwiches.
• Then a Pub.
• Pargetters, Funeral Furnishers and Undertakers. What was special about them was their Black Rolls Royce Limousines and Hearses, PLUS huge, Black Belgian Horses to pull the horse-drawn hearses. They looked wonderful, decorated with black ostrich feathers. The premises were set on fire by incendiary bombs, like our shop, but the staff saved everything except for our van which we garaged there.

Right hand side (working up from the bottom):

• No.51 where I was born
• Lewin Brothers, leather wear. Saddles. Bridles etc. and repairs, suitcases and school bags.
• Mr. Houston, Chemist from Scotland.
• Pub (with Peeping Tom firmly wedged in an upstairs window!)
• Forsyth Brothers, "Bespoke Tailors" Coventry's best.
• A bit higher up was Tooby Atkins, again a leather retailer, with a wholesale business as well. The family lived in Spencer Road opposite King Henry Eighth School.
• Lindons. All the family worked in the business selling fruit, vegetables and flowers, and lived above the shop.
• Frederick Davies, Gentlemen's Outfitters. My Father bought all his suits etc. from him. They were great friends.
• The Post Office. (See post-war images of it on this page.)
• Friswell, Picture Framers. Thomas Edward Friswell was a pre-war Mayor of Coventry.
• Mittons. Tobacconist. Sold cigarettes by weight, rarely by packets including Woodbines.

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