Heritage Open Days - Coming Soon.
Come and meet us at St. Mark's Church for the Heritage Open Days.
Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th September 2013
From 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
Come and see the fantastic Feibusch Mural at St. Mark's Church for the Heritage Open Days. There will also be a display of the work of the Society and during the weekend we will be offering reduced joining fees for the Coventry Society.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
The old wall around the Charterhouse gardens is in serious need of attention. It needs to be restored, but that is a job for experts and the receipt of the necessary funding. This is in hand, but in the meantime there is an urgent need to clean up the exterior of the wall between the Charterhouse grounds and the rear of Terry Road.
In the past this has been the responsibility of Coventry College, but of course they are no longer involved. To this end we are holding a clearing day on:
Sunday 18th August from1:00p.m.
This is where your support is really needed, so please rally round and find an hour or two if you possible can, and come and help. There will be some expertise to ensure that we do no further damage to the wall, so there are no worries on that account.
Counting on your support, see you on Sunday 18th at the Charterhouse, at the ready.
Many thanks,
Jon Plumley, Friends of the Charterhouse
Bayley House Applications Refused
The Coventry Society welcomes the decision of Coventry's Planning Committee to refuse planning permission and listed building consent to convert the historic Bayley House to student flats. The Society attended the committee meeting and spoke against the application. Our comments were as follows:
"The Coventry Society endorses the officer’s recommendation that this application be refused -
"Bayley House is simply the most important heritage building that we have in the city in private hands and its sympathetic future use must be safeguarded.
"Bayley House is in a pivotal position in the city’s most historic street, alongside the country finest medieval Guildhall and opposite the world famous ruined cathedral with its ancient graveyard. The existence of Bayley House has long been taken for granted and this application has highlighted its importance and the potential that the buildings offer to the plans for a revitalised heritage quarter and improvements to the city’s image and visitor economy in the future.
"The Society is mindful of the fact that such an historic building has high maintenance and restoration costs and whilst in private hands must pay for itself through rental income. We also have some sympathy with the applicant as the lack of parking and low rental levels for offices in city centre may well make the current use marginal in viability terms. This is clearly what is driving the proposals for the change of use, but there must be a better way.
"The Society feels that, for buildings as important as this, the most appropriate future is a transfer of ownership to a trust, which would remove the drive to maximise revenue and allow access to sources of funding for restoration that are available to the applicant. This would also allow public access and produce the maximum benefit to the visitor economy.
"We understand that the building is in urgent need of major work to its fabric and the burden of repairs might well be difficult to achieve in private hands within current use constraints. This reinforces the need for the city as a whole – the Council and the Voluntary Sector - to work with the applicant to bring forward alternative proposals.
"If committee do follow Officers’ recommendations, we understand that the owner will be disappointed at the refusal, as working in isolation this may be his only economic solution. We do however believe that he has the best interests of the city at heart and if supported can work with partners to deliver a far more suitable proposal for this important building. We would ask that the applicant defers any other action regarding this change of use proposal for a period of six months to allow joint action from the city heritage community and the council to explore better alternatives."
Museums for the Future
The September meeting of the Coventry Society was dedicated to a talk by Steve Bagley, Curator of Coventry Transport Museum, and his colleague Damien Kimberley. They told us about the new developments of the museum; how the building will get a new make-over with the aid of a very large grant from the National Lottery. The plans involve moving the two Land Speed Record cars to the front of the museum. This will involve building an extension to the building out into the side loading bay. The Museum shop will be moved to the front and will be on the right as you walk in. The rest of the museum will be laid out in date order from the very earliest cycles through the history of car development, with every vehicle displayed on a blue ribbon. There will be no special exhibition of cycles or motorcycles - they will be dotted throughout the displays in date order.
Steve and Damien also briefly talked about the Museum taking over the old Grammar school and its restoration and future use at an educational resource. This building has been a concern for the Coventry Society for many years and it is nice to hear that it will be saved.
Alongside the development plans for the Transport Museum are the plans for the amalgamation of the Transport Museum, the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, the Lunt Fort and the Priory Visitors Centre into a new Cultural Coventry Trust. We were sad to learn that these cost cutting plans have led to job losses, including Steve Bagley who gave us the talk and has worked for the museum for 27 years. We send him our best wishes for the future.
Spotlight on the Ring Road
The opportunity to talk on the Shane O’Connor Breakfast Show helped swell numbers at our October meeting when Coventry City Council's Assistant Director of Planning, Transport and Highways, Colin Knight, joined with member Chris Daniel to present Coventry Ring Road—Love it or Hate it?
The 2009 Talking Bird’s film describing the making of the Ring Road featured member Brian Rednap who was one of the engineers responsible for its construction. Sadly Brian couldn’t make the meeting for health reasons but his contribution through the film was greatly appreciated. One of our newest members, Ben Freeman, was one of the people involved with building the ring road. He appeared on the video and also spoke at our meeting.
Chris Daniel walked the entire length of the road on both inner and outer rings to prepare a picture slide report for the evening. He found the whole experience quite revealing. “My presentation was titled "Embrace and Adapt", said Chris. It was based on the practicality of dealing with the Ring Road as it exists, it functions and the belief it won’t be erased. I perceive an opportunity to build on the original concept with significant scope to improve vehicle, cycle, and pedestrian access into and out of the City Centre.”
Observations included: Connections through the viaducts can be reinforced when they are already light, airy and open. As the Friargate proposal shows the road can be bridged, facilitating much improved connections between the railway station and the city centre. The greening, wherever possible, of the road and its environs can help transform the appearance and thus the reputation of the Ring Road. Car access to the city centre works, but the experience is largely poor, negative and unwelcoming. Coach access is simply awful and the worst possible welcome. Pedestrian interface is a real issue, and its transformation presents a significant challenge. We have created "no go" zones, and the subways and walkways are not fit for purpose. The visual impression is largely negative with a long standing lack of appropriate maintenance and management. The whole fabric is very poor with barriers everywhere being negative both physically and psychologically. Areas that have become derelict and intimidating were highlighted.
Colin Knight stated that the Ring Road "does what it says on the tin". It is essential for free movement of traffic in the city centre and is here to stay. That is not to say that it doesn't need bringing up to date but the road still has capacity to cope in the future. He admitted that some of the plans are controversial, such as Friargate and the plan to put a pedestrian crossing at Bishop Street and in relation to the latter he said that safety considerations would be paramount. He said that plans are currently being developed for the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Ring Road, next year, and these include closing the road for vehicles so that cyclists and pedestrians can again take advantage of this unique view of the city centre.
A lively question & answer session were testament to well received presentations from Colin and Chris. One of our visitors suggested that there are actually twelve accesses through the Ring Road and we could do a marketing exercise based on the concept of the clockface, linked to the city's historic clock making heritage.
Notwithstanding the problems highlighted in the presentations the Ring Road is clearly a functional success and a great design achievement. We look forward to its 40th anniversary celebration next year.
Come and see us:
Saturday 30th November 2013
10.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m.
Shopfront Theatre, 38 City Arcade.
We will have Christmas Cards and Calendars for sale. Join the Coventry Society on the day and receive a free gift!
Could Coventry be European City of Culture?
News has emerged from Coventry City Council that city leaders are considering a bid to become UK City of Culture in 2021 and European Capital of Culture in 2023.
Most people would agree that if this is to become a reality we have a lot of work to do, but the proposition is not an unreasonable one and Coventry has plenty of history, heritage and culture to give a bid a great platform.
The story of Coventry lends itself perfectly to a city of culture from its origins about 1,000 years ago, then through the ages with the many transformations that the city has gone through. We are going through such a massive change now with end of large scale manufacturing, and the growth of high end technology industry such as research and development.
Coventry has two excellent universities which are attractive to students from across the globe. This has vastly added to the city’s cultural diversity and Coventry is getting more cosmopolitan year by year. Coventry has such a wide variety of cultures because of past and current immigration; cultures from other parts of the UK, Ireland, Europe and the world.
We are also getting much better at appreciating the wonderful English cultural icons that have been a part of Coventry’s landscape for hundreds of years yet were left to decline and fall into ruin. This is the world class heritage buildings that we have, but we seem to have been oblivious to. Buildings, sites and people that was pivotal in world and national history and culture – St Mary’s Hall – St John the Baptist – the birthplace of Sir Henry Parkes – the pioneers of the safety bicycle – Hearsall Common where Sir Frank Whittle was inspired by flying his kite as a boy. World class icons – Jaguar –Rover- taxi cabs - Lady Godiva - 2 tone – Triumph – Larkin – even “sent to Coventry”. The world is very familiar with Coventry but they may not realise it! For example I was on a train a few years ago and I was chatting to an American family from Texas. They had never heard of Coventry but they knew all about Jags and had heard of Lady Godiva.
In recent times the Godiva Festival has become a feature of summertime in Coventry with a wonderful array of culture to be enjoyed completely free. Hundreds of thousands of people come along to enjoy what has become a fantastic event that attracts many visitors from outside of our city. We have bands in the park in summer - also a free weekly event on lazy Sunday afternoons. Then there is the Caribbean festival and the many festivals put on by the Asian communities. The Irish community welcome everyone to join in with St Patricks day every year in Coventry. We are already a city of culture.
We have theatres that offer great entertainment and culture, and great museums that help to tell the story of Coventry. Not everyone in Coventry appreciates these wonderful cultural venues. Many of our citizens have never been to visit them or our great buildings and heritage sites. We have to open up and show off. Becoming an official city of culture with the funds that would attract, would change the mindset of apathetic Coventrians, change the perception of our fellow countrymen and a wider global audience. Look what it did for Glasgow, Liverpool and now Hull.
The Coventry Society has played a big part in raising the awareness of Coventry politicians and getting their attention in regard to our heritage and culture. Membership of the society is the highest it has ever been with new applications being received every week. This is great news for the Coventry Society but it is also great news for the city. It demonstrates that the people of Coventry are getting more and more passionate about the city. The city council are beginning to understand that our past has a huge role to play in our future. The Coventry society has a big part to play if a bid to become city of culture is planned.
The society is also focused on the new in Coventry and has expressed views and support regarding future developments such as Friargate, City Centre South, the recent changes to Broadgate, Warwick Road and shared spaces. There has also been success with Charterhouse, The Old Grammar School, Drapers Hall but there are the challenges of Whitefriars and other neglected sites. All of the recent changes will help any bid for city of culture, and the bid would also be a driver for more long overdue work such as city centre regeneration and more focus on culture and heritage.
The bid will require the city to closely look at how we move people around our city. Better facilities for cyclists and better public transport must be a focus. It is about time the rail project NUCKLE got moving. Without it forget any bid. Coventry has got to link up to Kenilworth, Leamington Spa and the Ricoh Arena by rail from the city centre.
Then we have the situation at the Ricoh Arena. A great city asset which must have a plan that uses all of the facilities there – including the pitch. It is very important that this Olympic arena plays a big part in a bid because it plays such a big role in the cultural scene in Coventry. Anyone who has been privileged to go and see world class musicians there – Bruce Springsteen – Bryan Adams – Kings of Leon – Bon Jovi - The Specials will understand how the arena is a major attraction for visitors to Coventry. They will also tell you how frustrating it is to get there and depart from there. We must build a train station.
So is this bid an exciting prospect? What can we do and what can we use to make it a reality?
Stephen Williamson
Coventry Society Member
4/12/2013
‘The Walls Came Tumbling Down' - Coventry in the 17th Century.
Our first talk of 2014 focuses on Coventry's 17th Century history. Stewart Fergusson, well known in the city as Chairman of the Belgrade Theatre's Board of Trustees and previously as Managing Director of Orbit Heart of England Housing Association. Few people know that Stewart's background ias as a research historian, specialing in urban history. Stewart is also a member of the Coventry Society.
Stewart writes: "In 1662 Coventry’s fine city walls were ceremoniously dismantled on the orders of Charles II. The restored government did not trust this former parliamentary stronghold at a time when the crown still did not feel secure. It was a symbolic event that marks a watershed in Coventry’s history.
"In telling Coventry’s story The Herbert Museum calls its fixed exhibition ‘Explore Coventry in Medieval, Victorian and Modern Times’. The 350 years from the early 16th century is given little attention.
"Yet the long 17th century was an important period of transition in Coventry’s history, from the prominent closed walled medieval town of monks, mystery plays, merchants and cloth workers; to one of the Midlands’ industrial hubs of specialist textile workers and makers of watches, machine tools, cycles, guns and cars.
"This talk will:
• Put Coventry in the national context of the crisis of the 17th century
• Give an overview of the 17th century city
• Tell a story of the City’s struggle to maintain its status, stability and influence through the eyes and experience of a handful of key figures
o Coventry’s Cromwell - the soldier, MP, alderman and mayor, Robert Beake
o A cultured cavalier - Warwickshire’s Lord Lieutenant and Coventry’s Recorder, James Compton, 3rd Earl of Northampton
o The crown’s correspondent - baker and postmaster Ralph Hope.
o Coventry’s conciliator - MP, lawyer and prominent city gent Richard Hopkins
o Coventry’s keeper of the records - city clerk Humphrey Burton.
Monday 13th January 2014 - 7.30 p.m. at the Shopfront Theatre, City Arcade.
The meeting is open to everyone, free to members and £1 to visitors (or join on the day).
George Riches, Secretary Coventry Cycling Campaign.
"Too many people in the UK feel they have no choice but to travel in ways that are dangerous, unhealthy, polluting and costly, not just to their own wallets but also to the public purse. Urgent action is required to address Britain’s chronic levels of obesity, heart disease, air pollution and congestion." (Parliamentary Report 2013 "Get Britain Cycling").
Removing the barriers to cycling is one of the ways of tacking these problems. Unfortunately Coventry has been going backwards in this respect, with cycling's share of journeys to work falling from 2.8% to 1.6% in the ten years to 2011.
During the same period other British towns and cities have made progress. In Bristol the share of cycling in commuter journeys grew from 4.6% to 7.5% and in Oxford from 14.9% to 17% over the same period. Yet change is coming. Cycle Coventry has begun!
Cycle Coventry is a three year £7M project to improve Coventry's cycle routes and change its population's attitude towards cycling. Public consultation is already being held on plans to improve the road across Hearsall Common by widening the pavements to support shared cyclist/pedestrian use. Tarmac is being laid to provide a virtually motor traffic free route between the University Hospital and Longford Park via Henley College. Further infrastructure improvements are in the design stage.
Changing attitudes is as critical as building infrastructure in these early days of transforming Coventry into a cycle friendly city.
Cycle Roadshows are being held at business parks and the universities promoting the message that cycling is for everyday journeys as well as for sport and recreation. There's also training courses; on cycling in traffic and on basic cycle maintenance. Although not a central part of Cycle Coventry, I believe that reducing traffic speeds in residential streets to below 20 mph and removing through motor traffic would greatly encourage the take-up of more walking and cycling at the same time as improving the street environment.
I hope that Cycle Coventry is just the beginning of a "virtuous circle" of substantial increases in the number of cycle journeys leading to increased spending which in turn stimulates more cycling. The parliamentary report mentioned above suggested that cities the size of Coventry would need an annual spend of £3-6 million to meet its target of increasing cycle use fivefold to 10% of all journeys by 2025, and 25% by 2050.
More details can be seen on Coventry Council's website. The minutes of the Cycle Coventry Advisory Group are posted on www.CoventryCyclist.org.uk
Bishopgate Scheme Scaled Down
Plans for the redevelopment of the former Postal Sorting Office appear to have been scaled down following the withdrawal of interest by a major supermarket group.
The previous scheme proposed a complete redevelopment of the site and the construction of a new multi-use building including a supermarket on several levels, leisure and retail uses and car parking. There was a total of 130,000 sq. ft. of retail use and 20,000 sq. ft. of leisure uses.
The new scheme, shown on the Bishopgate Website retains the old Sorting Office Building and sub-divides it into three major retail units. Plans to remove the bridge over the Ring Road and replace it with a surface level pedestrian crossing have been retained, presumably at the request of the City Council. A planning application has not yet been submitted.
Members of the Coventry Society are divided about the new scheme. Some of us think that it is a poor substitute for the original scheme whilst others consider that retaining the original building is good for sustainability. Some of us think that putting a pedestrian crossing accross the Ring Road is complete nonsense and will lead to increased pedestrian accidents!
What do you think?
Bishopgate Wharf - Latest Plans
An application for the former Corporation Depot site off Foleshill Road has just been posted as we go to press. Produced by Barratt Homes with a mixture of the firm’s standard developer house types and a smattering of timber cladding that is claimed to reflect Electric Wharf on the other side of the canal. The marketing name is Bishopgate Wharf.
Several years ago Coventry Society ran a workshop that looked at possible designs for this important site. We were clear then as we are now, that the Depot site should embrace the historic setting—the canal itself, and the industrial nature of Electric Wharf.
In the January planning meeting members accepted that the submitted design brief was not acceptable and required a better layout and community engagement at the detailed stage. Now we have detailed plans produced by Barratt Homes that are clearly unacceptable.
The Society will be making representations in the hope that councillors appreciate how important this conservation area site is. While the modern units are one thing the canalside layout is worse and we shall be pushing for the scheme to go to a MADE review. The potential for a visionary scheme linking with the canal basin, Drapers’ Fields and Electric Wharf is as strong as ever.
Follow this link to see the full planning application...
Building types: One of the designs submitted for 2, 2½ and 3 storey living
Bayley House Applications Refused
The Coventry Society welcomes the decision of Coventry's Planning Committee to refuse planning permission and listed building consent to convert the historic Bayley House to student flats. The Society attended the committee meeting and spoke against the application. Our comments were as follows:
"The Coventry Society endorses the officer’s recommendation that this application be refused -
"Bayley House is simply the most important heritage building that we have in the city in private hands and its sympathetic future use must be safeguarded.
"Bayley House is in a pivotal position in the city’s most historic street, alongside the country finest medieval Guildhall and opposite the world famous ruined cathedral with its ancient graveyard. The existence of Bayley House has long been taken for granted and this application has highlighted its importance and the potential that the buildings offer to the plans for a revitalised heritage quarter and improvements to the city’s image and visitor economy in the future.
"The Society is mindful of the fact that such an historic building has high maintenance and restoration costs and whilst in private hands must pay for itself through rental income. We also have some sympathy with the applicant as the lack of parking and low rental levels for offices in city centre may well make the current use marginal in viability terms. This is clearly what is driving the proposals for the change of use, but there must be a better way.
"The Society feels that, for buildings as important as this, the most appropriate future is a transfer of ownership to a trust, which would remove the drive to maximise revenue and allow access to sources of funding for restoration that are available to the applicant. This would also allow public access and produce the maximum benefit to the visitor economy.
"We understand that the building is in urgent need of major work to its fabric and the burden of repairs might well be difficult to achieve in private hands within current use constraints. This reinforces the need for the city as a whole – the Council and the Voluntary Sector - to work with the applicant to bring forward alternative proposals.
"If committee do follow Officers’ recommendations, we understand that the owner will be disappointed at the refusal, as working in isolation this may be his only economic solution. We do however believe that he has the best interests of the city at heart and if supported can work with partners to deliver a far more suitable proposal for this important building. We would ask that the applicant defers any other action regarding this change of use proposal for a period of six months to allow joint action from the city heritage community and the council to explore better alternatives."
New Plans for The Old Hall, Tamworth Road, Keresley
A new planning application has been submitted to restore and extend the Old Hall in Tamworth Road, Keresley.
The plans are for a hotel, banqueting facility, restaurant and spa. The listed main hall and courtyard will be retained and restored after previous owners had altered internal floor levels. Buildings added in the 1990s will be demolished to make way for a contemporary two-storey accommodation for offices and toilets at ground level with bedrooms above to create an improved façade to Tamworth Road.
To greatly reduce the impact on the Green Belt a subterranean development will contain a large function room, 40 bedrooms and a spa. The new accommodation will be arranged around two sunken courtyards. The location of the underground features have been chosen to avoid any adverse impact on the protected trees in the grounds. The former kitchen garden is "re-instated" to provide an interesting walled garden with glass pyramid structures providing natural light to the function room below.
The Society is supportive of the new plans. We appreciate that this is a major development in the Green Belt, but we feel that plans mitigate against the main impacts on the green belt with the subterannean development and offer the best potential for restoring the listed building.
You can look at the plans for the project here.
The Old Hall is one of the building that the Coventry Society considers to be at risk! Our main page on this site is here.
Joseph Levi Memorial Clock and the Coventry Philanthropic Societies.
Where the children’s Play Area is now in Stoke Green, there once stood the 4 metre high Joseph Levi Memorial Clock. It was bought as a tribute by the people of Coventry at a cost of £650 in 1934. It was constructed by the Lion foundry in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The clock is the reason the play area is called "The Dr Dave Tick Tock Play Area". Dr Dave is in memory of Dr Dave Spencer, former Coventry City and West Midlands county councillor, who played a major role in getting the play area established. It was opened in February 2012 and sadly Dave passed away suddenly in April 2012.
Joseph Levi was the founder in 1854 of the Coventry Philanthropic Institution, based at the White Lion Inn in Smithford Way. This later grew until there were 8 Philanthropic Societies in Coventry with thousands of members. The work of these societies lasted for nearly 100 years – until the modern Welfare State was established in 1948. Before the Welfare State there were few state benefits if you became unemployed, sick or disabled. The members of the Coventry Philanthropic Societies were working people who donated and collected money and organised events to raise funds, in order to give to their fellow workers who had become unemployed or sick.
A founding principle of the Societies was that there was to be no discrimination on the basis of social class, religion or race – for either membership of the Societies or for the receivers of aid.
In 1854 Coventry relied on the trades of ribbon weaving and watch making. However there was a slump in these trades because of cheap imports and many workers became unemployed. Joseph Levi and his friends in the smoke room of the White Lion Inn decided to do something to help the unemployed. At the first meeting there were 17 members. By the end of the year they had 150 members and had delivered 5,000 quarts of soup and 540 4lb loaves.
Originally members donated 5 shillings a year and then collected donations from their workmates and neighbours. To get more money and publicity and to have a good time they organised dances, whist drives, processions, football matches and took part in the annual Lady Godiva Pageants.
The Butts athletic stadium was a popular venue and they held annual sports days and cycle races there. In 1888 one event at the Butts attracted 3,000 people. In 1913 the Societies organised an aviation display at what is now Coventry Airport. There are also records of baseball matches being played. They set up a special fund to help the families of Prisoners of War in the First World War. An annual event was the Christmas children’s party. There were Christmas parcel funds for families and one society records in one year in the 1930s delivering 500 joints of English beef at Christmas.
Eventually there were eight Philanthropic Societies in Coventry and their names and dates of founding were commemorated on the sides of the memorial clock. Their names were:
Coventry Society (1854) based at the White Lion,
Smithford Way; The Golden Cross Pub (1859)
City Centre; Chapelfields (The Watchmakers) (1883);
Hillfields (1888) based at the Swan Inn, Yardley St.;
Earlsdon (1900);
Foleshill (1904);
Stoke (1904);
Charterhouse (1925).
The people of Coventry are rightly proud of and grateful for the dedicated work of the members of the Coventry Philanthropic Societies.
The clock was a much loved feature in Stoke Green, but over the years it was neglected and fell into disrepair. When the Play Area was being built, the Clock had to be dismantled and put into storage as it was in danger of falling down. However, residents felt it was important that the Clock should not be forgotten. The Gosford Park Residents Association are working with the City Council to get the clock restored and put back up again. A specialist company in Leicester has taken x-rays of the fabric of the clock, and have advised that it can be repaired and are preparing an estimate of the works involved. Council officers will hold a meeting in April to discuss next steps – so watch this space.
Our Thanks go to Corinne Spencer, Chair of the Gosford Park Residents Group, for the story and Dave Lewis and Paul Maddocks for the photos.
The clock being removed from the Park:
The clock in storage:
You can download a pdf file of photos of the clock in its original location and in storage here, courtesy of the City Council's Conservation Officer, Chris Patrick.
The River Sherbourne Comes to Life
In 1995 our Vice Chairman, Paul Maddocks, who was then working for the Transport Museum, drew up a plan to open up the River Sherbourne in the vicinity of Palmer Lane. At that time the Coventry Theatre was still there, together with Mattersons and The Smithfield Tavern. The idea was to open up the river and create an attractive pedestrian square and an industrial heritage quarter. Unfortunately the plans did not find favour in the Council and the scheme was buried as deep as the river is.
Jump forward to January of this year and another of our committee members, Jayne Long, suggests that for this year’s Civic Day we should undertake a project on the Sherbourne.
Civic Day is a national day of civic pride co-ordinated by Civic Voice, the umbrella organisation for civic societies such as ours. Civic Day will be held on 21st June. Civic societies up and down the country carry out projects to bring people together to celebrate and develop civic pride.
In Coventry our idea was to do a bit of a clean-up on the River Sherbourne. We don’t have much experience of river clean ups, so we talked to our friends at Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and other organisations with connections to the river. We were amazed to find that there was lots of interest in doing something with the River Sherbourne. The Wildlife Trust has experience of bringing people together to co-ordinate work on the River Sowe and they agreed to convene a similar group of organisations for the River Sherbourne.
Our first meeting, in March was really well attended and full of energy. Everyone there wanted to do something together to improve the river. As well as The Coventry Society and the Wildlife Trust, the Friends of the Charterhouse, the Friends of Sowe Valley, The Environment Agency, Waterside Care, the Friends of Lakeview Park and the Shebourne Trust all agreed to get involved.
It was also revealed that one of our Committee Members, Colin Walker, who had played in the river as a child and had loved it all his life had already created a website about the river. The website describes the whole length of the river from its source near Wall Hill Road north of Allesley, underground though the city centre, until it joins with the Sowe near Baginton. It includes maps and photographs of the river at its various stages of development.
Even more surprising, when the Wildlife Trust approached the council to get them involved in the project, it was revealed that the Council had been partners in a study about opening up the Sherbourne through the city centre, which had been completed six months before.
Called The Ripple Effect, it was commissioned by the UK Technology Strategy Board and Defra and carried out by international firm AECOM and Severn Trent Water in collaboration with the Council. While for most of the Sherbourne’s course through the city centre the river flows under the main shopping area, the report suggests that opening up the river would make the centre more attractive and bring extra cash from tourism and shoppers. The Ripple Effect also claims that opening up the river would cool the city down in a heat wave, add biodiversity and reduce flood risks. During the last week there have been lots of stories in the local press and quite a lot of excitement about the prospects for opening up the river.
Well we are hopeful that something will come of that study in the longer term, but in the meantime our existing partners are going to get together to put together a more modest action plan, starting with Civic Day on 21st June. Join us at the Charterhouse – more information nearer the date.
New Plans for The Old Hall, Tamworth Road, Keresley
A new planning application has been submitted to restore and extend the Old Hall in Tamworth Road, Keresley.
The plans are for a hotel, banqueting facility, restaurant and spa. The listed main hall and courtyard will be retained and restored after previous owners had altered internal floor levels. Buildings added in the 1990s will be demolished to make way for a contemporary two-storey accommodation for offices and toilets at ground level with bedrooms above to create an improved façade to Tamworth Road.
To greatly reduce the impact on the Green Belt a subterranean development will contain a large function room, 40 bedrooms and a spa. The new accommodation will be arranged around two sunken courtyards. The location of the underground features have been chosen to avoid any adverse impact on the protected trees in the grounds. The former kitchen garden is "re-instated" to provide an interesting walled garden with glass pyramid structures providing natural light to the function room below.
The Society is supportive of the new plans. We appreciate that this is a major development in the Green Belt, but we feel that plans mitigate against the main impacts on the green belt with the subterannean development and offer the best potential for restoring the listed building.
You can look at the plans for the project here.
UPDATE May 2014: The plans for the Old Hall were approved by Planning Committee on 3 April 2014.
The Old Hall is one of the building that the Coventry Society considers to be at risk! Our main page on this site is here.
A History of Caludon Castle; The Lords of the Manor of Caludon
Publisher: John Edwards Clarke OBE, Author and Editor George Demidowitz; Co-author: Stephen Johnson. £24.95.218 pages. Available from the Herbert Gallery.
One of Coventry’s most important medieval sites has until now lacked a serious historical appraisal. Caludon Castle was in the late 16th Century one of the most important buildings in the Midlands, but all that remains is a single stretch of wall and numerous myths and fantasies.
The book is the result of a life time interest by local lad John Clarke. He grew up in the shadow of the castle and attended Caludon Castle School. He started work on the book at the age of 16 and it became a long-term ambition of his to produce a scholarly work about the castle. John is well known in the city for his charity work and local community activity. Much of the scholarly quality of the book is due to the input of George Demidowitz, the city’s former Conservation Officer who is the main researcher, author and editor of the book.
Although the land that formed the Caludon Estate was held by Lady Godiva before the Norman Conquest, the first mention of the manor of Caludon was in 1190 – 1200, when it was described as an enclosed deer park, carved out of the wastes, scrub and common grazing land by Stephen de Seagrave, a knight of the King’s court.
The book describes the history of the “Castle” from its origin as a hunting lodge in the 13th Century on a site uphill from the existing remains. Caludon means bare hill in Old English and the estate is mentioned several centuries before the buildings are. The only remains of the original building are now an overgrown moat. At the time of the first building the Caludon brook was dammed to create a fishpond. The remains of the dam form the current access road to the park and the fish pond became the moat and lake for the new house. At times of severe wet weather in Wyken, the site of the moat and lake are still revealed in the flooding of the park.
In 1305 King Edward I granted a charter to John de Seagrave to crenelate his manor house at Caludon and it appears that this charter that led to the creation of the second house to the north of the original. The new site was twice the size of the former and enabled building on a much grander scale. It is postulated that the new development might have been modelled on nearby Kenilworth Castle, with its surrounding mere.
The description of Caludon as a castle is in somewhat misleading. It was never a castle in the sense of a fortress to keep out the enemy. There was no need for fortified castles in this era, but Lords and Barons liked to live in buildings which demonstrated their status, so moats and castellated structures were the fashion of the day. This was certainly the case at Caludon.
The Seagrave dynasty at Caludon was succeeded by the Mowbray’s from 1359. Thomas Mowbray was famous in English history for the dual by combat with Bolingbroke that was to have taken place on St. Lambert’s Day in 1398 on Gosford Green, as described in Shakespeare’s Richard II. Mowbray and his entourage lodged in Caludon Castle and Bolingbroke at Bagot’s Castle in Baginton. Both men arrived on the field of combat on their war horses resplendent in new armour and fine costumes, but King Richard stopped the conflict at the last moment and exiled both men, Mowbray for life.
The zenith of Caludon’s history was to come under the Berkeley dynasty between 1494 and 1631. The Berkeleys were one of the most noble families in the country and Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire is today the repository of many of the archives of Caludon Castle. It was during this era that the buildings became the fine dwellings shown in the reconstructions by Peter Urmston shown on the covers of the book.
The book includes a chapter devoted to life at Caludon with the Berkeleys between 1592 – 1605, based on meticulous book-keeping. It describes a high life with performances by the most famous musicians of the day, feasts and festivals as well as more normal payments to the various members of staff at the hall and the donations to local charities. In all it is a magnificent description of medieval life in a small part of Coventry.
The book makes a good case for Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream being first performed at Caludon Castle, at the wedding of Lord Thomas Berkeley and Elizabeth Carey in 1595.
After the grandeur and cultural splendour of the Berkeleys the book charts the gradual decline of the buildings in the centuries that followed. It ceased to be the main family home of a noble family and was let to agricultural tenants by absent landlords, becoming an over-sized farmhouse with scattered holdings.
Contrary to the popular belief the castle was not destroyed during the Civil War, but declined through more normal processes of under-use, wear and tear and neglect. In recent memory some of the out-buildings remained as a farm house, finally demolished in 1967, but all that remains of the main moated house is a single stretch of wall. The heart of the estate, and co-coincidently the original deer park, became a Municipal Park, whilst the outlying fields were developed as housing in the inter-war years.
The book gives short shrift to the theory that St. George lived at Caludon. However it does give a creditable explanation of how that myth originated in Coventry’s medieval mystery plays performed by local guilds.
If you are interested in this important part of Coventry’s history, then this is a book well worth reading.
John Payne
1/5/2014
Good news for the Grange
After years of concern over the future of Copsewood Grange and Lodge, the Coventry Society is delighted to learn that the owners and developers of New Century Park, Goodman and British Land, have unveiled plans to secure the restoration and refurbishment of these important locally listed buildings.
In advance of submitting a formal planning application for the new plans, Goodman & British Land hosted a public exhibition at the Copsewood Sports Club off Allard Way on 29th February and 1st March 2012. Committee members of the Coventry Society were invited to meet with the developer and architect to review and discuss the latest plans. A Design Forum will be held later this month to consider the plans further prior to the formal planning application being submitted.
The latest plans show that the developer intends to convert Copsewood Lodge into a single private residence, with the Grange being converted into approximately 14 residential units. The Grange would comprise a minimum of 2 bedroom apartments and possibly 4 bedroom apartments depending upon market demand.
The developer's view is that the residential units within the Grange would constitute 'aspirational' housing and for this reason smaller 1 bedroom units would be avoided. The Birmingham branch of national Archial Architects has been appointed to prepare the scheme for restoration and conversion of the Grange and Lodge. The lead architect, Simon Crosby, is himself a Coventrian having been raised and educated in the city. It is pleasing that a Coventry kid will play a key role in the future of two of the city's historic gems. The architects' plans show a complete restoration of both buildings with the aim of reinstating the integrity of the original Victorian design.
Extensions that were added to both the Grange and Lodge in the 20th century have already been demolished. A single storey extension that was added to the Lodge building will be replaced with a two storey structure that matches the detailing of the principal Victorian structure. It is not currently proposed that any additions will be made to the main Grange building.
Internally the building would require significant alteration to accommodate the new residential units but the exterior would be designed to appear as it did in the 19th century when it was occupied by the great industrialist Sir Richard Moon who was made a Baronet by Queen Victoria for his services to the rail industry.
In order to achieve the restoration and conversion of both Copsewood Grange and Lodge, the developer needs to secure revised planning permission that allows for residential use on the land concerned. The existing planning permission granted designates both the Grange and Lodge, as well as the land on the eastern half of New Century Park, for commercial and industrial use. This designation has puzzled the Coventry Society. The land concerned contains a large number of protected trees (subject to Tree Preservation Orders or TPOs) which reflects the parkland nature of much of the land surrounding Copsewood Grange and Lodge. It is difficult to comprehend how large industrial units or storage warehouses could be situated within such a landscape. In the Society's view, the land is far better suited to residential use and we wholly support the change of use sought by the developer. The Coventry Society has for years campaigned fiercely for the preservation and reuse of Copsewood Grange and Lodge. We have gained support from national campaigning groups SAVE Britain's Heritage and the Victorian Society. The former included Copsewood Grange in its last annual publication of its Buildings at Risk catalogue which highlighted the plight of the building at national level.
The Coventry Society has appeared numerous times on local radio station BBC Coventry & Warwickshire as well as in the Coventry Telegraph newspaper to highlight the plight of the building. We also instigated an online petition calling for the preservation and re-use of the buildings which, to date, has just under 300 signatures in support. Alongside our campaigning efforts we have worked constructively with the developers Goodman & British Land and also with the Local Planning Authority and the city's Conservation Officer. It is therefore extremely satisfying to learn that our efforts have not been in vain and that we may just have helped to secure a future for Copsewood Grange and Lodge.
Did you know the River Sherbourne flows beneath Coventry?
Yes, not everyone in Coventry knows that the river runs under the city centre so as part of Civic Day the Coventry Society are holding an Awareness Day about this interesting river. Some say it a hidden gem.
The source of the river is in the fields of Hawkes End in the Parish of Allesley, Coventry.
From where it flows south continuing through Spon End. It is culverted just before it reaches the Inner Ring Road and Spon Street, were it goes under Coventry City Centre.
You can just about see it when it re appears at the back of shops in the Burgess, along Palmer Lane.
This opening is sometimes over grow with weeds and shrubs. It then goes back underground till it can be seen in Far Gosford Street.
Then it flows under Gulson Road and through Charterhouse fields.
On under the London to Birmingham railway line and through the suburb of Whitley.
It joins the River Sowe south of the A45 road near Baginton, and eventually flows into the River Avon near Stoneleigh.
This then flows through Warwick, Stratford, Tewkesbury, Gloucester then out into the Bristol Channel as part of the River Severn.
The name Sherbourne is said to derive from "Scir Burna"....clear stream; unfortunately its not very clear now.
BUT we would like to clear it up. If you are interested we are having a big awareness and clean up on National Civic Day on 21st June, 2014. At Charterhouse Priory and fields.
The event runs from 10am to 4.30pm at Coventry Charterhouse and includes:
* Presentation about the River Sherbourne, its history, pictures and maps
* Co-operative displays by our partners, ideas and vision for the future of the River Sherbourne.
* Charterhouse Preservation Trust plans for the River Sherbourne, including proposed Heritage Trail.
* See pilgrimage walkers of the River Sherbourne arrive – more details of the walk www.sherbournetrust.net
* Children's activities
* Litter pick and clean up.
* Little Vintage Cake Company will be there with teas and delicious cakes.
* Free Car parking
Open to all, with the event based at Charterhouse Priory, off London Road, Coventry CV1 2JR.
The Partners in this event include:
Coventry Society
Charterhouse Coventry Preservation Trust
Coventry Charterhouse Association
Coventry City Council Park Rangers - Greenspace Forum
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
Seven Trent Water
Water Care
Environment Agency
Friends of Sherbourne Valley Way
Friends of Sowe Valley
Friends of Lake View Park
Charterhouse Residence Association
For more information about the Charterhouse contact the Coventry Charterhouse Association Tel: 07814 327614
Join in, see the presentations, Children's fun activities, help the clean up or simply enjoy this memorable Civic Day.
September Talk: August 1914 - When Warwickshire Went to War
Our September talk marks the centenary of the First World War. Local historian Chris Holland will talk on the subject “August 1914: When Warwickshire Went to War”. His talk looks at reaction in Coventry and Warwickshire, during August 1914, to the outbreak of war and considers whether some of the more commonly held beliefs about the British public’s response are borne out at a local level.
Chris Holland read Modern History at Oxford University and is a former Head of History at King Henry VIII School. Early retirement has enabled him to combine a long-standing fascination with the Great War and a keen interest in local history. He has numerous publications relating to the Great War, including most noticeably “Coventry and Warwickshire 1914 - 1919: Local Aspects of the Great War”. He is currently producing A Journal of the Great War for Coventry and Warwickshire, the first volume of which should be published in the autumn of 2015.
The meeting will be held on Monday 8th September at 7.30 p.m. in the Shopfront Theatre in City Arcade. Non members are welcome to attend this talk for a contribution of £2. Members free. Refreshments available.
