Jordan Well

This one is looking over Jordan Well but I think it’s been taken from the roof of The Gaumont. More interesting to me is the snippets of the rears of the old properties in front, plus the temporary shops.

© Coventry Digital

Neil, if I'm right, I think that's the cycle shop (left) and out of photo on left would be the old Gaumont cinema which became the Ellen Terry building and had that distinctive cupola above on the street corner opposite the Sir Colin Campbell.

Prof, see this thread

Has anyone seen an image of what was on the corner of Jordan Well and Much Park Street pre-war, where The Lady Godiva Pub was built? I don't think I've seen an image that captures that spot pre-blitz. As per the pubs section - This pub opened as the LADY GODIVA on 28th February 1964 on the site of the ADAM & EVE. The Adam and Eve had closed in c1855 and the whole corner demolished and rebuilt as a ladies outfitters shop, which was itself destroyed by enemy bombing on the night of 14th November 1940.

The only view I've seen is a fuzzy aerial shot here. The first building that is captured in any detail is the Dun Cow. There is a Bunney painting of the buildings next to the Dun Cow, though it doesn't go as far as the corner.

Wow, that's awesome, Helen. Might be fuzzy but I'd not noticed that aerial before

Colour-tinted but a slightly different view from others I've seen at this end. Thanks to Dean Large on FB.

I don't suppose anyone has a picture of this corner pre-Gaumont cinema? My ancestors lived in the courts which were demolished to make way for the cinema and Whitefriars Street, Colin Campbell pub, etc.

Hi Jessie. Whitefriars Street was created by the demolition of these buildings. There is no good view of the building on the far left but that was demolished too. The Sir Coin Campbell we know was a new building but the pub existed before that but it was probably a door or two down towards the Royal Oak. Courtesy of our Rob. To the left of them was this rather unhelpful view - And this looks from the right - From the Herbert you get these two Troughton sketches and in both the same tall building as on the left of the first photo is just visible over the top of the other buildings -

Hi Helen, I have seen the top picture before, the view I would like is slightly to the left just out of picture, past the shops. Thank you for your help, much appreciated.

The Gaumont side of the road is easy. There were two big buildings comprising the Gaumont corner but they weren't built at the same time. Construction started on the corner of Whitefriars Street. The demolished buildings start from the flat fronted red brick building in the second postcard. Originally there were two three storey jettied buildings covering the location of the second Gaumont building. The left hand of them was directly opposite Freeth Street. There may be a painting of them in the Sydney Bunney book, there are certainly two in his full collection. You can see the first Gaumont building and the end of the jettied buildings here before they were demolished. The other buildings were demolished in two stages. First to create the road and then to clear the corner for the first Gaumont building. If you compare the second postcard with the first sketch you can see what was removed for the road - which is mostly what you see in the first photograph I posted. The view is looking directly out of the widened Cox Street. To the left of Whitefriars Street (as you look south at that photo) was the tall mystery building that is only partially visible from a number of images. It looks 4 storeys or a very tall 3. The mystery building might be a brick fronted timber building but I doubt it because it was so tall. Early 4 storey buildings were rare outside Broadgate and the top end of Smithford Street. However it looks narrow front to back, which was a timber building feature and it was probably sandwiched between 3 storey buildings which made taller buildings viable. It was likely built between 1720 and 1830, with the latter end more likely. It was located roughly where the rounded corner of the modern Sir Colin Campbell sits. This tall mystery building seems to have survived the creation of Whitefriars Street but that building and all those up as far as the Royal Oak yard eventually lose their front walls, pushing the street line back and curving the corner on Whitefriars Street. Some of the footprints of the rear buildings seem unchanged until factories were built. Were the front buildings completely rebuilt or just cobbled to fit the new front walls? They don't look intact in the first aerial photos. The modern SCC covers the tall mystery building plot on the corner and the one next to it. The roof is much deeper than the original style buildings and the place is just 2 storeys. It may retain a few old walls at the back but it seems to be largely a new build. I don't 100% know exactly where the second Troughton sketch was looking at as he often drew things just before they were demolished and he was active before and after the 1850 map. So there is maybe 1 more building between the end of the jettied building in the sketch and the tall mystery building in the photo. I lean towards thinking that the 3 storey jettied building had gone by 1850 because it wasn't drawn by anyone else. Alternatively the jettied front could have been shaved long before the street line was adjusted and a brick replacement front would have made the building look too uninteresting to capture. In which case it could be the front of court 43 which was next bloc but one to the east of the tall mystery building. To me the front building in this picture doesn't look like a full 3 storeys, where the Troughton sketch looks a clear 3. On the other hand it looks about the same size and location as the 3 storey jettied building on the right of the sketch, which would make it the front of court 43. You're not the only one who would like to know more about those buildings

Not sure I'd seen this one before as The Herbert went up, with the temporary huts still in situ.

I'd had a copy of this one for a while - I think its late 60s before that row was cleared for the Richard Crossman building to go up. It was only when I edited and lightened the image did that row become more visible with the Godiva Cafe showing - we've a picture of that on the Restaurants/cafes thread -