Spon Street

Yes, not just money for old rope but for all the building materials as well and the pleasure of moving it and making sure the building next door does not fall over. It does not say if the buildings were demolished or if the buyer had to do that as well. Plus of course commission. Looking on the internet Thomas Clarke's business became the auctioneers and estate agent Loveitts. It did not do Mr Clarke much good though. He died 4 years later leaving £26,645 in his will, about £5million today, but he could not take it with him!!

Helen. So the buildings demolished in 1882 would have been where the car park is now. The jewellers which is the first building on that side is number 9. Is that the original building or has it been replaced with one from somewhere else?

Yes, the old buildings were on the land under the car park which was the start of Queen Victoria Road. The mystery location of the bombing scene was the remains of the new Plough at number 9 and was replaced with one of the buildings from Much Park Street.

I tried to find out what happened to no's 1 to 5 but have no luck so far.

Some of them survived the war and gained one storey shop extensions at the front where they'd had low walled gardens. The survivors were 1a, 1, 2a, 2, 3, ruin and an empty plot. BFA Alas Old Maps is no more or I'd try and work out when they were demolished but it might have been when they created the medieval zone. Looking at National Library of Scotland it looks like they went in the mid 60s.

That sounds right, Helen, as T Edwards, a furniture store at number 1 and 3, were having a demolition disposal sale in September 1960.

Actually it was the shop in Chaingang's photo above, first on left entering Spon St. Newsagent I think called Goddard. The owner had lost an arm (in WW1?) and he could pick up newspaper in the shop.fold it tuck it under his good arm and hand to the customer. I saw it many times as my Grandad Kendall bought a paper from that shop.

This one was posted on the Visit Historic Coventry FB page and appears to be from a book, so apols I cannot credit the source, but I'd not see this view of Tembling's before. We've had a few shots of it earlier as one of the buildings saved and moved to now No.1.

Gray Forster on 'Coventry We Used to Know' FB page posted this shot recently. It shows what was No.65 Spon Street - the old Co-op which was next door to the William IV pub after it had been demolished. Interesting to see the older internals to the buildings that still stood. The row that was demolished previously posted by Dutchman in the pubs thread.

Gray has done it again with this real cracker which is new to me. I think it's Spon Street looking east towards Fleet Street with the junction with Queen Victoria Road on the right. If the photographer turned to the right, they would have seen the Plough Hotel.

Like that one, Neil. Is that Conduit Yard just visible far left?

Great pic, Neil. Is that a huge barbers' pole on that building on the left?

The view should appear on Coventry Digital eventually but I can't find it right now. The building on the left is on the corner of Conduit Yard and in other pictures is shown as Baker's Temperance Hotel. They served coffee and tea on the ground floor. The city wall ran under part of the building on the left hand side of the next block.