Allwoods & Atkins and Turton / Martins Bank

Instead of knocking those lovely old buildings down, they would make great apartments in the city would they not ? I don't mean like modern glass building blocks but keeping the old facades which Coventry shows so well. At least they would not be closed down and sitting idle, looking an eyesore till someone decides what to do with them. I know there will be mixed views on this but some of the historical property in the city deserve to be maintained some way. (I am waiting for the backlash, and I know money comes into the equation.) Looking at Martin's Bank would have been a classic !

Great pictures Tony

This aligns with the formation of Allwoods & Atkins and Turton, in 1937 (source: National Archives). Allwoods' shop was in Fleet Street before 1937. I am convinced by what I've remembered and what I've found out, that when the merger took place, the Fleet Street shop was completely redesigned - and probably enlarged - to accommodate the Atkins and Turton business. And, of course, Martin's Bank would also have necessitated the High St premises to be redesigned and made suitable to the task. I wonder how many of us remember it actually BEING Martins Bank? I do! And in the Dad's Army film (as opposed to the TV series) Mainwaring was manager of a Martin's bank - anyone notice that? The old High Street actually looked like a High Street, didn't it? A place where you'd really want to go and shop, instead of the sterile place it is today (or even in 1980, when I last saw it). I know that my parents loved the old Coventry, pre-1935, when Butcher Row etc was demolished.

The 1910 telephone directory has Allwoods at 13 Broadgate The 1921 telephone directory has Allwoods at Cross Cheaping

I would imagine quite a few people would as I think the building was Martins Bank right up until around 1966 when Martins main branch moved to Warwick Road and these premises were taken over by "The Coventry Economic Building Society" Yes, but did you know in the TV programmes, the Martins Bank sign was replaced with one for the fictitious "Swallow Bank" - yet in the film, although the sign outside the bank displayed as "Martins Bank" it wasn't actually their bank premisses that were used!

That's intriguing!! Dutchman posted a piece of map with no date on it and said they were in Fleet St at three addresses. The map didn't show the shop front set back - which it was when I remember Allwoods A&T, and my wife's uncle confirmed that (so I wasn't seeing things!! ) - also a much sharper corner than I remember being there, so far as the building line was concerned (though there was one shop front that I remember, to the right of Allwoods A&T (i.e. towards St Johns) that projected as far as the earlier building line. That particular shop was unused and empty when I remember it, and got bills posted on it for all sorts of things, making it look a bit of a mess. Yet again, we need the ignition key to be found for the time machine, and go and have a look!

The map was circa 1950 and so does not contradict what anyone else has posted. We were discussing the George IV which was at No16 Fleet Street and I said Allwoods were three addresses to the left of it at No19. It's actually slightly more complicated than that. 17 and 18 were the same building as also was 19 and 20.

I would assume that this William Allwood is in the same family or is it another branch?

A lot of these are from books. An interesting image Neil. Note how the two buildings either side are the same height, suggesting that the one on the left might be timber framed too.

Yes, that was Pepper Lane between the buildings, but for sure both buildings were timber framed. Although they had steel girders they didn't have the means to lift them very high without a lot of danger - in places like London they could sail girders up the Thames and teams of horses could pull them along the surface, but block and tackle was more risky, as I read it. Certainly the houses either side of Martins Bank burnt furiously.

I've seen this one several times before and it's interesting with the detail. It purports to be A&T, however does not look like the same shop front as the one on Rob's post #2? Different location do we think? Allwoods had a shop in Fleet Street?

Thomas F Tickner was an architect and surveyor who operated at one time out of 7 Bishop Street

I was about to ask where Norton, Wilson, Tinkner and Robinson could be found together.

Indeed Neil, I remember it well in Fleet St. and the waft of roasting coffee beans that was mentioned in the High St. shop.