Smithford Street (inc. Ram Bridge)

1935 is the last relevant aerial shot and there are the two white buildings at the corner with Broadgate but one more further down Smithford Street where the picture house was at some point, although it might have been gone by the war. The next aerial view is well after the war when the building in the Prof's photo had gone.

The picture including 'The Picture House' interested me as I did not know of a cinema in that area. Looking at the newspapers I find it closed in August 1932 to be replaced by a shoe shop. The report incidentally says that there were nine shoe shops in Smithford Street. The cinema was opened in 1911.

Well done argon - it means that Dolcis Shoes and the Picture House could be the same building but with a face lift.

It would be wrong to say that Willsons and Burtons survived the raid, they were both gutted. Only the girders and Burtons facade remained standing, nothing was really usable. It was only because they stood on the corner so were the first to be cleared that they refurbished the ground floors only, to open for business. Some of the facade of the White Lion survived too. The last bomb to explode in the centre of the city was in Burtons ground floor shop around 11am Friday morning. If you look very close at Prof's photo, in the roof of the white building you can see remains of circular girders, that are part of the old theatre/cinema, or maybe the rebuilt Corn Exchange. Yes the cinema was the old Skears Rew (Mayor) Theatre, built 1818, then refurbished to a cinema, and the Hippodrome built to replace the theatre. Up to 1818 the theatre players used St Mary's Hall. Coventry was always being refurbished or rebuilt, without true records. The safest place in Coventry the first week after the raid was the Cathedral, after the King's visit.

Thought this might help - I can blow up even more on my laptop and the remaining letters left on the white building are 'HOE' - which does indeed suggest SHOES.............

Does this 1924 postcard from my collection shed any light? The vertical "prism" shaped protrusions saying "Picture" on either side look like a match.

I am constantly amazed at the individual and interesting shop facades in pre-war Coventry, not just Butcher Row, but Smithford St was full of interest that everyday shoppers probably hardly noticed when not looking up! It pains me that I never knew it, but I guess, like Kaga, had I known the loss would be even greater. "Plus

Agreed Prof. It seemed a fascinating street amongst all the others - old shop fronts seemed so much more enticing, didn't they.

Rob's photo on 329 shows Burton's not in line with Hertford Street, the dog-leg of Broadgate, the cafe in Burton's and the golf shop top floor. There was a footpath between Burton's and Willson's that led through the market down to West Orchard. Note most shop doors set back for shelter. But you could hear the traders in the market, the various smells mingling in the street, the horses, all gave the feeling you could have been anytime in the last century. It still had the old ways - the market, huge cheeses laid out on straw, fruit and veg, all fresh from farms around the city, the tastes. You could wander all day and not get tired of it - pets, animals, plants, flowers, paintings etc - and the irony of it, cheap books of Coventry's history.

Of that particular view I have at least 2 older versions. The grand picture house followed a rather nice 3 storey gabled timber building. Change is normal for my generation, so I can't imagine what the late 1800s early 1900s were like for people who had seen very little change in their lifetimes. Was it exciting or scary?

In Coventry. Mainly humorous, despite the cruelty, they were also superstitious. The youth were well known to upset the stalls in the market place, repaint inn signs, dress up as ghosts in the churchyard at night with a white sheet to scare people. Without fear from the magistrates, they also liked to make up rhymes of twenty-thirty verses, about local people - at the same time, if they stole a loaf of bread they could land up in Australia. Buildings changed often, the Corn Exchange, market buildings, inns, stables, streets. But then, even our kings and dukes changed frequently. The Earl of Warwick was known to be as thick as six planks. I love reading about our ancestors.

We stood just inside Smithford Street, my dad talking to two ARP wardens. I was watching the soldiers sift and clear away the rubbish. One soldier stood a little way from the others and was tugging at a part of a rafter embedded in the rubble, suddenly it came free. He took a step to re-balance, stood on a brick and fell on his backside. His cap fell off, he stood up, picked up his cap, slapped it against his leg, put it back on, rubbed his behind, looked at the rafter and gave it a kick. This hurt his foot, a piece of wood flew up and hit his shoulder. Trying to stop the wood hitting him he knocked off his cap into the dirt. By now he was turning the air blue and I was splitting my sides. He picked up his hat full of rage, he picked up the rafter and threw it on the wood pile. It bounced and slid down hitting his shin. He grabbed for his shovel that was leaning against the lorry, his hat fell off again and he knocked the shovel over. Now every one was laughing. He gave us the victory sign, swore, and dug the shovel into the debris. Instead of chucking the debris over the dropped tailgate he attempted to throw it over the tall side, but once the shovel was high in the air all the dust and debris slid down the shovel covering him and we all stopped laughing. A soldier rushed to his side and led him to us, he was blinded by the dust, a few minor cuts. A warden took him to the hospital.

Was that this one Kaga? I did not realise they had premises in Hertford St? What did they do/sell, presumably tailors? Post copied from topic Hertford Street on 18th Nov 2019 8:47 pm

I remember Smithford St exactly like in this photo. My earliest views post Broadgate destruction. Weaver to Wearer sold suits.

NeilsYard, I did answer you. Prof, the summer of 1941 photo.