Smithford Street (inc. Ram Bridge)

Sadly this is from Cov Dig but there's a few not to be named who prefer to take the low res jpegs from the search and pass them off as theirs without even a thank you.

Incidentally feel so sorry for Burton's who were blown up by the IRA in the July the year before the November 1940 bombing.

Yes, Burtons were doubly impacted. Quite a few Broadgate and city centre buildings were very new. People would have gone from resenting the loss of the old city and then losing the bright new replacements as well.

CliffB has come up with possibly the best shot yet of that wooden lion. I know we've had the image before but this is the clearest. Still the same one as from The Red Lion, do you think, Helen?

I was only looking at this photo yesterday, Neil. There are similarities but in both photos it looks like the lion is looking away from the camera but the lions are reversed. On the other hand, people who actually saw it thought it was the Red Lion lion, so...

Nice to see that some of the art works are turning up on Coventry Digital. The first here is part of the Sydney Bunney collection, most of which is already scanned somewhere at the Herbert. The second is an illustration of the fictional Peeping Tom, but the real value of the sketch is that it captures the street before Hertford Street was built. The building second to the left was modified and survived to be captured in photographs but this sketch and a few coins are the only record that I've seen of the building on the left.

Yes, that second picture is a particularly rare and important one, as you've mentioned. Peeping Tom, rather than being in a row in Smithford Street, became the iconic corner feature that we all now know about. Also worth a mention is that the building was a "hatter's shop" owned by famous antiquarian Thomas Sharp - his wares apparently being exhibited here by Tom!

Nice bit of info Rob, thanks. The earliest coin that I've got a date for is 1817 but there are about 3 designs of the same view.

I'd love to see a photo of that second to left one as can't recall seeing one?

I'm sure that you'll recognise it. The styling changed but it's the same building. Rob's got one of the top images out there. As best as I can tell, there is one more missing building that was demolished for Hertford Street. This image bridges the views.

Brilliant Helen/Rob I do recognise it but just never realised that was the same building! So was that the same one that became the Coventry Arms?

No, the Peeping Tom building and the one to the right of it (the original King's Head) were demolished to build the more familiar King's Head, destroyed by the Blitz. The Coventry Arms was to the left of both images by a building, on the corner of Greyfriars Lane. See image below looking from Broadgate. It's some point after 1820 because the buildings stretching into Broadgate were demolished just after that date

Note the Castle Inn on the right, licensee George Hall. He was listed in the 1828 directory. In 1850 the licensee was John Hall. Later renamed the Castle Hotel and was captured by Wingrave some point c1860.

CliffB has done it again with another new view I'd not see before - many similar but not viewed this one with its great crisp detail - Must be late 30's and not long before the War.... Krazi Golf upstairs anyone?

And another Peeping Tom with a birds eye view.