Woodway Lane and Potters Green

Number 5 Field Cottages - Joseph Thomas DYSON, father of Margaret Ethel Lucy May - born 6 May 1902, married 1923 to George H BOND Q3 Foleshill. May died as Margaret Ethel L M BICKNELL age 96.

JW. Not anything special, but they all had large families in those days, so I would think they were relatives. Heathite. Simpsons, Lesters, Liggins were all related to me one way or another. The Simpsons owned the Jolly Colliers pub, the Lesters the woodyard way back, there were a damn sight more along in that old cemetery. My elder brother landed up living in Potters Green, and my father in Shilton Lane in the 1980's. I believe Sowe Farm was midway between Lentons Lane and Barnacle, and they were red headed. But thank you for all the info. Regards, Kaga.

Coincidentally I was along Lentons Lane yesterday

Having a hell of a job tracing George H Bond back! Any ideas, anyone?

Heathite, Now your pushing the years back for me, used to be just a farm track, two school friends lived there, both redheads. As far as I knew there were no pit shafts or workings on that side of the road apart from Parrotts Grove. On the opposite side of the road, the farm track passed a farm over Whitings canal bridge and you were walking along the basin. Thank you, Heathite

There was a George H Bond whose death was registered in Foleshill RD Mar 1/4 1927, age 28 That would fit in with Margaret marrying Leslie Bicknell in 1929

Here's a shot in the dark. Try researching a marriage for George BOND to Martha HIGGLE (probably ARGYLE, due to transcription error). If you find the file you'll be able to decide for yourself. These could be the parents of George Harry BOND. They married at St Laurence Foleshill. The first banns date is given as 23rd March (1884).

Heathite. That surprises me (post 91). I thought all that area came under Foleshill? How did Nuneaton fit in?

Hello Kaga, regarding the Nuneaton question - I don't know. I do know that back in the 1800's Foleshill was a very large area. But I would think that an understanding of parish boundaries would be necessary to see which area came under Nuneaton, Coventry and Foleshill. My friend of over 90 years told me that in her day Coventry stopped at Navigation bridge and it was Bell Green on t'other side. Also as you probably know, Bell Green Road was once Courthouse Green. It was also numbered starting at Old Church Road and Henley (Beaudesert) Road. I'll have a look at the 1874 directory and see what it has to say about Foleshill. But not yet - I'm in Clacton. Heathite

Midland Red, don't want to shoot that very good messenger, but Ansty church could not be seen from the main road. In my days, 40/50s, it lay in the dip behind the hill the Hall stood on, at times you could see a little of the spire but there were so many tall trees that hid it completely most times. I had some interesting times in that village.

Thank you Kaga - if you check what I posted, I referred to it being visible from the M69 (which it definitely is!) and not from the main road (through the village) Cheers

Midland Red, yes I guess the M69 has changed it a lot from my days. Ansty as I remembered it, like . . . Two Military policemen chasing me through the village; a terrier dog causing a big fight in the Crown pub; a haybarn and a 'um' sweet kisses from a 16 year old then getting pushed into the canal; a tragic fatal saw accident; a bank manager getting his sums wrong about his wife; me scoring three goals against the village team and getting booed off the field; my mother getting a telegram for me, and fainting; the farmer releasing a young bull into a herd of cows, the young bull chasing the old bull away and Harry quiet innocently saying "That's a 'queer' bull you have bought, Sid." I'll get my coat.

Before the turn of the twentieth century Potters Green was known as Wyken of the Sowe, mainly farms and fields with only a scattering of houses, but mainly the men worked at the Pottery just two fields away and the Wyken Collieries, Alexander-Victoria and Craven. But Alexander shaft ceased in 1870 time and Victoria shaft in 1907. The Craven was much larger, known after Lord Craven of Coombe To accommodate the colliers more houses were built and rented out at about six shillings a week, the houses themselves were substantial - the kitchens were the back rooms looking over the scrubby back gardens and the ash-pits, the front room became the dwelling room. The colliers I believe worked in the little gin-pits, donkeys plodding wearily in a circle around what was called a gin bringing the coal to the surface. Some boys went down the pits when they were only ten years of age, risking their lives daily. Most of the miners drank heavily, most stayed in the pub Friday, Saturday and Sunday till closing time, but they rarely missed work from their drinking. The men worked in stalls, so many to a stall, depending how good they worked they moved to different stalls, some stalls the coal was thin and hard to get at, their wages dropped and there was shadow over their families. The money would be short on Friday. Most miners gave their women 30 shillings to cover everything, they never saved or gave their wives a chance to save, it all went on drink. Schools closed early on Fridays to give the kids a chance to collect the wages if the man could not get there. I think they were paid from the front room of one of the managers' houses near the Jolly Colliers. Mod's note: This post has been copied into the "Warwickshire coalfields" thread to enable this thread to remain more about the area as a whole

Wow, blast from the past. My great aunt lived in one of the three cottages, her name was Phoebe Coppin. Her sister was my gran who lived at 492 Woodway Lane. Great aunt Phoebe used to tell us that she lost a teenage daughter to quincy (abscess of tonsils). Great great grandad Isaiah Ward had the chapel built. I used to go to the Sunday School. Every year there was a Sunday School anniversary service, which for many years was held outside till the road got too busy and noisy. My family (the Wards) used to attend. My aunt Lucy Ward had a lot of input in the chapel, all of her life attended the chapel and Sunday School. Every Easter the congregation would march up the lane with a banner then end up in the Sunday School for cake and orange which was given to every child attending. I remember the cottages being demolished.

Woodway Lane 1935 with some of the names mentioned above.