The Weaver's House

Category: Open Days

  • A busy September rounds off 2024’s Open Days

    A busy September rounds off 2024’s Open Days

    The Weaver’s House volunteers have had a busy month taking part in an off-site event at Fargo Village in the form of the River Festival 2024 and an on-site event with Heritage Open Days.

    The River Festival included guided walks, theatre, music and more and The Weaver’s House were joined by The Weavers’ Workshop and the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, to represent the link to the River Sherbourne and the traditional textile industries.

    The river itself runs very close to The Weaver’s House house itself and can be seen just a few minutes’ walk away where it flows under the Spon Bridge at the top of Upper Spon Street. Which brings us to the theme of Heritage Open Days which for 2024 was ‘Routes’, appropriate for the little house which stands on one of the most historic streets in Coventry, a route into the city for hundreds of years, even though it is now cut in two by the ring road. Heritage Open Days was the final public opening this year and saw a steady stream of visitors enjoying cake, history and some sunshine!

  • Update to August Open Day re musical performance

    Update to August Open Day re musical performance



    Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control, the planned performance by the Sherbourne String Quartet will not go ahead next Saturday. We look forward to welcoming the group to one of our Open Days in 2025, and are sorry for any disappointment.

    The rest of the Open Day will take place as usual with tours and refreshments. The last Open Day this year to visit the upper room containing the loom, as this room will not be open for Heritage Open Days.

  • Medieval Music in the Garden at August Open Day

    Medieval Music in the Garden at August Open Day




    The next Open Day is Saturday 10th August (10am – 4pm) when the Sherbourne String Quartet will be playing a selection of medieval and baroque music at various points throughout the day.  The group’s performance will be alternated with Weaver’s House trustee Jennifer Waters playing music of the period on the recorder. This will be the final chance this year to see the ‘solar’ the upstairs part of the house containing the replica loom.

    UPDATE: 3 August – the musical element of this Open Day has been postponed.

  • Coventry Collection on show at The Weaver’s House

    Coventry Collection on show at The Weaver’s House

    Our July Open Day saw an exciting new venture for us, for the first time ever we used the upper floor in the Visitor Centre for a temporary display of items, as Scott Duffin showcased his Coventry Collection. We have previously used the ground floor area, the garden and the Weaver’s House itself for various exhibitions including Spon Spun Arts & Heritage Trail, these wonderful patchworks, and art exhibits from Coventry Biennial. However this was the first time we had used the space which was previously our office, which was transformed into a mini-museum.

    The display included a loan of items from shoe shop Charles Ager (pictured below) alongside Scott’s personal collection of Coventry-related objects such as bottles made in the city and unique pieces such as mouldings from Edgewick Swimming Pool.

    And what a fantastic exhibition it was! Here are a few photographs.

    Of special interest for us was this sign from a Coventry Court.

    Not just any Coventry Court. This was the sign that belonged to the Court behind The Weaver’s House. It felt like it had used a homing instinct to make its way back!

    We were also delighted that Scott was able to bring an archive collection from Charles Ager, the footwear retailer, and a Coventry business since 1840. Their shop is located about ten minutes from The Weaver’s House, on Corporation Street.

    We had an extremely busy Open Day, the sun shone, and although we had some reduction in space in the garden due to our building works, we were still able to offer our homemade cakes thanks to a careful re-siting of the refreshments. We were delighted to be join by the Sketch Coventry group. You can see some of the artwork here.

    A huge thank you to all involved for making this memorable day happen!

  • Our new project is underway

    Our new project is underway

    If you’ve been following along with our story, you’ll know that last year we embarked on a new endeavour to tell the story of a different aspect of the site. If you missed that update, you can catch up here.

    We are currently transforming the area which has previously been unused, to reflect its previous incarnation as a ‘Coventry Court’ by marking out the area in bricks.

    This does mean we have a large number of bricks being stored on site! So if you are visiting us in July the top area of the garden will be out of bounds. The rest of site including the house itself, lower garden, toilets and the Visitor Centre including the display kindly provided by Scott Duffin, will all be accessible. We’ll still be providing our homemade cakes and tea and coffee.

  • Scott brings treasures to our July Open Day

    Scott brings treasures to our July Open Day

    Coventry resident Scott Duffin has a passion for the city and its history. Local heritage fans will be familiar with Scott from his guided walks, social media history facts and the book Elephants of Coventry as well as his enthusiasm for collecting Coventry related objects.

    Scott has also amassed a considerable ‘Coventry Collection’ of all kinds of items and paraphernalia relating to the city. We are delighted that he will be joining us for our Open Day on Saturday 13th July to bring a selection of objects to display.

    Scott’s Coventry treasures will be on show on the upper floor of the Visitor Centre at 122 Upper Spon Street (next to The Weaver’s House) from 10am until 4pm. The house and garden area will also be open with refreshments available.

    Admission is free. Please note the stairs to the upper floor are steep.

  • Celebrating Volunteers’ Week

    Celebrating Volunteers’ Week

    As Volunteers’ Week draws to a close alongside our June Open Day, it’s the perfect opportunity to thank all of our volunteers, past and present, established and brand new!

    Thank you for everything that you do – from being tour guides and experts in Weaver’s House history, to the bakers of the best cakes ever (this is a well established fact), to gardeners, to costume makers and wearers, to demonstrators of crafts, to our trustees and to those who help at the front of house and those who provide behind the scenes support – we really couldn’t do it without any of you!

    Two volunteers, one in costume, enjoy a cup of tea
    Cheers to Volunteers!

    Of course, The Weaver’s House started out with volunteers who restored Black Swan Terrace back in the 1990s. Without them, the house would have been lost forever. Today, on a sunny afternoon in our lovely garden, visitors enjoyed tea and cake and the opportunity to learn about this unique piece of local history.

    The Weaver’s House is a charity and is run by volunteers and we always welcome more! You can get involved in gardening, handiwork, showing people round, making tea or dressing up and demonstrating medieval life. Whether you want to be a regular or give occasional help, being a volunteer with us can offer an opportunity to share skills, meet new people and really make a difference!

  • Here comes the sun!

    Here comes the sun!

    After a chilly and wet spring it was fantastic to see the garden at The Weaver’s House bathed in sunshine for the May Open Day. The old phrase “Cast ne’er a clout ’til May is out” is generally interpreted as advice to keep warm clothes on until May is over*, but winter clouts had certainly been discarded (for now) as visitors enjoyed the calm of the garden on a glorious day.

    It was a busy day with a steady stream of visitors, including a fair number of people on their second (or third!) visit.

    “Always great. Always something new”
    “Well worth the visit again”
    “Lovely walk through history. Volunteers doing a great job”

    Thanks to everyone who visited and all our volunteers. Our next Open Day is Saturday 8th June.

    *For more suggestions on the origin and use of this phrase, visit PhraseFinder.

  • 2024’s Open Days kick off well

    2024’s Open Days kick off well

    “Yet more history to absorb and appreciate. The UK’s valuing of their heritage is to be admired”
    “What a super little place – I’m a Coventrian and didn’t know this place was here”

    Two women using spinning wheels in the garden

    Just two of the reviews from the Visitors’ Book after our first Open Day of 2024 at The Weaver’s House. After all of the rain that has fallen in recent weeks we were relieved to have a mild and dry day! The day ran smoothly thanks to our volunteer guides, gardeners and bakers. Interested in getting involved? It’s not just about giving talks or welcoming guests, we have plenty of ‘back-of-house’ roles available too. Take a look at our volunteers page for more info.

    The garden with some signs of spring growth
  • 2024 Open Days

    2024 Open Days

    We’re pleased to announce our Open Days for The Weaver’s House for 2024 will be:

    April – Saturday 6th

    May – Saturday 11th

    June – Saturday 8th

    July – Saturday 13th 

    August – Saturday 10th

    September – Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th

    All days will run from doors opening at 10am until we close at 4pm (we recommended the last entry at 3.30pm or earlier if you would like to enjoy one of our tours). Admission is FREE!