About ten minutes walk from The Weaver’s House, another piece of Coventry’s local history has been brought back to life. The Nursery Tavern is situated on Lord Street in Chapelfields, an area famous for watchmaking.
The pub has been there since 1852, and is named for local gardens, (not childcare!).
Screenshot
I can’t remember where I got this screenshot from but it shows the pub in the early days (no sitting on the flat roof now!).
The traditional pub has been a favourite for locals but a combination of factors has seen it struggle in recent years. Black Country Ales recently refurbished the pub to bring it back into use.
The interior decor pays homage to its 19th century origins.
You can compare these views by taking a five minute walk from the pub.
There are lots of old photos to admire and real ales to sample.
If you are interested in the history of Coventry pubs you may also like this book Drinking in an Old English Town by Fred Luckett. Available from Gonzo on Earlsdon Street.
The Weaver’s House is now a member of the Historic Houses Association (HHA), the association for those who look after Britain’s independent heritage. We were thrilled to see our property in the handbook and map.
Join HHA and get free entry to hundreds of beautiful homes, castles and gardens in every nation and region of the UK.
By entering (WEAV17) as your discount code, you will save ÂŁ5 on your Historic Houses membership and a matching donation will be given to us – absolutely every bit helps!
You will receive your passes within minutes of joining.
Join today and we get a matching donation.
In addition, members receive:
An annual handbook containing a comprehensive list of places to visit or stay A quarterly magazine Access to exclusive member-only private tours Special offers and deals from other organisations
Our June Open day is over  but there’s another chance to look around the house on our Reduced Open Day on 8 July whilst we also attend the Lives and Times tent at the Godiva Festival.
There are more interesting heritage events coming up:
This event features our Weaver’s House trustee Dr. Nat Alcock. It is being organised by Medieval Coventry who did the laser scanning in Spon Street last year.
Last weekend saw a bumper day in terms of local historical interest, and as it wasn’t one of our own Open Days, we got out and about to enjoy some of Coventry’s other heritage gems. Like The Weaver’s House, volunteers have played a huge role in these sites.
First up was the CET Building.
The former HQ of Coventry Telegraph (the E bit comes from when it had Evening in the title) this fifties building was a labyrinthine delight of glossy mid-century detailing and industrial post-apocalyptic neglect.
It’s been empty for over ten years but now there are plans to restore it as a fifties styled boutique hotel. Before that, volunteers have turned it into a temporary gallery space with the option to tour the rest of the building including the massive press in the basement.
Here are a few pictures from our explorations:
Sign in the CET reception
A detail in the lobby
Lift button
Upstairs, we got a great view of the Belgrade Theatre, another iconic 50s building.
The tour was self-guided, so we were able to go at our own pace and enjoy all the details. We looked around the upstairs offices with lots of original features.
Stunning wood panelled room with…
a secret door?
Yes! 🙂
A glimpse of the hidden garden area in the middle of the building, until recently totally overgrown.
There was a lot to see across this huge site – offices, newsroom, social spaces and even an onsite flat. Once through this area it was downstairs into the corridors of the basement where everything starts to look more industrial and a bit creepy. With workplaces looking like they had just been left it had the feel of being suddenly abandoned like the plot of so many horror movies… especially in the cavernous area of the printing press itself.
Danger Man!
Buttons, buttons…
The ‘safe light’ room
This console has a retro sci-fi feel
Part of the machinery in the basement
Once through the basement the tour leads back to the lobby and exhibition space and free coffee.
Be aware that when visiting much of the building is not currently accessible as the lifts aren’t functional and some areas can only be accessed by stairs.
There are many more photos available on the Facebook page where you can also follow the latest updates to the restoration as well as exhibition and events info. A really fascinating insight into part of Coventry’s recent history – take the opportunity to visit whilst it’s available…
Next up was the Priory Visitor Centre.
This has been closed for over a year and this was its official opening ceremony as a social enterprise. A lot of hard work has gone into reopening the building and it was time to celebrate!
Right in the heart of the city centre and directly adjacent to the other two Cathedrals, the Priory is a little oasis of calm.
As part of the reopening celebrations, special guests included Lady Godiva and the ‘Deep Fat Friar’ who can usually be found guiding people around the city wall and something we’re hoping to join another week!
It was great to see the centre open again and we were impressed with the knowledge and enthusiasm of the volunteers.
The Undercroft area which famously featured on Time Team is a truly fascinating insight into Coventry’s history and you can find out how to get to see this area as well as more about the project on the Facebook page.
From then, we went up to the re-enactment at Charterhouse – but we’ll save that for another post!
November 1 is All Saints‘ Day, also known as All Hallows’ Day – being the day after Halloween (All Hallows Eve).
An appropriate day then, to have a look at another local gem, All Saints’ Church in Allesley Village. We explored the church when it was open for Heritage Open Days this year, where we had a warm welcome and some delicious cake.
Ready to explore
The church dates originally from the twelfth century, although is primarily a thirteenth century building. It is made of red sandstone like St Catherine’s Well, featured in this earlier post.
The spire in Early English style.
If you have time to explore, you will be able to seek out the remains of the early chapel in the south arcade area, spot fourteenth century additions, Victorian redesigning and modern roofing – this is a building which has served a community for a very long time and has been developed accordingly.
There was plenty to see inside; a stone and marble font, a war memorial to local soldiers and some Victorian-era stained glass, amongst many other features. The church was heavily ‘restored’ in the 1860s which means some of the original aspects have been lost.
There are also numerous mice to spy all around the church – of the carved wooden kind!
Mouseman furniture in All Saints’ Church.
Old stained glass and a modern take.
Colourful modern details and a cheerful children’s corner.
The churchyard with large yew trees.
There is plenty to see at the church, interesting from social history and church architecture points of view, and it’s even a Pokemon Go gym as well.
At The Weaver’s House we like to explore other historical places. Here Communications Officer, Jess, shares a visit to another one of Coventry’s hidden gems.
Hidden away on the kind of typical ’30s terraced street you find all over Coventry, is St Catherine’s Well. It’s a small stone chapel building on a raised platform, also of stone.
The well is in the Coundon area of Coventry, and dates from the 1400s. At one point it supplied the west side of the city with water although it has long since run dry. Nowadays the clutter of houses, roads, railway line and retail park make it seem a fair way from The Weaver’s House but until the early 20th century I suppose it would have been a very short walk across fields to get from one to the other.
When I used to visit the well as a child you could walk straight in off the street, up the steps and get inside the chapel building – so long as there were only about three of you – it is very small inside. Sadly at some point it became necessary to bar the entrance to the chapel and add a tall fence in addition to the old stone wall. This has the undoubted benefit of preserving the well but it means it’s very difficult to get a good look at it. I was delighted to be able to open the well for Heritage Open Days so that people had the opportunity to get up close to it – treasure your treasures!
Here is a selection of photos of details of the well and chapel.
The well is on Beaumont Crescent, just near Morrison’s. You can view the well from the street, looking through the gate at any time. Or you can visit it via Google Street View!
On Saturday 27 February, there was a one-off opportunity to see previously concealed medieval features of three houses at 31, 32 and 33 Far Gosford Street.
Similarly to our houses on Black Swan Terrace, the original characteristics had been gradually covered by developments through the ages. 32 and 33 were originally one property, a ‘hall-house.’ Number 31 was a real hidden treasure as so much of its medieval origins were completely covered, and due to this it is unlisted, unlike its neighbours.
A carefully managed programme of restoration using traditional methods has brought the houses back to beautiful life again. There was a big queue of people waiting to take a look for themselves at the open day. It was worth the wait to take a glimpse at Coventry’s hidden past revealed, and sensitively restored.
Inside the medieval ‘hall house’, originally one property, at 32 & 33 Far Gosford Street.
An arch inside the hall-house.
The rediscovered medieval house at number 31.
Brian Harrabin of Complex Development Projects, the company behind the restoration, explaining this oven in number 31 is a later addition, but has been concealed for years.
The oven/fireplace.
New beams support the originals. Although some of these details will be covered up again, original features have been left to preserve the story of the buildings.
This fireplace was added later, as you can see, it partially covers the medieval structure.
A blackened timber beam showing damage incurred during the Blitz.
The window casements are bronze due to the way the tannin in green oak reacts with other metals.
Seeing around the houses was a real privelege. It was quite magical to see the hidden details revealed. They are destined to be revived as residences and commercial properties, thus hopefully ensuring their survival for many more years to come. Although the properties are unlikely to be accessible to the public again, it looks like this glass panel on the lower level of 32/33 is intended so a little bit of their history will be visible?
In this post, Communications Officer Jess shares a recent visit to a building very close to The Weaver’s House.
I have passed St John’s Church many times but this was my first visit. Like The Weaver’s House and many of the Spon Street buildings, it is medieval, and though it is now close to many large modern developments it is easy to imagine how it must have dominated its surroundings in times past.
On entering the church I was interested to see that although it was mid-January, there was still a large and beautiful crib on display. One of the guides explained that this would be left up until Candlemas on February 2. I had heard of the tradition but had not seen it observed before.
The East Window
It was immediately clear that one visit was not going to be sufficient to see everything that St John’s had to offer. There is some stunning stained glass, an impressively huge wooden lectern and the Stations of the Cross which are sited around the church.
The piscina
There was also a piscina for returning holy water directly to the earth, I hadn’t seen one like this before. There are many detailed carvings including some Green Men which I am particularly keen to return to look at properly.
I had probably complicated things for myself by taking my son, he is only three but he enjoys looking at old buildings particularly when there are ‘things to spot’. It was a particularly cold day when we visited and we had also picked the day the boilers were being replaced so the church itself was chilly – we headed into the modern hall at the back. As it was Saturday morning there were refreshments available.
We were made very welcome throughout our visit, the guides clearly have an absolute wealth of knowledge which they are happy to share. Due to its location it would make an excellent inclusion for visitors to The Weaver’s House to compare these two contrasting medieval buildings.
Volunteers at The Weaver’s House enjoy visiting other interesting places. In this guest post, volunteer Tina shares her visit to Blakesley Hall, a historical counterpoint to The Weaver’s House.
Blakesley Hall is part of the Birmingham museums and art galleries. Like The Weavers House it has Grade II* listing and is well worth the trip to Yardley to compare the lifestyle of a wealthier Tudor family with the Crokes of Upper Spon Street.
It was built in 1590 and is one of Birmingham’s oldest buildings. It also has a large garden. The house has a timber frame construction and many interesting features. The kitchen is full of fascinating equipment and contains an intriguing mouse trap – unless you happen to be a mouse! Due to the status of the owners it has many more rooms than in our little house and all reveal clues to a bygone lifestyle.
The “painted chamber” is a remarkable survivor from when the house was built and the gallery has a fabulous wonky floor. The site was open for a special Tudor weekend with all sorts of entertainments in the garden when I visited but would be good on any day. There is plenty of parking and a tea room.
