This year, we’ve celebrated the fact that Heritage Open Days is 25 years old! The increasing success of the festival is a great sign of a healthy interest in heritage. And for the final weekend of Heritage Open Days, we also celebrated the centenary of one of the house’s previous residents.
Sid O’ Neil lived in The Weaver’s House itself during the early twentieth century. His descendant, Clare, is one of the current volunteers and she organised this special celebration to mark the hundredth anniversary of his birth.
We had some cakes and balloons to mark the occasion, but one thing we weren’t expecting was a rather special happening… In 1929 a ten-year-old Sid O’Neil went to school and played with neighbour Fred Golby. Ninety years later Sid’s son Terry and Fred’s son and daughter, Eric and Carol, met for the very first time at the terrace where their dads lived. Family history in real time!
Alongside Sid’s birthday celebrations, we also had tours, tea, cake and sunshine to enjoy the garden.
A big thank you to everyone who has come to our events and supported us this year.
Do you have a connection to The Weaver’s House or its immediate neighbours?
The six cottages of Black Swan Terrace were built as one structure in 1455, and all, including The Weaver’s House, are managed by our trust: Spon End Building Preservation Trust.
We have produced a number of publications about the history of the building, and are currently in the process of updating the booklet Who Lived in Black Swan Terrace?
We’re interested to hear from anyone who has a connection to one of the cottages, whether you remember shopping, working or living here, or had a relative who did.
We’re very lucky to have a volunteer, Clare, who is a descendant of one of the previous residents who is passionate about family history. Clare has researched the other families who lived in the terrace and we would love to bring their stories to life and fill in any gaps in time for the next edition of our family history booklet, Who Lived in Black Swan Terrace?”
The terrace, which was rescued from demolition in the 1990s, starts at 119, and the end building, with its green tiles and ‘Moira’s Wet Fish’ painted shop sign, is a local landmark.
If you would like to contribute information please email Clare Chamberlain on history@theweavershouse.org. To allow time to include it in the next edition, the deadline is October 18 2019, although information at any time is always very welcome.
2018 saw a bumper number of events at The Weaver’s House. Alongside our usual Open Days, there were not one, but two weekends open for Heritage Open Days plus exhibitions and special events. The year started in fine form with a sunny April Open Day and continued into May with a site-wide celebration of medieval crafts, with visitors able to experience traditional skills and talk to craftspeople about their process.
June brought a wealth of opportunities to see the house. Alongside the usual Open Day, the house opened for the annual Warwickshire Open Studios and Coventry Arts Trail with a display of The Weavers’ Workshop projects. Also part of Warwickshire Open Studios, the house hosted the War & Pieced Patchwork Exhibition, a collection of thought-provoking military and civilian patchwork quilts collected and restored by Jane and Peterson Cobbett. Visitors to the exhibition sat in the garden enjoying a gloriously sunny day, with little realisation that the beautiful weather was to signal the start of an unforgettably sunshine-filled summer.
The sun stayed through July’s day of Tudor-styled fun featuring games both familiar (such as quoits) and less recognisable (Nine Men’s Morris) and into August’s Family History Day. This themed day celebrated the lives of people who had lived in Black Swan Terrace, the group of cottages that The Weaver’s House is part of. We were delighted to welcome families of former residents of all five houses, and visitors were even able to research their own family history.
Photos of past residents of the terrace were on display
Guests Chris and Ella from Coventry Family History Society
September saw Spon Spun return with participation by The Weaver’s House on the Arts Trail. Plus two sets of Heritage Open Days, a first for the festival itself and a sure indication that interest in the past has a good future!
Another first was our special Halloween Open Day in the October half term. Volunteers transformed the house into a spooky and entertaining setting for a day of crafts, treats and storytelling. Despite it being a cold day, much fun was had and visitors were able to warm up with mulled apple juice, hot chocolate and Halloween themed tasty treats. The Belgrade’s panto dame, Nanny McWheeze, popped in to learn a little about spinning wheels and spindles, in the hope of protecting Princess Belle from the curse of the wicked Carabosse! The day finished with a special storytelling session in the house itself, with storyteller Pyn Stockman enchanting both children and adults with the tale of Vasilisa the Brave.
Woven poppies
Sgt. Edis
Reflecting on the past
Visitors examine the artefacts brought in by Brian
In November there was a special event to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armistice for which The Weaver’s House was awarded two There But Not There silhouettes funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. These silhouettes were in remembrance of former residents, the two O’Neil boys posted to France during WWI and who did not return. One of the volunteers, Clare, is a descendant of the O’ Neils, and she put together a special talk including the war story of the family, which was completely fully booked. Visitors helped to create a memory board and the house was decorated with woven poppies created by The Weavers’ Workshop. The volunteers were joined by Sergeant Phil Edis of Coventry R.E.M.E. (Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers) to represent the Armed Forces in our community today.
The finale of the year was another new venture for The Weaver’s House, as a venue for craft workshops. What a busy year!
If you would like to find out more about any of the events from the past year, have a browse through our blog. Open Days at The Weaver’s House will recommence in the springtime, and details are here.
And so, November draws to a close, a month that has been filled with reflection and remembrance, one hundred years after the Armistice of 1918.
At The Weaver’s House, we marked the centenary with a special event of particular relevance to the house. During the First World War, the O’Neil family were residents in the house. Three of the O’Neil boys went away to war, and only one returned.
For this special event on November 3, The Weaver’s House was awarded two There But Not There silhouettes funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. The silhouettes represent people lost to conflict. Our silhouettes were placed in the house itself, where the O’Neil boys lived one hundred years ago.
Descendants of the O’Neils: Clare Chamberlain, Paul Nolan, Debra Morris and Eve Morris.
Poster for The Window
A display of WW1 objects
There But Not There
One of our regular volunteers, Clare, is a descendant of the O’ Neils and as part of the day she presented a free family history talk including their war story. We were also pleased to welcome Coventry-based actor and playwright, Paul Nolan, another descendant of the O’Neils. Paul’s play The Window tells the WWI story of the O’Neils and has been on tour this year, you can find out more here.
Sergeant Phil Edis of Coventry R.E.M.E. (Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers) was in attendance to represent the role of the Armed Forces in our community today, and we thank him for spending time with us and our visitors on the day.
The memory board
During the open day, we had a memory board which we invited visitors to add to, in remembrance of family members lost to war. We also had a collection of First World War artefacts brought in by volunteer Brian, and another display of objects collected by Clare.
Visitors examine the artefacts brought in by Brian
First World War binoculars and cigarette cards
Shell casing, bamboo cask and clipping
First World War badges and cigarette cards
The Weavers’ Workshop, who meet at the house every week, had added a special and fitting touch with woven poppies which accompanied the There But Not There silhouettes.
Woven poppies
Reflecting on the past
Thanks to all who took part in the day, whether volunteers, visitors or other contributors, and of course to the Armed Forces Covenant Trust for awarding us the grant for the silhouettes.
Saturday 3 November
10.30am – 1.30pm
Families of War
Free
The Weaver’s House invite you to reflect on families, war and loss as, one hundred years on, we remember the Armistice of 1918.
At the time of the First World War, the house was home to the O’Neil family. Three of the young men that lived there joined the Army and were posted to France in WW1.
Only one of them returned.
For this special event, The Weaver’s House have been awarded two There But Not There silhouettes funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. The silhouettes represent people who went to war and did not come back. We will be placing our silhouettes in the house itself, where the O’Neil boys lived.
James O’Neil
As part of the day we are creating a memory board. Please come and share your stories of family members who have been lost to war, bring photographs, and add relatives’ names on the board. The house will be decorated with woven poppies created by our resident craft group, The Weavers’ Workshop. We will also be thinking of the role of the armed forces in our communities today and hope that members of the forces both past and present will join us.
One of our volunteers, Clare, is a descendant of the O’ Neils and she will be doing a special family history talk including the war story of the family as part of the day. Tickets for the talk are free but must be booked in advance due to the restricted size of the house. These are now fully booked. Please note there will be no general access to the house during the talks (approx 11am – 12.40pm).
Light refreshments will be available. Come along and bring a photo or a memory, or just come and remember.
We hosted a busy and enjoyable Family History Open Day on Saturday 18th August, with visitors getting the chance to find their family crests, get help and advice on researching their family trees, chat to Coventry Family History Society, and of course, explore the house and garden. Guided walks of Spon Street and special Family History talks proved to be very popular, booking up well in advance, and we hope to run these events again in the future.
The specially themed day celebrated the lives of people who had lived in Black Swan Terrace, the group of cottages that The Weaver’s House is part of. Volunteers were delighted to welcome families of former residents of all five houses in the terrace during the day.
The Edwards family, whose ancestors George & Harriet Edwards lived in 121 Upper Spon Street.
Actor Paul Nolan, currently performing in the 2-Tone Taxi tours, dropped by to say hello. Spot The Weaver’s House on the taxi! Paul’s ancestors lived in the house, and were the subject of his play The Window, which was performed at the Albany Theatre earlier this year.
One family had cousins that met for the very first time in the actual house where their common ancestor had lived in the 1880s. There was also a visit from a gentleman who lived in The Weaver’s House himself in the 1940s. We will be featuring their stories in an upcoming blog, so stay tuned!
If you have connections to The Weaver’s House and Black Swan Terrace – get in touch and add your story by emailing history@theweavershouse.org
Guests Chris and Ella from Coventry Family History Society
Our trustee Peterson Cobbett was on hand to give advice on genealogy
Visitors could research heraldry
Photos of past residents of the terrace were on display
Spinning in action
Of course there was cake!
The Weaver’s House is next open for Heritage Open Days in September.
Come and find out about some of the families who lived here.
The house dates back to medieval times and has been restored to its 1540 appearance. You can experience the house as weaver John Croke and his family would have seen it and find out about their lifestyle by joining a tour or talking to our volunteers on any of our Open Days. But the house, and the terrace it is part of, has been home to many families over the centuries.
Our Family History themed day will include some special talks, a guest stall from Coventry Family History Society, and the opportunity to research connections that you or your family may have with the house or terrace. This Open Day will be celebrating the families who lived in the terrace, and if you or your relatives lived in one of the houses or courts then we would love to hear from you! If you would like to get in touch in advance please contact history@theweavershouse.org
As well as the usual refreshments, weaving and spinning, and tours of the house* during the day, we will also have a special Family History talk and a reprise of last year’s popular Spon Street walk. These two events are free, but booking is required (details are below)
The house will be open from 11am until 4pm, entry is free. Refreshments are available.
Special events (free, but booking required, all 18 August):
10am. A guided walk along Medieval Spon Street with architectural historian Nat Alcock. FULLY BOOKED.
11.30am. Family History Talk with Clare Chamberlain. This takes place in the house.FULLY BOOKED.
1pm. A guided walk along Medieval Spon Street with architectural historian Nat Alcock. FULLY BOOKED.
3pm. Family History Talk with Clare Chamberlain. This takes place in the house. FULLY BOOKED.
*Please note that as the Family History Talk takes place in the house, there will be no access to the Weaver’s House itself from 11.20am – 12 and 2.50pm – 3.30pm approximately. The rest of the site including garden, tea room, guest stall and visitors centre will still be open during these sessions.
At one of the Open Days last year, a chat between one of our visitors and one of our volunteers unearthed the interesting fact that both their grandparents lived in Black Swan Terrace. Not only that but they lived in the Terrace during the same period, so they would have known each other.
Clare Chamberlain has previously written about her O’Neil family history and so she was thrilled to discover that visitor Dawn’s grandad, Frank Miles, was also a resident. The children from both families would have most likely attended the same school, Spon Gate School, which is still there.
Frank Miles, courtesy of Dawn McCarroll.
Dawn recalls her grandad telling her that his bedroom was above the passageway (which is still a bedroom for a current tenant). All eight kids slept in one bed… their combined weight caused the bed leg to go through the floor!
In 1911 the Miles family lived in Court 31 which was located behind the terraced row that faces onto Upper Spon Street. In 1921 they moved to 120 Black Swan Terrace (currently occupied by Perfect Tresses) where they lived until 1931 when they moved to Elm Tree Avenue in Tile Hill.
The Miles family accommodation (highlighted areas – Court 33 and no.119.
The Miles family were:
Walter John Miles (born 1882, Christchurch) a bricklayer who married Ellen Gertrude Smith (born Broad Hinton, Wiltshire) in Swindon, summer 1903.
Walter & Nell Miles courtesy of Dawn McCarroll
Their children:
Walter James Miles (born 1904, Swindon)
Frederick George Miles (born 1906, Swindon)
Ernest Edward Miles (born 1908, Swindon)
Arthur Miles (born 1910, Coventry)
Frank Miles (born 1913, Coventry)
Eric Miles (born 1916, Coventry) died 1939 in a road traffic accident on his pushbike at the junction of Melbourne Road and Sovereign Road
Dorothy “Doll” Irene Miles (born 1918 twin, Coventry)
Ivy Miles (born 1918 twin, Coventry) died as an infant
Sid Miles (born 1924, Coventry)
We hope this information will be useful to anyone related to the family, researching their history.
Do you have a connection to The Weaver’s House or the Black Swan Terrace area? We’d love to hear from you!
Volunteer Clare Chamberlain shares her personal account of how research into her family history led to a special connection with The Weaver’s House.
“Would you like to go and see where I was born?” asked my Grandad one Sunday afternoon.
I used to come over to Coventry to visit my grandparents and usually the routine was the same. A cup of tea and a chat, a light lunch and maybe a few family history questions before my journey home. Like many older people, talking about the past didn’t come naturally so this offer took me by surprise and I jumped at the opportunity to learn a bit more about my Grandad’s life.
I’d been looking into my family history on and off over a number of years, gathering stories and photos wherever I could. I knew Grandad’s family were from Coventry and I’d found numerous addresses from birth certificates to tell me where they’d lived. But all those houses were gone, either destroyed in the War or pulled down since. So where on earth was he taking me?
We headed towards the city centre and I followed his directions until we pulled up in a fairly run-down looking street. The main row of houses was derelict and boarded up.
“That’s the house I was born in” said Grandad pointing to the middle of the row. “122 Spon Street; I grew up here and went to school just down the road. The house was tiny and too cramped with all of us living in there; I left to join the Army as soon as I could”.
A photo of Sidney O’Neil (Clare’s Grandad) as a boy, standing in the garden of The Weaver’s House, matched against the current view.
He told me his father, Joseph O’Neil, had also run his boot repair business from the back room of the house, leaving just one room as the main living area.
Standing across the road from the house, looking at my Grandad’s face while he talked, I knew I needed to always remember this moment. I suddenly remembered that I had a camera in my car. “Stand by your old front door Grandad, so I can take a picture”. Great! A photo of Grandad outside his birthplace 77 years on!
That day was the last time I saw my Grandad, and that photo was the last one ever taken of him. It was April 1997 and he died in the June.
Two years later my Grandad’s cousin sent me a newspaper clipping of an article about the plans by the Spon End Preservation Trust to restore the row of houses in Upper Spon Street. I was pleased to hear that hopefully they could be saved.
Black Swan Terrace with scaffold
Life moved on and became very busy; family history went on the back burner for a time. But one quiet morning, whilst my young daughter was napping, I got out my old note books and started flicking through them. I found the old newspaper article and wondered what had become of the houses. After a quick search on the internet I was stunned to see that not only had ‘Black Swan Terrace’ been restored, it was also open to the public, and the house where my Grandad lived had become the main focus for visitors, the ‘Weaver’s House’. I contacted Carol de Rose who was part of the Trust, and soon arranged to go and visit the house on one of its Open Days.
And so I found myself walking, literally, in the footsteps of my ancestors, through the house that had been home to my Grandad, my Great Grandparents, and also my 2xGreat Grandmother, Eliza. To stand where they stood, to lay my hand on the ancient wood beams that they would have been so familiar with and to touch the wallpaper my Great Grandfather hung; that was an amazing experience.
The photo of Joseph O’ Neil and Peggy in 1928 compared to the same view today.
I am fortunate enough to have old photographs of the family taken in the garden in the 1920s and 30s. On my further visits, when I took my daughter and my Dad, I made sure we too were photographed in the garden. Now six generations of my O’Neil family have set foot at 122 Spon Street.
Thanks to the Trust, Friends and Volunteers, The Weaver’s House and garden are opened up several times a year for the public to visit and I was touched by how many wonderful people gave their time and skills to keep the project running for others to enjoy, so becoming a volunteer seemed the natural thing to do.
I get to spend plenty of time surrounded by my family history and in return I can share my, now expanded, knowledge of the house and its history with visitors and other volunteers. It’s a wonder and delight to see the interested that so many people take in this humble, unassuming house that is such an important part of Coventry’s history. And, for me personally, an important part of my family’s history has been lovingly preserved and kept alive for many more generations to come.
Behind the camera: Clare has taken many of the photos of the Weaver’s House and Open Days.
To read more from Clare Chamberlain click the relevant tag at the top of this blog post.
In 2015 Clare Chamberlain, whose ancestors lived in The Weaver’s House in the early 20th century, paid a visit to the WWI battlefields. This is her creative response to that visit. You can read her blog post about the visit itself here.
Saturday 13th November 1915 – 122 Spon Street, Coventry, England
Joseph O’Neil is in his workshop at the back of the house repairing pair after pair of boots. The smell of leather perfumes the house and the noise from his tools is pleasantly rhythmic. He’d like to be in the pub across the road, but that’ll have to wait till later, when his wife Harriet is out taking the two children to visit his mother Eliza. She’s been worrying about this war so much, poor old gal, with two sons already involved and another desperate to do his bit.
Joseph is a bit old to join up but his brother William has been in the Army for the last 13 years, just demobilised and now talking of going back. And his youngest brother James is only a lad of 23 and was sent to France in September. God knows where he is and what he’s doing now.
As he pulls another battered boot from the hessian sack, his thoughts drift to James’s last letter. He sounded fine. He said the crossing to Boulogne hadn’t been too rough, and that they were marching a long way each day, but of course he couldn’t say where they were headed. He may not have even known, other than that it was East. Joseph only hopes that his brother is safe and well, and that he can send another letter home soon to ease his mother’s worries.
James O’Neil
Saturday 13th November 1915 – Nr Houplines, Northern France.
James pulls his coat tightly around himself. It’s really nippy today. The rain is holding off thankfully but the cold has got into his bones, his fingers and toes are numb. They moved into this trench only yesterday, relieving the lads from the other battalions, and already he’s sick of the sight of it. The German lines aren’t far away; if he was daft enough to stick his head up he’d be able to see them!
There was shelling earlier and his ears are still ringing from it. Luckily most of it missed them just here, but some unfortunate sods further down the line would have got it.
As James stamps his feet and shuffles around in an attempt to get warm he thinks of his family back home. He hopes his mother isn’t too worried, that his brothers are ok. He wonders if his father even understands what’s going on in the world, locked up in that asylum for so long now. He’s seen a few lads that’ll probably be heading to the same place after all this.
And now the terrible noise has started again, a shell comes over and lands with a terrible thud. Then another… and James feels the warmth of his own blood running down his arm inside his jacket. The pain comes like an electric shock, he feels dizzy, the sky grows darker, the ground comes up to meet him.
As he comes round he can feel himself being pulled, dragged. The noise seems distant now. He can’t be sure if it’s because he’s gone half deaf or if he’s further from it. Faces leaning over him. Being moved again, lifted. But now the faces are familiar; his mother, his brother Joseph, his little niece Winifred. The pain washes over him, it’s getting dark again, and he’s tired. So tired. And then nothing.
Clare standing at the trench line
Thursday 12th November 2015 – Nr Houplines, Northern France.
I am stood in a freshly ploughed farmer’s field, the sun is warming my back and there’s just a gentle breeze. The slight dip running across the field behind me is clearly visible from the shadows cast by the low winter sun. One hundred years ago today my great-great-uncle James was brought here, to the battle front, and stood very close to where I am now, tucked down in a trench, maybe even the one I’m stood in front of.
The German trenches would have been visible across the flat fields but stood here in the peace of today I am finding it hard to imagine the noise, the smell, the fear that surrounded this place a hundred years ago.
This would have been James’s last full living day. What on earth was he feeling, thinking, seeing? Could he imagine that he wouldn’t see the sun set tomorrow?
As I bend to place a poppy cross in the earth I see a lead bullet from a shell, I pick it up to take home as a memento. It’s most likely bullets like this one that caused James’s fatal wounds. I say goodbye to the Front Line of November1915 and head off to visit James’s grave, behind the lines and near to where the Field Hospital would have been.
The cemetery at Bailleul is quiet and beautifully kept. Row upon row of white headstone mark the last resting place for so many soldiers. I find James’s grave and finally give him his medals, a poppy wreath from the family and a photograph of himself in uniform.
Each side of him are men that died the same day, 13th November 1915… beside them, men who died the following day, and the day after… and the next.
I look up and nod thanks across to the cemetery gardeners who are tending the graves in the next row, who keep the place so tidy for these never-to-be-forgotten soldiers… these men and boys… these sons, brothers, fathers and uncles, who will still be here in another 100 years.
I leave James with his silent companions. I will be back to visit again one day.
