We were delighted to welcome social historian Lucy to our little Coventry museum recently.
Through Lucy’s Lens is a YouTube channel focussing on social history and especially the history of the working classes, including how people lived and worked. A perfect match for The Weaver’s House!
You can watch the video here:
With the sunny days becoming more frequent, we took the opportunity to try out The Sherbourne Valley Project’s new River Ramble walks, exploring the Sherbourne river which runs right through the heart of the city (although mostly culverted underground in the city centre itself). It’s no coincidence that The Weaver’s House is close to the river as the proximity to water would have been a vital part of the textile trade.
The first trail we tried out was the Spon End History Trail which includes The Weaver’s House, and if you fancy trying this out on an Open Day, you can pick up a paper copy from us. Not to mention the opportunity for a look around the house and perhaps a pit stop for homemade cake!
This 1.8km route is a circular walk so you can begin at any one of the points on the trial, we began at the Spon End Bridge and followed the path along past the ruined Chapel. There are about 20 points of interest on the walk.
There are lots of interesting details pointed out as the trail heads past The Weaver’s House, under the ring road and into Spon Street until it reaches another one of Coventry’s treasures, St John’s Church (always worth a visit, check for opening times).
We followed the route which led back along Spon Street and under the ringroad, where it diverts to take in the old (resited) canal bridge, like the Weaver’s House, it is another piece of rescued history. I can say I had never noticed these marks before, their origin is revealed by the trail!
It’s definitely worth a pause in this area. It might not look like much but this area in redevelopment will soon be transformed beyond recognition.
We continued almost back to where we began, opposite the Old Dyer’s Arms. As it was such a lovely day we decided to enjoy another of the walks at Lake View. It’s about 1.2km to walk to Lake View through this pedestrian route which cuts through the allotments, if you want to do it on foot:
You will emerge close to the back of Morrisons (part of the Alvis Retail Park), head up along here to Four Pounds Ave, turn right to cross and then head past Morrisons to the traffic lights to cross the main road and come back to Lake View Road.
Then it’s time to start the ‘Stride with Pride’ walk at Lake View.
This walk takes you around some of the key points of interest at Lake View. The river runs all the way through this park. Grayswood Nature Reserve has been part of the site since the 1990s, when a large area of abandoned allotments was given over for this.
There’s lots to see around Lake View and we’ll definitely be heading back at different points of the year to look for more wildlife.
Visitors during 2024 may have noticed the development work at the top of the garden which has meant some reduced space at times. This area has been developed to reflect its previous incarnation as a ‘Coventry Court’ (accommodation) by marking out the area in bricks.
We were delighted to have this work complete for Heritage Open Days to allow more space in the garden and we set up the refreshment gazebo in this area. Our next plans are to include some interpretation to explain the meaning of this new brick area. Here is a little peek at this area when it had just been completed. Can you guess what the small area of bricks and loose gravel represents?
Here’s how the area looked at the start of the project. We think you can agree that’s an improvement!
Walk Midlands creator Josh Allen is currently writing a book about walking across the West Midlands county, from Binley Woods on the eastern edge of Coventry, to Moseley Old Hall on the north western fringe of Wolverhampton. Along the way, he is spending time discovering some of the region’s people, places, and projects and this includes our Chairperson and Volunteer Co-ordinator Tina, who was interviewed by Josh at The Weaver’s House recently. You can read more about the project here and catch a taster of the book at this event in Birmingham on 20th June.
“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”
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 answer is quite a few! In February, we hosted Pagan Sword, a folk metal band based in the East Midlands who take their musical inspiration from Slavic mythology. They turned the ground floor of the House into a Viking drinking hall to film a video to accompany their song ‘Drinking Horn.’
With some clever camera angles and editing, the house appears much more spacious than in real life.
We wish them every success with ‘Drinking Horn’!
The July Open Day took place on St Swithin’s Day and if the old rhyme proves true it may be a soggy summer!
St Swithin’s Day if thou dost rain, For 40 days it will remain, St Swithin’s Day if thou be fair, For 40 days will rain na mair.
The rain did not set in too much, so we had plenty of visitors. Should it prove to have some days more appropriate for staying inside, we have a couple of new products on the shelves.
Alongside our recent Weaver’s House family history booklet, we have Coventry-based author Mark Johnson’s Hidden Histories – Coventry Jewish Watchmakers. This carefully researched and abundantly illustrated book delves into the stories of migrant families in Victorian Coventry. A fascinating and insightful slice of Coventry’s history, very relevant to our area.
There is also some stock of the Concrete Colouring Book, designed for Coventry 2021 and featuring iconic brutalist and mid-century architecture of the city such as the Brittania Hotel, Elephant Building and Belgrade Theatre. These were generously donated by Michael Mogan and money raised from their sale at the bargain price of £3 will support The Weaver’s House.
The Weaver’s House will be open for three more Open Days this year: Saturday 12th August, and Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th September. All from 10am until 4pm (we recommend last admissions at 3.30pm).
We have exciting plans to develop the site, to tell more of the stories of the people who have lived here and enable us to deliver a better visitor experience. You can read more about these plans here.
We are very grateful to Heart of England Community Foundation for facilitating the funding to get this project underway.
This foundation is focussed on the West Midlands & Warwickshire and supports local groups and organisations to benefit their local areas. You can find out more about this organisation and how to apply for funding, here.
We are thrilled to announce that we have received approval for our plans to develop the site and reveal more of the history of the buildings in the terrace.
The Weaver’s House is one of a terrace of cottages which were built in 1455, and which have been modified and added to over the centuries. They were restored by our Trust and reopened as a visitor attraction and retail/residential use in 2007.
The plans will let us create access from The Weaver’s House into the adjacent building (The Visitor Centre) to allow a one-way route for visitors. This will enable us to have visitor tours moving through the building, unlike at present where one group must exit before the next one can enter. It will also give us a new display space in The Visitor Centre to show artefacts and information that we simply don’t have room for now. We will also be adding a new dimension to our story by building up the remains of the former ‘Coventry court’ structure at the top of the garden.
Our Chairman and Volunteers co-ordinator, Tina Woodroffe, said,
“We’re delighted that approval has been given to the planned works, which will enable us to improve the experience of our visitors. By opening up a new area to public access in the Visitor Centre, the cottage next to The Weaver’s House, we’ll be able to house exhibits to better tell the stories of the past residents of the terrace. We’ll also be able to improve the flow of visitors into the house, to allow more tours to take place.
“We’ll also be restoring the footprint of the former ‘Coventry court’ building, which previously stood behind The Weaver’s House and was used as housing in the 19th and 20th centuries, to illustrate what life would have been like for residents of those buildings.
“We’re asking the public to get in touch if they have any connection or memories of the Coventry courts to share – even if it is just scraps of information which might seem trivial as this might be a vital piece of the jigsaw!”
The plans will be on display during Open Days throughout 2023 and photos, memories and family reminiscences would be very much welcomed to help us build an authentic picture of life in the court houses. You can contact us by email (please send to history @ theweavershouse.org, removing the spaces), post to The Weaver’s House, 121, Upper Spon Street, Spon End, Coventry, CV1 3BQ, or in person at one of the upcoming Open Days.
We were able to create the architects’ plans for the projects thanks to a donation from an anonymous funder which was facilitated by Heart of England Community Foundation.
The architects are Donald Insall Associates.
In November last year The Weaver’s House and surrounding shop fronts of the terrace were used as
a location for a forthcoming television series. Written by Sir Lenny Henry, Three Little Birds,
recreates his mother’s experiences of life in Britain when she arrived from the Caribbean in the
1950s. The show is set to be screened later this year.
Upper Spon Street was transformed into 1950s Dudley complete with period cars and a horse-drawn
rag and bone cart. Double yellow lines disappeared under rubber mats and grit, external intruder
alarm units seamlessly vanished under masking tape and paint, number 119 became a shoe shop
and cobblers, and 120 was transformed into a tailor’s. Local landmark “Moira’s” took on the star role
as a television hire shop. Then as soon as it all sprang up, it was gone just as quickly. Did you spot the
street during its transformation?
