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 £5 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
As we approach the Coronation, we thought we’d take a quick look at who was ruling during some of the key points in our Weaver’s House/Black Swan timeline.
There have been 28 different sovereigns of Britain (plus the Commonwealth period) during the life of The Weaver’s House and Black Swan Terrace. Here we look at who was monarch during some significant points in our buildings’ history.
1455: The six cottages in Black Swan Terrace were built by the Priory as one structure in 1455, replacing the buildings that had previously stood on the site. The reign of the Plantagenet king, Henry VI would have been well underway at this point, lasting firstly from 1422 to 1461 and restored to the throne 1470–71. King Henry VI and his Queen, Margaret of Anjou are thought to be featured in the Coventry Tapestry – do you know whereabouts in Coventry you can see it?
1510: The city wall, begun in 1355 is finally completed. Our row of cottages were situated outside the wall. This would have been the year after the Tudor, Henry VIII came to the throne.
1539: The ownership of the terrace by St. Mary’s Priory, Coventry came to an end due to the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, with ownership therefore passing to the Crown – though the terrace was sold in 1545 to John Combes and Richard Stansfelde.
1540: This date appears on our timeline as this is the year designated to recreate the experience of living in The Weaver’s House (above). It would have been towards the end of Henry VIII’s reign (1509 – 1547).
1581: The ownership of the house is with The Mercers’ Company (one of the large number of craft guilds in Coventry). By this point Elizabeth I was Queen (1558–1603, the end of the Tudor period). Elizabeth visited the city in 1565. As one of the main routes into Coventry was along Spon Street, she may have passed by the terrace – do you know which building she addressed the people of Coventry from during her visit?
1678: The terrace is sold by the Mercers’ Company to a Mr Rogers. This was during the reign of the Stuart king, Charles II, who has a connection with a Coventry phrase – do you know why?
1700: Around this time the cottages are now owned by John Pickering, during the reign of William III & Mary II (1689–1702).
1768: The ownership of the terrace is split into three parts in Mary Kevitt’s will. From this time the terrace has separate ownerships, and at this point the throne was occupied by George III (1760–1820).
1780-1800:
Behind 120 a range of further cottages was built
Behind 119 there was also a range of cottages with top-shops over
These buildings behind were Coventry Courts. Virtually no trace exists of these court buildings as those that were not destroyed in the blitz were demolished as part of slum clearance schemes. We are currently looking for any info and memories on these buildings (read more about this here).
1823: Around this time, during the reign of George IV (1820-30) , the first mention of the Black Swan Inn occurs, this would have been on the corner premises at 123 (today it has the Moira’s sign and distinctive green tiles), and in 1826 Swan Terrace is built behind 123 Spon Street.
1841: Now in the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901) the cloth trades still dominated the economy of the area with nearly 50% of the occupants involved in the area’s traditional trades of weaving and dyeing. Ten years on, the emphasis has shifted to the silk trade, and by 1891, nobody living in the terrace was employed in silk or cloth-weaving or dyeing.
As Victoria’s reign came to an end, the occupancy of the terrace was changing as the frontage becomes converted to shop fronts during the period 1900 – 1915 (This encompasses Edward VII from 1901-10 and the start of George V‘s reign (until 1936).
1940: During the Coventry blitz a nearby terrace facing Barras Lane (adjacent to Spon Street) was destroyed. There are blackened timbers within Black Swan Terrace itself as a result of the blitz, during the reign of George VI (1936–52). The monarch visited the war-torn city straight after the devastation of the blitz.
The remaining significant dates are all within the span of Elizabeth II’s long reign (1952–2022)
1977-87: The terrace is bought for slum clearance by Coventry City Council, intended for demolition 1995: Spon End Building Preservation Trust formed, to rescue the terrace. 2007: The conservation work is completed and The Weaver’s House opens to the public.
2023:Our latest development has begun as we approach the Coronation of Charles III.
This point in the year usually sees a flurry of activity as we get planning and preparing for the year ahead. The current lockdown and ongoing Covid 19 situation has once again paused any plans to reopen the house to the public so unfortunately, we are waiting to see what the year will bring.
When the weather improves, they will be looking to restart socially distanced gardening to ensure that Tudoresque garden does not run wild!
In the meantime, if you are looking for things to do during this winter lockdown, there are some crafts in our blog section, and we are hoping to add more soon.
This photo shows one of the house’s twentieth century residents, Rose O’ Neil. We are wondering if the building in the background is in Coventry, and if it still exists? Any bright ideas?
We’re delighted to be involved with the Moving Blue project, which sees the colour with a Coventry history going back hundreds of years revived ahead of the City of Culture year.
The project kicked off on New Year’s Day and will run throughout this year.
Our trustee Sara Maycock is an experienced dyer and weaver and was able to contribute her knowledge to the project, as well as some pieces of woad-dyed wool!
At The Weaver’s House we have long been fascinated by the history of the famous colour Coventry Blue. Sara explained: “We’re thrilled to be involved with this project as the subject of ‘Coventry Blue’ is very close to our hearts. In medieval times, when The Weaver’s House was built, Coventry was a centre for the weaving trade, when the city was best known for its fine Coventry Blue cloth.
“We grow the woad plant in the garden, and although the plant is green and related to cabbages, it produces a fantastic range of blues. We have experimented with this natural dyestuff to see what shades of blue it produces, so we have an idea what Coventry Blue might have been like.
The dye pot
Freshly dyed wool
The weaving on the loom
Weaving in progress
“We’ll never truly know what the medieval Coventry Blue looked like as the recipe was a closely guarded secret, but it’s wonderful to see the colour being revived as we head towards 2021.
“Blue is a thread that runs through Coventry’s history for hundreds of years and we’re excited that Moving Blue will be a connection to the weavers of old as well as looking to the future of the city.”
During our tenth anniversary year the Weavers’ Workshop created weaving inspired by Coventry Blue. If you would like to see more of this previous experimentation with natural woad dye and weaving, you can read more here.
During 2020 a different item will be painted in Moving Blue every day. You can read the full details on the 2021 website.
What did people eat in medieval times? Our upcoming Open Day on Saturday 15 June will include delving into the delicacies of the Tudor table. Delicious or disgusting? It’s time to find out!
We’ll also have our usual tours of the house, and the garden will be looking lovely. As ever, our fantastic volunteers will have been baking and there will be some homemade cakes to savour – these definitely fall into the delicious category.
So do pop along and find out what a trencher is, and all about pease pudding, made famous by the nursery rhyme.
We’ll be open from 11am until 4pm and admission is free.
Please note there are no spinning demonstrations this time, the spinners will return in August!
Our next Open Day is Sunday 5 May. Usually our Open Days take place on a Saturday, so don’t miss the chance for a Sunday visit if that suits you better!
Special guest reenactor group Coventry Militia will bring history to life on site, demonstrating arms and armour of the War of the Roses.
There will also be some late medieval tabletop games to try, and as this was the period when the royal court was held in Coventry, visitors can find out about the importance of the city during this period.
The event is free to visit and runs from 11am until 4pm.
Refreshments will be available.
Image: Coventry Militia in action at a previous event.
Join us this Saturday, 13 April, for our first Open Day of the year with some added springtime fun! Follow a trail, have a go at crafts, and explore the house and garden. Find out how to use natural dyes to colour eggs for Easter with our take-home worksheet.
Experience how John Croke, a Coventry narrow-loom weaver and his family would have lived and worked including a full-size replica of a medieval loom (Please note the solar room containing the loom is accessed by ladder). Explore the working medieval garden showing the plants that would have been grown for food, flavouring, medicine and household use.
Pics from our previous Easter Open Days.
As always, entry is free! We’ll be open from 11am until 4pm.
Tea, coffee and homemade cakes are served on Open Days.
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.
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.
