During the winter season, although there are no open days, there are still signs of life in The Weaver’s House! Most recently the house was a location for an exciting filming project.
Mark Webb, University of Leicester and Weaver’s House member, worked with PhD students from Warwick University Department of Visualisation and a camera team from Herbert Media to film late medieval weaving, using the Weaver’s House replica loom. This is part of the development of a virtual reality model of Spon Street and its associated medieval crafts. Professional re-enactors Ruth Gilbert and Tim Jenkins were filmed doing weaving and winding quills in costume of the period circa 1500.
The whole process, including setting up a ‘green screen’ environment for video and preparing the loom, took three days. Two other Spon Street crafts will be filmed in the next few months – tanning and dyeing. Eventually the results will be fed into an overall model of medieval Spon Street, recreating a multi-sensory experience including sights, sounds and smells. We can’t wait to see the completed project!
In July 2017 we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the restoration and opening to the public of The Weaver’s House and its garden. We had a fantastic Open Day with lots of happy visitors, many of whom spent several hours exploring the site. When you consider that we have no rolling acres of land and the house itself has basically three rooms – this just goes to show that there is still much to discover and enjoy!
Whether it was trying out our Tudor games…or just enjoying the garden…We had a steady stream of visitors all day.
The weaving project, which has run throughout our Open Days and pop-up events this year, was an Open Day feature and it is nearly finished. We’re wondering if the upcoming Open Day on 12 August will see it completed?
A nearly-finished piece of Coventry Blue!
As it was our tenth anniversary, we were pleased to see some visitors drop by who had been involved in the project over the years. One of these was David Gaut, who worked on the restoration of the house. Here he is standing on the path that he built on the day before the house had its very first Open Day!
David Gaut revisits the house after ten years. He approved!
One of our special events for the anniversary was a walking tour exploring the medieval architecture of Spon Street, led by our trustee Dr Nat Alcock.
There was much to learn about these medieval buildings. Visitors commented that they discovered things that they had never known despite a lifetime living in Coventry. “I thoroughly enjoyed that tour through medieval Spon Street. Amazing facts I never knew and I’m a #Coventry girl.”
One of the buildings that was moved from its original locationMost of the courts (developments behind existing houses) were pulled downIt might not look it, but there’s a medieval building here! And the Watch Museum too.
We hope to rerun these walking tours as they were extremely popular and booked up very quickly. In the meantime why not try one of the Priory Visitor Centre tours?
We received lots of lovely comments, not only in our visitors book but also online:
“I love this little house with its gardens, a great place to visit with lovely volunteers and yummy cakes ⭐️”
“Fantastic visit. Thoroughly enjoyed and thanks to all the volunteers who make this house so welcoming. The cakes were lovely as well. ?”
“Had a lovely time at the Weaver’s House, and also a lovely chat with a new friend :)The place is definitely worth a visit!”
“Fantastic local historical site. My children who are 4 and 6 loved it. Lots of activities to do. Tea and refreshments available. Happily spent hours there.”
“We ate cake, wove a snake, played quoits & had a go at weaving! A good afternoon.”
After we said goodbye to our visitors, we closed our little wooden door, downed tools and then downed a refreshing drink. Our volunteers work really hard maintaining the house and garden, giving tours and weaving demonstrations and ensuring that the tea and cakes are flowing! It was time to relax with suitably medieval drink in the form of ale from Byatt’s Brewery and tasty offerings freshly cooked by The Seventy-Five Company, and we even had a visit from Lady Godiva and Lord Leofric!
And of course, there was cake!
Thank you to all our volunteers! We couldn’t do it without you – Happy Anniversary!
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!
We’ve had a busy year! Back in April, the first open day of the year saw a record number of visitors for a season opener; and the good numbers continued throughout. In May, the Spon Spun Festival celebrated the art of storytelling with one of the events being performed in the garden of The Weaver’s House.
We had our special heritage crafts event in June. Trades from the past were brought to life in the authentic setting of the house and garden with guests including Coventry Beekeepers Association, Warwickshire Art & Craft Circle and of course the Coventry Branch of The Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers and Weavers’ Workshop. Not to mention the Heritage Cake Company who provided a tearoom full of delights such as Coventry Godcakes and Coventry Corporation Custard.
It’s also been a busy year in the garden with some rearranging of the beds and growing skirret for the first time. We’ve had visitors with a close connection to the house, and visitors from all across the country and beyond.
The open day season closed with a hugely successful Heritage Open Days weekend in September with near to 400 visitors. Throughout the year our dedicated team of volunteers have provided private guided tours for groups including schools, the Workers Educational Association, Earlsdon Walkers and many more.
And of course all the cakes we made – and ate! We haven’t been brave enough to try frumenty though…
We’re looking forward to next year in which we celebrate the tenth anniversary of being open to the public. In the meantime there is loads to do in Coventry over the festive period. Enjoy the city.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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.
There were some special visitors to the June Open Day at The Weaver’s House. Maggie and Brian Morris surprised our volunteers by producing a photo of Maggie standing in the garden of The Weaver’s House on her wedding day in 1962.
Maggie Morris on her wedding day in 1962
Maggie lived in what was then 34 Court 3rd House, just behind The Weaver’s House, with her parents Wesley and Joy Collins. She lived there from 1958 until 1962 when she married Brian in the October. They were married in St John’s Church on Spon Street. The wedding dress Maggie is wearing in the photo was white and turquoise with the stunning full petticoat shape that was so fashionable.
Maggie Morris holding her wedding photo. By Clare Chamberlain
In the original photo Maggie is standing with her father Wesley. 54 years later she stood on the same spot with Brian while volunteer Clare Chamberlain took their photo. Clare herself is descended from residents of the Weaver’s House who lived there in the early twentieth century. Truly a piece of family history!
We were lucky again with the weather for the second of this year’s Open Days, which coincided with a brand new festival for our area, Spon End. ‘Spon Spun’, part of the Albany Theatre’s ‘Arts for Life’ programme, celebrated the art of storytelling as well as the historic area itself. Very apt, as there was some spinning of actual yarn going on as well!
As part of the Spon Spun events line-up, a short play was performed in the garden at The Weaver’s House. Even Lady Godiva herself visited the house as part of the celebrations!
Alongside the festival excitement, the house attracted many visitors for our usual programme of tours and talks with the opportunity to examine the original medieval features of the house.
Guests of all ages sampled weaving, wattling and of course the homemade cakes!
Young visitors try our wattling panels
Samples of weaving on display
One of the tasty cakes on offer
Now that summer does seem to finally be icumen in, we’re looking ahead to our June Open Day which will be based on the theme of ‘crafts’.
We’re excited that our next Open Day on Saturday 14 May will be part of the new Spon Spun Festival which runs across two consecutive Saturdays.
Spon Spun celebrates the art of storytelling as well as the Spon End area itself. Saturday 14 May’s events will include an interactive tour, art trail and new playwriting as well as the opportunity to pop in to The Weaver’s House. As usual for an Open Day, we will be serving refreshments including cakes. Full details of everything happening for the Spon Spun Festival are available on the Albany Theatre website.
Saturday 21 May will see the festival fun continue although please note that The Weaver’s House will not be open on this day, so do make sure you pop along on the 14 th or another of our free Open Days to enjoy a look around our little medieval gem.
Also on Saturday 14, another one of Coventry’s wonderful heritage buildings, The Charterhouse, will be opening its doors. Make a day of it and visit us both.
Saturday 9 April saw a record number of visitors for the first open day of the season, with over 150 people coming to explore what is behind our little wooden door.
Spinners at an Open Day
The sun shone in the morning although we were less fortunate in the drizzly afternoon – but of course tea and cake was at hand in our kitchen, and the house is nothing if not cosy!
Our volunteers were certainly kept busy whether it was leading guided tours, making tea or demonstrating heritage crafts such as spinning.
As well as finding out all about the history of the house and its residents, there were plenty of guides available to explain about the history of weaving in Coventry.
A basket of wool dyed with natural dyes.Visitors could learn all about weaving and its history.
One of our volunteers, Beryl, created this stunning donations tin featuring the house itself, and it was certainly getting plenty of use – thanks to all our generous visitors.
Donations tin cover, by Beryl
We had some wonderful feedback especially from first time visitors who were enchanted to discover this medieval treasure hiding behind a terrace of shops and offices. We are really looking forward to our next Open Day in May – we just need to recover first!
On Monday 21 March, some curious symbols and devices appeared in the Spon Street area.
One of the symbols on Spon Street.What is this mysterious item?
A group of PhD students from the University of Warwick were engaged in laser scanning the medieval buildings of Spon Street. The team was led by Mark Webb from the Department of Archaeology, University of Leicester and Alan Chalmers, Professor of Visualisation at the International Digital Laboratory, University of Warwick.
Laser scanning outside St John’s Church on Spon StreetThe white spheres are uses as anchor points to join the scans together.
Together the team will use the scans to create a virtual reality, multi-sensory model of late medieval Spon Street. We were very excited that The Weaver’s House was to be included in the project!
The team on site at The Weaver’s House.White spheres inside The Weaver’s House.Laser scanning the house.
It will take many weeks for all the scans to be meshed together but we have been given a preview of how the scans will start to take shape.
Laser scan of The Weaver’s House.
We’re really excited to see the project progress to its next stage and will hopefully be able to bring more news on it soon!
