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1. Arts School, Ford Street
2. Bishop Street Post Office
3. Bishop Street, looking north
4. Bishop Street, looking south
5. Blue Coat School & ruins
6. Broadgate from Hertford Street
7. Broadgate from Holy Trinity Church
8. Burges from Bishop Street
9. Burges from Cross Cheaping
10. Burton's in Blitzed Broadgate
11. Butcher Row, Great
12. Butcher Row, Little
13. Cheylesmore Manor House
14. Coat of Arms Bridge
15. Cook Street gate
16. Council House
17. Cox Street
18. Far Gosford Street
19. Fire Station, Hales Street
20. Fleet Street
21. Ford's Hospital
22. Golden Cross & Pepper Lane
23. Greyfriars Lane
24. The Grove
25. Guildhall & 22 Bayley Lane
26. Hales Street
27. Hales Street to Corporation Street
28. Herbert Art Gallery & Museum
29. Hertford Street
30. Hertford Street from Broadgate
31. High Street aerial view
32. High Street from Broadgate
33. High Street from Earl Street
34. Hill Street, Bablake & Bond's
35. Hippodrome, New
36. Hippodrome, Old
37. Humber Motor Works
38. Ironmonger Row
39. Jordan Well & Earl Street
40. Jordan Well & Gosford Street
41. Kenilworth Road
42. Leamington Road
43. Much Park Street
44. Naul's Mill Park
45. Old Rope Walk
46. Opera House, Hales Street
47. Palace Yard
48. Pool Meadow from Priory Street
49. Precinct & Old Coventry aerial view
50. Precinct, upper
51. Precinct, west view
52. Priory Row
53. Priory Street, lower end
54. Priory Street, upper end
55. Queen Victoria Road flood of 1900
56. Railway Station - the platform
57. Railway Station, Eaton Road
58. Smithford Way
59. Spon End arches
60. Spon Street flood of 1900
61. St. John's Church, Fleet Street
62. St. Michael's Avenue
63. St. Michael's ruins
64. St. Michael's spire from Pepper Lane
65. Stoke Green & Pool
66. Swanswell Gate
67. Swanswell Pool
68. Swimming Baths, Priory Street
69. Trinity Church aerial view
70. Trinity Lane & the Free Library
71. Trinity Lane from Priory Row
72. Trinity Street aerial view
73. Trinity Street from Broadgate
74. Trinity Street from Hales Street
75. War Memorial Park
76. Warwick Road
77. Warwick Row, Hertford St & Warwick Lane
78. Well Street from Hales Street
79. West Orchard
80. Wheatley Street Schools
 

Bishop Street, looking north

Camera No. 50

Clicking on the classic postcard view of Bishop Street of 1905 will bring to you an up-to-date scene from 2021. Like 'em or loathe 'em, the student accommodation blocks adorning the end of the street certainly add colour and height to our skyline!

Click the image above to fade forward in time over a century. if you wish to see the images separately.

A century ago, however, it was a street with a little character. (Probably several, in fact!) Its steady incline also posed a bit if a challenge to the early electric trams of the day - I wonder how many tired legs had to complete the journey after alighting an even more tired tram that had failed to climb to the street's northern extremity?
The rows of two and three storey terraced houses were also testimony to just how residential the centre of Coventry once was. The 'blank canvas' rebuild of the post-war years virtually put an end to people populating Coventry's city centre. Only with the projects of recent years have we seen an attempt to get people dwelling in the town centre again.

The small area of cobbles to the right, at the bottom of the photo, is the entrance to Silver Street; and so if the 1905 photographer was to have turned to his right, (and travel back another hundred years) he would've been greeted with a view of the old Grammar School similar to this one.

More memories....

I was fortunate in 2009 to have been in touch with a man who lived in Bishop Street for several years before the Second World War broke out. Norman Cohen has furnished me with some details that he recalls about various premises in this street, which I will place here in case they help bring back your own memories of the street. You can also read Norman's entertaining account of pre-war life in Coventry on this 'memories' page.

And now here are Norman's recollections of some of the shops that filled Bishop Street....

Left hand side (working up from the bottom):

Not in the picture.... I can't remember all the shop names until just beyond where a lady is riding a bike...

Right hand side (working up from the bottom):

Further memories:

Bernard Ollerenshaw would like to add his own input to bring this old street to life once more.... "My grandad lived at No. 19 Bishop Street in 1913 before he got married to Ada Allen, who lived at Court 2, House 8, Bishop Street. They married at the Holy Trinity church on 25th December 1913. On the old photo of Bishop Street is No. 19."


 
 
 
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