The Grove

The first of this pleasant pair of photographs was taken from a postcard used in 1921 - the same year that the ground beyond, formerly Stivichall Common, was used to build the War Memorial Park at the point where the Warwick Road splits into the Leamington Road on the left and the Kenilworth Road on the right. Although still a comparatively rural scene, the traffic does rather spoil the modern day view, which was taken on the way to that park.

An interesting feature of the older photograph, now sadly gone, is the old Toll House on the right. Just as the M6 Toll Road operates today, it was common for better quality roads in the 18th and 19th centuries to be built by groups of wealthy people - but with a charge for usage. By the 1860s as trains were becoming popular, toll gates, also known as turnpikes, became less desirable, and were phased out. This Stivichall toll house was one of the last in the area to stop operating in 1872, although it was still standing after the Second World War, but later demolished as the roads were widened.

If you were to stand at the Grove and look back in this direction, towards the town centre, this is the view of Warwick Road that you would see.

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