High Street from Broadgate

Here's another view from around the turn of the 20th century, when High Street was a bustling shopping street. Ambling down the road the horse and cart will one day be replaced by the modern tin box, and on the near left before the tiny entrance to Pepper Lane is a kind of shop no longer seen; Atkins & Turton - Tea Merchant. In 1938 this shop had stopped trading and the premises taken over by Martins Bank, which survived until demolition in 1989, in readiness for the construction of Cathedral Lanes.
On the right is 'Smyth Ralph & Co. Tailors &Co' - note the two digit telephone number!

High Street nowadays, as with most around the country, has lost its bustling atmosphere, as the world of shopping moves unavoidably towards an "online" platform. Where once was local stores is now mostly building societies and banks, which garner none of the character of the old town. However, a close comparison of the two photographs, with well over a century between them, pleasingly reveals that the last five buildings on the left still survive in to the 21st century, as can be more clearly seen using Google's street view. High Street is probably the oldest road through Coventry - once part of the main thoroughfare from east to west - now it's little more than a service road.
However, if you turn into Pepper Lane on the left here, you'll be greeted by a view of the Spire as you move towards the still lovely "Cathedral Quarter".

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