Jordan Well & Earl Street

Here's a view that will be quite familiar, not only to the majority of Coventry dwellers, but many students too. Just out of shot on the left is what used to be the frontage to a cinema, previously the Gaumont from when it was built in 1931, then the Odeon from 1967. Since 1998 it has been owned by Coventry University, and is now known as the Ellen Terry Building. On the other side of the street is a relatively new building known as "The Hub", a centre of student campus life, and in the background, The Herbert. Apart from the trail of students going into town, and the few visitors to The Herbert art gallery, this isn't a street where one would expect to see masses of people.

One click on the image and.... what a difference a few decades make! Back in the 1920s Jordan Well was a thriving shopping street, clean and uniform looking and bustling with activity - and yet each of the premises were individual and inviting. What's even more sad about the loss of this particular scene, is that despite the wartime bombing, most of these shops survived, as this photo in the blitz section testifies. The heaviest damage was at the far end, in Earl Street. Just across the road on the right, next to Tansley's bicycle shop, is Freeth Street, which disappeared altogether after the redevelopment.

One small change noticeable now (2022), that's occurred since I last updated this page in 2015, is the removal of the copper-clad bridge that had linked the Council House with offices across the road since the 1970s. This took place on 9th April 2017 and was generally considered a good move, restoring the cleaner look of the building.

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