Broadgate

A scene once familiar to many!

Just rediscovered these photos of a painting of Princess Elizabeth opening the New Broadgate 1948 (photos taken at a reception at the Council House, Jan 2008).

Prof, That photo had to be taken on the Friday afternoon, because a delayed bomb went off across the road in Burton's as they were about to clear this site in the morning, they had just received a message the King would arrive early Saturday. That's a very clear shot of the bomb crater as they were still damping down what was left of the two corner buildings between Broadgate and Martins Bank. The fire brigade scraped round that corner to get into High Street, as Little and Much Park Streets were still burning furiously on the Friday.

After the IRA bomb exploded.

Hi all Who has stolen the "Bong"? I was waiting for a friend in Broadgate today, where at noon, I saw "Lady Godiva" & "Peeping Tom" appear, but there was no sound or chime. Am I missing something?

Prof, Once again I butt in - my apologies - but the photo above reminds me that we once had a view of Hertford Street but not anymore. The clock you mention also is a poor imitation of the one that stood in the Mayor's Parlour. The old Mayor's Parlour stood opposite Cross Cheaping, an ancient building of three storeys, with a room in the roof. In front on the ground floor were six stone pillars supporting a balcony and iron railing, the upper floor projected and overhung the wall of the storey below. The roof was lineable with the street, and out of it sprang a wooden gabled projection in which there was a clock. Two wooden figures then attached to the mechanism by means of iron rods, moved backwards and forwards and struck the halves and quarters. The figures represented the city crier and beadle, and were painted with red and green coats in allusion to the heraldic colours of the ground of the city arms. Pigeons swooped through the archways then, and I feel I am unravelling time as it swoops through my mind.

There is a good illustration of the Mayor's Parlour with the clock as described by Kaga in Frederick Smith's "Nine Hundred Years of Municipal Life." Smith was for many years Town Clerk of Coventry, I have a picture taken with scan from the book but it will not upload for some unknown reason. Edited by member, 31st May 2019 2:03 pm

Is it this one Prof? (Found in "Rob's pics", blue button above.)

Yes that's the one, you can see the clockwork in the roof, but they just came out and back in, not round like today's.

Yes Annewiggy/Kaga. I don't know why I could not upload the picture, but perhaps because it was a scan!

Now that the Hertford St bridge is open again for a view of Broadgate it is interesting to see what the view was in 1892 (this has appeared elsewhere)

Here's another with policeman!