Daventry Road, Cheylesmore

Hi all, was looking at the old 1940 Kelly's Directory for Shops and businesses on Daventry Road, wondered if any of the shops below would jog anyone's memories:

• Arnold Dudley, Newsagents 127 Daventry Rd. (Where Devlins Ltd (newsagents) is now)
• Ashman 'Jas.' & Co. 'bldrs'. Daventry Rd.
• Mrs Jessie Croft. Fruiterer. Quinton Par. Daventry rd.
• Modern Shoe Repairs Ltd. 143 Daventry rd. (Where Timpsons is now); 18 Humber rd. & 278 Walsgrave rd (where KFC on Walsgrave road is now).
• Smith Arth. F. Butcher 3 Daventry 'bldgs' Daventry rd.
• Smith David Fredk. Stationers- Retail., 191 Daventry rd.
• Sturman & Heywood Ltd. greengrocers. 34 Daventry 'bldgs.'. Daventry Rd.
• Tildesley, Harry. Confectioner. 137 Daventry Rd. (Where Greggs is now.)
• Burroughs Sydney Herbt. Fruiterer "I" Daventry 'bldgs', Daventry rd. & greengrocers "III" Quinton Rd.
• Butcher Leonard 'Jas.' Fish Salesman (Fishmonger). 6 Quinton Par. Daventry Rd. (Where Cheylesmore Electricals is now.)
• Cheylesmore P.H. (Public House) [Leonard Atterton], Daventry rd. (Assumedly where old Cheylesmore Pub was and where Asda Cheylesmore is now.)
• Faulconbridge Arth. Hairdressers. Holbrook 'bldgs'. 7 Park- gate rd. (Where Diana Hair Studio is now) & 141 Daventry rd. (Where Edmonds Gifts (previously 'Allans Gift centre') is now.)
• Todman 'Jas.' Claud., Wireless Supplies dealers. 139 Daventry Rd. (Where Cheylesmore Hair Care is now.)
• Hayes G. H. Co. Ltd. Butchers, Quinton Par. Daventry Rd.
• Sangster Thos. Alfd. Grocer 9 Quinton Par. Daventry Rd. (Where Subway is now.)
• Mrs Winifred Proctor, Grocer, 185 Daventry Rd. (Where Betfred is now.)
• Wheatcroft, Reginld. Fredk.. Ironmonger . 131 Daventry rd. (Where "Essentials: 'Value 4 Money' (previously D & M Discounts) is now.)
• Will Alex. 'Jas.' M, Ch.B.Aberd. Physcn. & Surgn. (firm, Eden & Will), 282 Daventry Rd. Where Graham Murray Dental Surgery (Dental Surgery with green roof) is now. & (Surgery) Arran 'ho.'. Binley Rd.
• Anderton Arth. Jsph. (Confectioners - Retail) 8 Daventry bldgs. Daventry rd. Coventry.
• Worthington's Cash Stores (1930) Ltd. ... [...] ... 125 (Where Devlins Newsagents is now) & 193 Daventry rd ... [...].
• Watts C. Norman., (Chemist) 6 Daventry 'bldgs'. Daventry Road. Coventry.
• Mrs May Wood., (Outfitters - Ladies) 135 Daventry rd. Coventry. (Where HSBC is now.)

(There may be a few mistakes in the list.) Also later on (eg: after 50's/ 60's) there was (?): *Paynes Music shop. *Wheatcrofts - Hardware shop (131 Daventry rd. (Where "Essentials: 'Value 4 Money' (previously D & M Discounts) is now.). *Sketchley (drycleaners). *Provident Building Society. *Powell & Co. Building Society. *Forbuoys (now Martins Newsagents). *R. Tuckey's (?) Butchers. *'Elizabeth the chef' *'Josephine Maxwell's' Ladies fashion. Also some Photos of the shops: Daventry Road shops, Coventry 24th June 1975 Daventry Road shops, Cheylesmore, Coventry 8th March 1973 The Quinton Parade on Daventry Road, Cheylesmore, Coventry 29th March 1979 This is just a tiny proportion of the shops that have been on the shopping parade - does anyone know anymore? ...

Well remember Wheatcrofts - old fashioned hardware shop, the type where you could get both four candles and fork 'andles

Yes Mr Garland, I was born in 1953 and only remember Wheatcroft's and Watts the Chemist, which I think were next to each other. Although Watts may had a few chemists in Cheylesmore. These chemists I think were eventually brought by Mr Tidball in the '70's. There was a wool shop (where my mum in law worked in the '50's), this was the bit around the corner towards town. There was a toy shop on the side where Cheylesmore Garage was. I remember saving my pocket money for a Hornby Dublo tank engine, I think it was £1 9s 11d, I went to the shop and emptied my money out and was 1d short, so home again and waited for next week pocket money before I could buy it. Other shops, fish and chips at the Cheylesmore pub end. The first photo is actually the shops by the Open Arms. These shops in the '60's were the Co-op's veg, butcher and grocer (very large but never any customers), newsagents (Pattersons), grocers (very popular), hairdressers at the end. I think one is missing.

From the library collection:

It was lovely to see the old photos of Quinton Parade on Daventry Road as I grew in Mile Lane and my mother did most of her shopping at there. My first Saturday job was at the VG shop, then one of the first supermarkets in Coventry. Then later I worked at 'The Wool Shop' already mentioned. It was owed by a Miss Travis and her sister owned the one on the other side of Quinton Pool, called 'The Beehive'. There was a Gladdings bakery, a sweetshop (Molesworths??), 2 chemists, 2 newsagents, in fact you could buy virtually everything down there. Later the Council created a parking road on the very wide pavement, which spoilt it somewhat.

Yes it had everything you needed, I brought my first record player from a shop on the Parade. I remember the name Molesworth, but not where it was. In the '70's there was a cafe/shop, can't remember the name, I used to use occasionally. Ernie Hunt sports shop (for a short time) unfortunately it was too close to the Cheylesmore pub for Ernie to resist. Great footballer never the less. Timothy paint shop (decorating), at least that was their name, not sure what it was trading as.

Loved the parade when we first moved to Cheylesmore in the early eighties. You could still buy most things there and many of the shops were privately owned. Wheatcrofts used to keep a roll of clear, textured Fablon in stock for me, I used it for covering books and used to buy about five yards a month so a roll lasted about a year. Apparently I was the only person who bought it and they would order another one when it got low. They once apologised profusely for not having any in stock when I needed some and got a roll within two days. That's what you call customer service

I once purchased a washer from there - that's a SINGLE washer, not a box full. (some might say no wonder they closed!) The Three Spires Fish Bar - I remember buying "3d of chips & scratchings" there in the 1950's!

Really wish we had a place like Wheatcrofts back; selling single washers and rolls of book cover. I was told that they used to have a paraffin pump in the shop (obviously before the days of health and safety ) and creaky wooden floors. Places like B&Q and Homebase must have decimated such small businesses. We're really lucky to still have a relatively diverse set of shops in Daventry Road, many of the old parades of shops have become saturated with estate agents and betting shops. @TonyS- it's hard to believe the Three Spires chip shop is over 50 years old: Cheylesmore chip shop owners celebrate 50 years in business. Also came across some old photos of Martins Bank (where Barclays is now): link. Would I be right in thinking that "Sturman & Heywood Ltd. greengrocers. 34 Daventry 'bldgs.', Daventry Rd." is the same greengrocers as the now closed "G.S. HEYWOOD & SONS" greengrocers?

My uncle married one of the Wheatcroft daughters, Maureen. I was a bridesmaid at the wedding around sixty years ago. We had to get ready in the flat above the shop. I can still recall the smell of our beautiful floral bouquets, mingling with the smell of paraffin as we walked through the shop to get into the wedding cars.

Wheatcofts did indeed have a paraffin dispenser in the shop and it did add to the wonderful smell in there. I had a paraffin blowlamp and it was the only shop that would sell paraffin in small quantities for it.

Thank you so much for the photos and article about the chip shop - the chips were 6d in my time in the 60's!

TonyS post (The Three Spires Fish Bar - I remember buying "3d of chips & scratchings" there in the 1950's!) - my wife has asked me to ask, did you live at the Cheylesmore in the 50s, after her seeing your post about the chippy and do you remember the bumps as they called them or anyone else for that matter before they built the new shops in the middle of the others, My wife Irene was one of the Cottom family, 11 children, the twins Irene & Lilian now aged 75, hope someone remembers them