Coventry, The Precinct c.1960
Photo ref: C169020
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Coventry was the first city to adopt a radical new idea: the traffic-free precinct. Construction began in 1951, and took about 5 years. The shops were built in two tiers - it is said that the architect, Donald Gibson, was inspired by the magnificent medieval Rows at Chester. Then again, perhaps this is just an urban myth!

An extract from West Midlands Living Memories.

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West Midlands Living Memories

West Midlands Living Memories

The photo 'Coventry, the Precinct c1960' appears in this book.

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A Selection of Memories from Coventry

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. Here are some from Coventry

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Over the years the layout of Greyfriars Green has changed enormously by and in 1950's, it was vastly different to this early picture. In the 50's as a child Father took our family to visit the green using it as a vantage point to watch the, then, Annual Coventry Carnival as it passed down from assembling in the Memorial l Park and between the green and the buildings facing us on The Quadrant side.
It would be early 60's and we would all meet up at Allesley Hall, on one of those long summer evenings, to have a massive game of Hide and Seek ( Rally, rally 1,2,3!) We would be about 8 or 9 years old and most of us were from St. Christopher's School. The rallying post was a huge old tree trunk in the middle of the gardens. There were so many good hiding spots behind all the shrubbery and walls. I have since returned ...see more
Hi all, I'm really hoping someone out there can help me. I am trying to find someone who worked in Coventry in the 70's. She did deliveries to a cake shop 19 Acorn Street, Stoke Aldermoor which was for a long time called 'Elaine's bread and cakes' it changed names a few times before that, so it would be great if someone knew the name at that time. Her name is Christine who drove a blue transit van on ...see more
The part of Canley where we lived was made up of what were called "the steel houses" and "the prefabs". Charter Avenue was a dual carriageway and then, at the beginning of Ten Shilling Woods it became a single road. I was always told that it had been begun during the War and was built by Italian POW's; when the war ended they went home and the road was never completed. The house we lived in was built by Wimpey. The woods ...see more