1979

SP3279 : 163-171 Spon Street, 1979

taken 46 years ago, near to Coventry, England

163-171 Spon Street, 1979
163-171 Spon Street, 1979
Spon Street was numbered consecutively from its junction with Queen Victoria Road to its junction with Spon End and back, so does not have the usual odd on one side, even on the other numbering system.

Starting from the three-storeyed building and moving towards the photographer:

The three-storeyed building, 163-164 was formerly 8,9 and 10 Much Park Street and was rebuilt on this site between 1971 and summer 1974. It dates from the 15th century and being three-storeyed is of a higher status than the surrounding artisan dwellings which typified the original Spon Street.

166 is in situ and dates from the first half of the 15th century with the front having been modified in the 19th century with a shop front. It was restored 1976-8.

167, with the timber bracing, is in situ, dates from the 15th or 16th century and was later (1980-1) restored as part of the townscape scheme.

168 is also in situ, probably 15th century and was restored at the same time as 167.

169,at the corner of Watch Close, dates from the 14th century and was the first building restored for the townscape scheme in 1969-1970.

171, the white building partially visible in the right foreground, is in situ and unrestored. It probably dates from the 15th or 16th century but its timber-framing is concealed by pebble-dash and its shop front is modern.

All buildings described are grade II listed.
Spon Street Townscape Scheme

The Spon Street townscape scheme of the 1960s and 1970s involved moving medieval buildings from other sites in the city centre to join those in situ at Spon Street. In total, three sets of buildings were moved from Much Park Street and two sets were moved from elsewhere in Spon Street - the rest are in their original sites. The last buildings to be moved and restored were Nos 1 & 2 Spon Street (formerly 54-57 Spon Street) completed in 1988-1990.

The scheme was not altogether a success as Spon Street had already been cut in half by the ring road and a multi-storey block of flats at one end detracted from the medieval appearance. However, it did mean that several interesting old buildings were saved. Since the 1970s, the addition of an entertainment complex on the site of the Rudge/GEC factory led to food outlets dominating the street, with little life to it during the day.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright FCG and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Historic sites and artefacts Business, Retail, Services City, Town centre Building Material: Timber Frame Period: 14th Century 15th Century 16th Century 19th Century 20th Century other tags: Listed Building Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
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Grid Square
SP3279, 399 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
FCG   (more nearby)
Contributed by
E Gammie   (more nearby)
Date Taken
February 1979   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 22 April, 2013
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 328 790 [100m precision]
WGS84: 52:24.5030N 1:31.1025W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 329 790
View Direction
West-northwest (about 292 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph · First in 5 Years (TPoint) (about)
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